An Interview with Community Pathway Africa's Founder
An interview with Prince Clayman, CEO
Prince Clayman is the Founder and Executive Director of Community Pathway Africa. We refer to him as “Clayman” and he’s been the real driver behind the project coordination and development in Ghana. He has a degree in Human Resources and started out his career working in Government Offices.
Born in a small town in the central region of Ghana, Clayman was instantly attracted to helping others, being the oldest of six siblings. He describes his move into the charity sector in 2010 as ‘a dream come true’.
‘I lost my father when I was very young, so it was a very difficult time for my family, especially my mother, who has been the backbone of everything.’
Growing up, Clayman saw lots of challenges for single-parent families, with the opportunities for women and children to develop, very limited in his area.
Clayman’s inspiration
This tough start in life inspired Clayman to go to senior high school, and then onto his degree in Human Resources.
‘After my degree, I got the opportunity to work with Ghana Post. During my time here, I developed an interest in charity work, and that really gave me an insight into charity work and humanitarian activities.’
From 2010 onwards Clayman has been thoroughly immersed in charity activities, and the dream has kept getting bigger and bigger.
‘I decided to set up my first organisation, which is still called Dream Africa Volunteer Service.’
Clayman says he was surprised by the amount of support the service received straight away.
‘I was really surprised, I cannot thank those people enough, those friends and others who I used to work with, they were really instrumental in my development of Dream Africa Volunteer Service and later Community Pathway Africa.’
Despite all the changes in his organisations, Clayman is still very clear about what Community Pathway Africa aims to achieve.
“Community Pathway Africa was established to promote the welfare of women and children, especially empowering children who come from difficult backgrounds, as well as women who don’t have any opportunities in life. Referring to my mum, I saw how she went through life supporting us alone, with nobody there to help her.”
The premise of Community Pathway Africa is simple, but highly effective believes Clayman.
It is easy to see that the work of Community Pathway Africa really means a lot to Clayman. His drive and energy seem to be concentrated on helping others escape the difficult time that he and his family endured (especially his mother), and this passion shines through in every word he speaks.
‘So overall, I can say that I have about 10 years’ experience of working in my own organisations and it has really been the fulfilment of my childhood dream. We are building schools, providing water as well as training women in skill development projects.’
If you would like to speak with Clayman or find out more about Community Pathway you can reach us at info@communitypathway.org.uk.