ASA Savings and Loans Limited has supported 25 second-cycle and tertiary students in the Bono Region with a total of GH¢25,000 to help ease the financial pressures associated with their education.
Each of the beneficiaries received a cheque for GH¢1,000 at a ceremony held in Sunyani as part of the financial institution’s continuing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of individuals and communities across the country.
Since its establishment in February 2008, ASA Savings and Loans has implemented a range of CSR interventions, including the provision of boreholes to deprived communities, donation of medical supplies to health facilities, free health screening exercises, donation of educational materials to schools and tree-planting activities.
Presenting the cheques, the CSR/Climate Change Officer of ASA Savings and Loans in charge of the Northern Sector, Ms Lily Opoku Mensah, said the company remained committed to promoting the welfare of its customers and the general public.
She said the educational support formed part of the company’s broader efforts to cushion people and communities and assured that ASA would continue to roll out initiatives designed to improve lives and contribute to national development.
Judicious use
The Bono and Ahafo Divisional Manager of ASA Savings and Loans, Mr Alexander Obeng, urged the beneficiaries to use the money strictly for the purpose for which it had been provided.
He cautioned them against diverting the funds to funerals, household expenses or other unrelated activities, stressing that although the GH¢1,000 support might not cover all their educational needs, it would help reduce some of the financial burden on them and their families.
Mr Obeng also encouraged the beneficiaries and their parents or guardians to share their positive experiences with others and help promote ASA Savings and Loans to encourage more people to save with the institution.
The Bono Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Luke Mensah, challenged the beneficiaries to justify the confidence reposed in them by studying hard and making good use of the opportunity.
He commended ASA Savings and Loans for contributing to human resource development through its educational support, saying such interventions could make a significant difference in the lives of students facing financial difficulties.
Timely intervention
For the beneficiaries, the assistance came at a crucial time.
One of them, Asare Serwaa Spendylove, a Level 400 Bachelor of Science in Midwifery student at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), described the support as “very timely”, explaining that it would enable her to pay part of her school fees.
Another beneficiary, 21-year-old Ebenezer Mensah, a Level 300 Electrical Engineering student at UENR, said the intervention would enable him to settle some important financial obligations on campus with less difficulty.
“I used to struggle each semester to raise money to pay my fees and register, but this time round, the story would be different,” he said.
A parent, Mrs Gloria Sowah, whose daughter, Gifty Nyamekye, attends Serwaa Kesse Girls Senior High School, also expressed relief at the support.
She said the money would help her procure some of the items her daughter needed to report to school.
Mrs Sowah, who said she had been a customer of ASA Savings and Loans for about 10 years, testified to what she described as the institution’s various forms of support to customers and communities.
She expressed appreciation to the company for extending its CSR activities to education, saying the intervention had provided welcome relief to families struggling to meet the rising cost of education.
