From Biiya Mukusah Ali, BECHEM
TWENTY-FIVE brilliant but needy students in the Ahafo Region have received financial support from ASA Savings and Loans Limited to help them pursue their education despite financial challenges.
The beneficiaries, who are children of the company’s customers, received GH¢1,000 each, bringing the total support to GH¢25,000 under the company’s educational support fund.
The intervention is expected to ease the financial burden on their families and help the students meet their educational needs.
The presentation, held at Bechem, forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, which seeks to support education and give back to the communities in which it operates.
Educational support
The Regional Public Relations Officer and Head of Planning and Statistics at the Ahafo Regional Education Directorate, Yaw Frimpong, commended ASA Savings and Loans for the initiative, describing it as a contribution towards improving access to education.
He said support from corporate institutions was essential to complementing government efforts to provide children with the resources they needed to remain in school and pursue their ambitions.
Mr Frimpong said the Directorate, established in September 2020, also required additional resources to monitor and supervise teaching and learning effectively.
He identified inadequate vehicles and motorbikes, fuel shortages and a lack of office furniture as some of the challenges affecting the Directorate’s operations.
He, therefore, appealed to corporate institutions, philanthropists and other organisations to support efforts to improve educational delivery in the region.
He also called for increased investment in educational infrastructure to accommodate children returning to school, including girls resuming their education after childbirth and children who had previously dropped out.
Mr Frimpong expressed appreciation to ASA for supporting students in need and urged other institutions to emulate the initiative.
Expanding the programme
The CSR and Sustainability Officer of ASA Savings and Loans Limited, Lily Opoku-Mensah, said the educational support programme was being implemented nationwide as part of the company’s commitment to giving back to society.
She urged the beneficiaries and their parents to ensure that the funds were used strictly for educational purposes.
The Bono and Ahafo Divisional Manager of ASA Savings and Loans Limited, Obeng Alexander, said the beneficiaries were children of the company’s customers who had demonstrated academic potential but faced financial difficulties.
He said the programme had expanded from 10 beneficiaries in previous years to 25 this year, with plans to increase the number in the future.
Mr Obeng encouraged the students to remain focused on their studies, work hard and make their families and communities proud.
Beneficiaries
Some of the beneficiaries told journalists that the donation would ease the financial burden on their families and help them meet their educational needs.
They expressed gratitude to ASA Savings and Loans Limited for the support, saying it would motivate them to remain focused on their studies and work towards achieving their academic aspirations.
They also urged other corporate institutions to support brilliant but needy students to enable them to pursue their education and build a better future.
