As part of the global celebration of World AIDS Day, Allianz Insurance Ghana has paid a visit to OrphanAid Africa to donate 7,000ghc towards the education of the various vulnerable children living in the integrated family community.

Presenting the cheque, Mr Lazarus Lamptey, the Finance Director of the company, said the donation was part of its corporate social responsibility and its contribution towards supporting OrphanAid Africa to take care of the orphans and vulnerable children. He expressed the hope that the donation would mark the beginning of a partnership between the two organisations concerning activities of children.

Mr Christian Platini Ashiagbor, a counselor at OrphanAid Africa, receiving the cheque, expressed gratitude to the Company for taking interest in the development of children. He also took the opportunity to educate the gathering on HIV and AIDS, saying the era of stigmatization was way over and advised them to be confident and check their HIV status.

Ms. Lisa Love-Smith, founder and president of OrphanAid Africa, called on the Government to increase the grant for the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) project to help poor families to cater for their children rather than sending them off to orphanages. She said the family was the best place for providing care and comfort for children and that studies indicated that consigning children to orphanages for a long period could be detrimental to their development.



Mr Patrick Prado, Managing Director of Allianz Insurance Ghana, said the organisation was committed to the fight of HIV and AIDS, adding, it was their top priority to contribute to the global goal of minimizing new infections and removing discrimination by 2015. He said as a company, they would be holding discussions with various NGOs to support them in their sustainable development efforts.

OrphanAid Africa is a non-profit organization developing programs and projects to help vulnerable children and their families in Ghana, West Africa. The organization was originally founded as a local NGO in Ghana in 2002 and progressively grew internationally with registered branches in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The common goal of these branches is to rescue vulnerable children in need of care and to trace and reunify children with their families. These children are often separated from their families by poverty, the HIV/AIDs epidemic and the increase of rural–to-urban migration. The NGO has adopted Ayenyah as a foster village and receives sponsorship from France, Spain and Italy to support orphans and vulnerable children.