Showing Affection For The Underprivileged

*United Way Ghana Sets The Pace

ARTICLE BY: WILLIAM BEEKO

United Way Ghana (UWG), in collaboration with other non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and Ghana’s corporate organisations, last week successfully
held this year’s Day of Caring (DOC) on Tuesday, 15th February, 2011 — a day
after Valentine’s Day which fell on Monday 14, February.

It is an annual event scheduled for Valentine’s Day each year with the prime
object of re-directing the spirit of love and compassion inherent in the
Valentine’s Day tradition towards community building activities.
Day of Caring is a unique way in which UWG brings people together to care for
one another.

The one-day volunteer event involves hundreds of concerned individuals
transforming their daily routine to work to serve their community.
This year, employees from Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Stanbic Bank Ghana, UT
Holdings, Coca Cola Equatorial, Barclays Bank Ghana Limited, Japan Motors,
Vodafone Foundation, TIGO, Papaye Fast Foods, Aviation Social Centre, BBC
Industrial Company (Ghana) Limited, Shoprite, Game Stores, Blue Skies, and Max
Mart among others swappedtheir corporate pens and computers for paintbrushes and
mattocks as they volunteeredtheir time and resources to help some of Ghana’s
most challenged communities.

More than 600 volunteerspaintedschool buildings, dug, repaired broken windows
and doors, and even spenttime with the aged, in support of UWG’s Day of Caring
2011 event.

This year, volunteers supportedfourteen community project sites – each of which
responds to specific basic needs common in Ghana.
Staff of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited joined Help Age Ghana to paint walls and
buildings of Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

The company also took the opportunity to make cash donations and presented wheel
chairs to the aged.


Stanbic Bank Ghana also donated a Corn Mill machine to the Village of Hope
orphanage in Gomoa Fete, Central Region.

Barclays Bank and Coca Cola also touched lives at the Manya Krobo Queen Mothers’
AssociationinKrobo Odumasein theEastern Region.

Country-Side OrphanageinBawjiaseinthe Central Regionwas also supportedby UT
Group of Companies. The company was represented by Sophia Lissah, the PR and
Media Manager of UT group.

Staff and management of Max Mart Shopping Centre and Japan Motors also joined
the action when they thronged Nima for a Zongo Education Projectin Accra.

The Mother Teresa School for Girls in Senya Berekuin the Central Regionalso
benefitted from a philanthropic gesture of MillicomGhana Limited operators of
the Tigo telecom network.

Vodafone Ghana Foundation also spent the whole day of 15th February at the
Madina Social Welfare Women Training Centre inAccrawhere management and staff
painted girls dormitories, counseled and advised the vocational students

According to the Executive Director of UWG, Jonathan Akuamoah, though the annual
Day of Caring (DOC) event began in 2006, nearly 5,500 lives have been touched
through the generous participation of more than 850 volunteers from companies
like Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, The Coca Cola Bottling Company of Ghana, UT
Holdings Limited, African Concrete Products, Game Discount stores, Allure Ghana
Ltd., 37 Military Hospital, Opportunities Industrialization Centre-Ghana, and
others spread over six distinct projects in different regions of Ghana.
He further disclosed that activities to be undertaken during the DOC include
painting of rooms and walls of needy schools; treating school children and the
elderly to a fun-day; providing the needed medical services to the elderly and
the needy; repairing doors and windows of deprived schools as well as
construction works and cleaning of dirty areas and communities.
UWG, is a not-for-profit organization, which vision is to create stronger,
healthier, educated, and self-sustaining communities in Ghana.
UWG is linked to more than 4,500 United Way and Community Chest Organizations in
47 Countries and territories on six continents through its affiliation with
United Way Worldwide (UWW).
Since its inception in 2003, UWG has acted to help build strong and empowered
communities that care by bringing together community stakeholders to design and
implement solutions to identified problems in their community.
Through the DOC, UWG has developed and organised capacity and leverage resources
for communities to care for the less-privileged in society.
Approximately 6 hours was used by over 650 volunteers from various corporate
organisations to complete the services proposed at their respective project
sites.
The UWG team, led by its President, Dr. Julliette Tuakli; Executive Director,
Mr. Jonathan Akuamoah; Vice-President, Mrs. Douha Smith; Programs and
Development Officer, Mr. Noah Ofori-Gyampoh; and, Mr. Albert Wilson, worked
relentlessly last week to ensure that the event became a big success.
The occasion gave UWG management the platform to bring to the fore what the Day
of Caring stood for, what it entailed and what was expected from volunteers.
Each year, the Day of Caring is organised with the prime object of re-directing
the spirit of love and compassion inherent in the Valentine’s Day tradition
toward community building activities.


The day is a unique way in which UWG brings people together to care for one
another.

The one-day volunteer event involves hundreds of concerned individuals
transforming their daily routine to work to serve their community.
Activities that were undertaken during the day included painting rooms and walls
of needy schools; treating school children and the elderly to a fun day;
providing needed medical services to the elderly and the needy; repairing doors
and windows of deprived schools as well as construction works and cleaning of
dirty areas and communities.