Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, the mayor of Accra, established a unique Education Support Fund for the children of the city’s farmers and fishermen. An initial seed of GHC 50,000 was used to form the fund.
The Mayor contributed GHC 30,000, and Hon. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie, the member of parliament for the Odododiodioo Constituency, contributed GHC 20,000.
Among other things, the program aimed to acknowledge the vital role that farmers and fishermen play in the growth of the country and guarantee that their children had access to scholarships, school fees, and other forms of educational assistance.
At the 41st National Farmers and Fishers’ Day celebration, which was held on Friday in the forecourt of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mayor Allotey introduced the intervention.
According to the mayor, the fund would give wards of farmers and fishermen tailored support so that no child would be denied an education due to their parents’ employment or financial level.
He clarified that the campaign also aimed to show younger generations that farming and fishing could provide a respectable future for families.
Speaking to reporters following the launch, the Mayor stated that the AMA was aligning itself with this vision by offering targeted assistance to their children, and that the initiative complemented the wider support farmers were receiving from the government under President John Dramani Mahama’s leadership.
The Mayor connected the new fund to his broader youth program, which emphasizes job creation and entrepreneurship.
He gave the example of a young guy who just asked him for GHS 6,000 to launch a liquid soap company. After the firm was successfully produced, sold, and profitable, the young man repaid the money.
Such experiences, he claimed, had persuaded him that many more young people might launch their own companies, provide employment, and boost the local economy with modest but focused assistance.
Assuring the young people that the AMA was prepared to assist projects that would benefit the city and its citizens, Mayor Allotey encouraged them to come up with workable business ideas.
The Mayor emphasized that the youth empowerment campaign and the new education assistance fund were components of a larger plan to ensure that no child was left behind because their parents were farmers or fisherman, promote dignity in the workplace, and increase opportunities.
Source: newsthemegh.com