UHAS students emerge winners of 2016 Community Service Award
A team of students of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) which emerged winner of the 2016 Community Service Award scheme has been presented with GH¢10,000 to finance the construction of a mechanised borehole for residents of Dota in the Volta Region.
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The winning team, made up of five students, beat their challengers from the University of Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC) .
Each university presented a team made up of three to five students, which also presented a problem in a particular community, and had to convince the panel of judges to be given the grant to implement its project.
Ultimately, the UHAS team, “Embark”, emerged winner of the award to implement its project at Dota, a farming community in the Volta Region.
The University of Ghana and the KNUST teams were the first and second runners-up respectively.
Initiated by the Osei-Kusi Foundation (OKF) and Selfless 4Africa Inc., both non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in 2014, the award scheme is aimed at exposing tertiary students and young people to community service and volunteerism.
The scheme also seeks to encourage the youth to be selfless, innovative and commit themselves to supporting people living in deprived communities.
Youth at advantage
In an address, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, admonished the youth to make the best use of their potentials.
A section of the participants at the Community Service Award 2016.
He said the youth of today had many advantages, including being exposed to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and being motivated and encouraged by leaders in society.
These, Nii Lante said, should inspire the youth to think ahead and never give up.
He expressed disappointment that some youth had not imbibed selflessness but added that it was still not late. “You can decide to be different among your peers,” he said.
He donated GH¢2,000 to the team from the Regional Maritime University in support of the construction of a toilet facility for the residents of Fante-Akura in the Volta Region.
Innovation and creativity
The Board Chairman of OKF, Mr Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, said the world was looking for creative individuals who would be original in solving problems, and that the youth were in the best position to do so.
“As youth, you need to demonstrate originality and the creativity of ideas to the rest of the world,” he stressed.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the programme, the leader of the UHAS team, Mr Divine Kporha, expressed appreciation to the organisers and pledged that the team would implement the project to the satisfaction of all.