Mastercard beneficiaries provide Kotei-Deduako community with amenities
Beneficiaries of the Mastercard Foundation scholarship programme of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have installed a cornmill for one of the communities close to the university.
The students, who said the mill was intended to improve the livelihood of the community members while transforming the world around the students, also constructed pavements, a sign post and painted the buildings of the Kotei-Deduako Community Special School, near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
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The cost of the project was US$ 30,000.
The exercise was carried out by the KNUST students to mark the International Day of Service, a day where scholars around the globe take time to collectively give back to their immediate communities.
The scholars outreach programmes covered varied areas including education, sanitation, health, information and communication technology, agriculture and community development, among others.
Mastercard
Mastercard Foundation is an independent foundation based in Toronto, Canada. It is one of the largest private foundations in the world.
Through its work with partner organisations, it provides greater access to education, skills training and financial services for people living in poverty, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.
The foundation was established as an independent entity in 2006 by MasterCard Worldwide when it became a public company.
Transformation
The Chairman of the Mastercard programme, KNUST, Prof. William Otoo Ellis, acknowledged the important role played by the scholars in helping to transform their immediate environment and building their academic muscle to become ethical leaders and change-makers in training.
While thanking the scholars, Prof. Ellis, a former Vice-Chancellor of the university, charged them to continue to contribute towards solving societal problems.
He called for a stronger bond between the special school and KNUST to identify their needs and lobby for them to be fixed.
The headteacher of the Kotei-Deduako Community Special School, Joseph Stanley, commended the scholars of Mastercard Foundation, KNUST, for the gesture and also expressed the hope that it would help turn the fortunes of the students around.
He appealed for more facilities to transform the lives of the special students and make them feel loved and cherished.