Accra, October 30, 2017//-MTN Ghana Foundation on Monday launched its 10th anniversary celebrations with a promise to deepen its social investments in the communities in which the MTN network operates.
In the space of 10 years, the MTN Ghana Foundation which is the corporate social responsibility arm of MTN Ghana, has invested over USD 13 million in building school blocks, libraries and ICT centers, enhancing teaching capabilities, constructing and equipping hospital wards, paying tuition and supporting entrepreneurship.
These achievements are outstanding and in recognition of this, the MTN Ghana Foundation has been rewarded by several institutions.
Speaking at the media launch of the 10th anniversary, the Board Chairman of the MTN Ghana Foundation, Prof Franklin Manu said: “As MTN leads in the transformation of Ghana’s telecommunications sector, we also expect the MTN Foundation to continue to provide leadership in our communities and to ensure that our impact is felt in all spheres of life”.
He added that the foundation would continue to search, innovate and implement strategies and projects that would brighten lives “everywhere we go” that is the tagline of MTN.
Prof Manu said: “Today, we celebrate 10 good years of remarkable Corporate Social Responsibility investments. Indeed it has a been a decade of great transformations and improved wellbeing for the communities we have touched spanning the North, South, East and West of Ghana”.
We are proud of our achievements and what we have accomplished through this period: keeping people educated with the schools we have put up, improving digital prospects by providing ICT centers and making business expansion possible with our economic empowerment initiatives, he told journalists at the launch.
Healthcare
Through the interventions of the MTN Ghana Foundation, more people in rural Ghana as well as urban communities now have access to improved healthcare.
In the same vein, thousands of expectant mothers now deliver in comfortable hospitals that the foundation has refurbished or constructed.
Prof Manu was quick to add: “The newly constructed maternity unit of the Tema General hospital which we will be opening soon is a classic example. These interventions have saved many lives in remote and urban communities in Ghana – all of this made possible from funds generated from a network we consistently strive to enhance and expand”.
We have not just invested financial resources, we have also invested quality time and made a lot of sacrifices to make lives better. Our “Save a life campaign” which organizes the annual blood donation exercise was introduced to help address the perennial blood shortage at the National Blood Bank and other regional hospitals. The campaign has since then, collected over 6,000 pints of blood, Prof Manu emphasised.
Scholarships
He noted that; ” nothing is more rewarding than seeing how our investments are transforming the lives of people, through our support in health care and education. We are also proud of the 100 people who have benefitted from our scholarship scheme.
Through that scheme we have contributed to the human capital development in this country. I am pleased to be associated with an organization that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of our communities”.
Heroes of Change
“Through the work of the foundation we have also given a Voice to the Voiceless. The Foundation’s flagship project, MTN Heroes of Change, which was launched in 2013 encourages altruism in our communities.
As a result of this initiative, some wonderful people have been recognized including a Medical Doctor, a nurse, a teacher with hearing and speech impairment and several other people”.
As most of you are aware by now, the MTN brand is not only about our expertise in delivering a connected society, it is also about good corporate citizenship, according to him.
The MTN Group mandated the contribution of 1% of its profits after tax to social responsibility initiatives, and in Ghana, these funds are managed by the MTN Foundation which has its own independent Board of Directors and a Secretariat.
” Much of the Foundation’s success is largely attributable to the efforts and expert guidance of my fellow board members and as Board Chair I appreciate their contributions. I applaud them for 10 years of dedicated service to our communities. I also applaud the MTN Ghana Foundation team and our staff volunteers”, Prof Manu noted.
Activities
Announcing the activities of the five-month long celebrations of the anniversary, the Executive Sectary of the MTN Ghana Foundation, Mrs Georgina Asare Fiagbenu said the celebrations began two weeks ago “when we did the staff launch on the 16th of October 2017”.
The anniversary which is on the theme-‘ Celebrating Ten years of Brightening lives, inspiring a brighter future,’ started on the 16th October 2017 and will end on March 2018.
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