- Presents 1,000 school bags to Otumfuo Charity Foundation
The Asante Professionals Club (APC) has presented 1,000 school bags to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in support of the work of the Otumfuo Charity Foundation while readying to roll out an ambitious library project for various districts of the Ashanti Region.
The school bags, which was received by the Executive Director of the Otumfuo Charity Foundation, Dr. Thomas Agyarko-Poku, during the 8th and last ‘Akwasidae’ celebration of the year, 2020, at the Manhyia Palace, is hoped to contribute to enhancing education in the Region.
The National President of APC, Prince Edusei, said the Group recognizes the efforts of the Asantehene to promote education as well as development for Asanteman. It is in view of this that the USA members of APC mobilized to undertake this initiative.
The project funded by APC-USA at a cost of GHS 80,000, is in celebration of the 70th birthday of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
“These bags have been branded with “Otumfuo @70” logo as a demonstration to the world that Otumfuo does not only care about his immediate circles but everybody in Asanteman, irrespective of one’s ethnicity,” Mr. Edusei said.
The USA Branch President, Barbara Acheampong, mentioned that “Asantehene has demonstrated enormous leadership in the development of Asanteman through education and investments into the human capital of our children.
“The backpacks presented today will go a long way to motivate our students in their education journey”
Meanwhile, in addition to this gesture and many others that have been undertaken over the last five years of the Club’s existence, APC is on course to commence a ‘Community Library’ project across the Region.
The APC Community Library project seeks to establish library facilities in deprived communities in Ashanti Region.
According to the National President of APC, “We acknowledge that most communities in Ashanti Region have schools but may not have a library for further studies.”
He said given the importance of reading in the educational development of children, APC has seen the need to provide library project to support the students in reading and research.
The first beneficiary community for the library project is Juansa, in the Asante Akim North Municipality, and “we hope to complete in March 2020.”
The library project will be able to accommodate 50 students at a sitting. It will be stocked with reading materials for basic and junior high school levels with computers and internet facilities to facilitate further research and learning. The project will also employ librarians to manage the facility. It is estimated to benefit over 5,000 students upon completion, in 50 communities.
The Asante Professionals Club is a professional organization of individuals who contribute ideas and resources to the development of Asanteman. Established in 2015, the Club undertakes projects and programmes in line with Otumfuo’s development agenda of Asanteman.
In April 2019, Asantehene launched a $100 million development fund to implement a 10-year Development Plan for Asanteman, an initiative strongly championed by the Asante Professionals Club.
Among the projects, that the APC is hoping to realise through the ‘Development Plan” is the establishment of a state-of-the-art diagnostic hospital in the Region, which will promote medical tourism, for persons who will be coming from outside the country to seek medical care.
APC says it USA branch is already working on a feasibility report to make this realizable, while deliberation with key stakeholders also continues on other aspect of the Asanteman Development Plan.
“In the Development Plan, we see an Asanteman that has a university, dedicated to the training of children to become entrepreneurs among others. To this end, we are thinking of facilitating the establishment of an entrepreneurial and business university. That is in the Plan.”
