MTN Ghana Foundation has held a ceremony to recognise the top 10 nominees for the MTN Heroes of Change awards. These were the nominees who were deemed to have executed the most impactful initiatives which contributed immensely to the management of COVID-19.
This season’s edition was specially dedicated to recognise, encourage and support people who made significant contributions to Ghana’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The winners were selected based on their unique projects, which fell under the foundation’s three focus areas: health, education and economic empowerment. The winners each received a certificate, a citation, a gift hamper, and a cash amount of GH¢20,000 to enable them undertake more projects and reach more people.
MTN Heroes of Change was launched in July 2013, with the aim of identifying and recognising selfless people who sacrifice their time and resources to improve their communities and to brighten lives. The previous editions focused generally on initiatives geared toward the focus areas of the MTN Ghana Foundation, which are education, health, and economic empowerment.
The event, which was well-patronised and pitched as a unique COVID-19 relief improvement project, saw many emotional responses from the awardees, many of whom have been struggling to finance their projects using their own resources and contributions from other donors.
Under the education category, the recipient of this year’s Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) Journalist of the Year award – Portia Gabor of TV3 was recognised, along with Isaac Ofori of the Ebeyeyie Foundation.
In the health category, Professor Bobi Barimah, former Director at Centre for Plant Medicine Research; Professor William Ampofo, Coordinator for National COVID-19 Testing Network; Gloria Sarkodie Addo, a Psychiatric Nurse; and David Hagan of Galaxy Foundation Ghana were honoured for their contribution in the health sector.
Cecilia Gifty Fiaka of Nneka Foundation, Henry Assumeng Ankah of HEAN Foundation, Rhoda Kadoa Wedam of Son-Ba Empowerment Centre, and Patience Munayatu Agana were awarded for their work under the economic empowerment category.
Both the Board Chairman of the MTN Ghana Foundation and the CEO of MTN Ghana paid glowing tributes to the heroes for their sacrifices.
The CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, said: “Even though the COVID-19 pandemic was not a pleasant experience, it provided an opportunity to see the compassion, generosity, and selflessness of humans. I hope and believe that the work of our COVID-19 heroes will encourage other Ghanaians to emulate their laudable examples”.
Board Chairman for the MTN Ghana Foundation, Professor Franklyn Manu, said: “We launched the MTN Heroes of Change to recognise the work of Ghanaians who had dedicated their time and resources to improve their communities and brighten the lives of other people within their communities. The far-reaching impact of the initiative we launched nine years ago is what we see today. Today’s heroes are special because of the unique circumstances under which these winners operated. You all deserve a round of applause,” Professor Manu added.
Guests at the awards event were entertained by Kwan Pa Band, El Dunamis choir, and Kurl Songx.
In attendance were various dignitaries, including Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, Deputy Minister of Health; CEO of the Telecoms Chamber, Ken Ashigbey; Prof. Franklyn Manu, MTN Ghana Foundation Board Chairman; Dr. Gloria Asare, MTN Ghana Foundation Board Member; MTN Executives, Heroes of Change Jury – Rev. Albert Ocran; Oheneyere Gifty Anti; among others.
MTN Heroes of Change Season 6 (COVID Edition) was launched on 23rd of February, 2022 to recognise individuals and institutions who had made significant impact in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Over 500 entries were received, screened and shortlisted to an initial 100, and then 30. A team visited each of the project sites to verify the submissions. The panel of three judges selected the top-10 projects which were televised in a 13-week series.
As a result of its impact, MTN Heroes of Change has won several awards, which include 2016 IPR Best Community Relations Programme of the Year and CSR Programme of the Year 2015 by the Head of State Awards (HoSA) Scheme.
MTN Ghana Foundation
The MTN Ghana Foundation was established in November 2007 as the vehicle to select and implement MTN’s Corporate Social Investments. MTN Ghana Foundation has three areas of focus – Health, Education and Economic Empowerment. From its inception to date, the foundation has undertaken 158 major projects across the country. These include 87 Education Projects, 53 Healthcare Projects, 13 Economic Empowerment Projects, and 4 Community Support Initiatives.
