From left: Nii Adjetey, Adjei Kodzo Mantse; Mad Frema Osei-Opare, Aedo van der Weij, MD Cargill Ghana; Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah, H. E. Stephanie S. Sullivan, H. E. Ron Strikker and Nii Dzorwulu Commey I, Sraha East Mantse
CARGILL RECENTLY held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Cargill Schools Project at Adjei Kojo in the Tema West Constituency.
The event was graced by Madam Frema Akosua Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff; Hon. John. Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister of Education; Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry; the US and Dutch Ambassadors to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan and Ron Strikker; Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, MP for Tema West, as well as dignitaries from some five Cargill project communities selected across the country.
In 2019, Cargill Inc. outlined a plan to build six schools in Ghana – five in cocoa producing districts and one in Tema.
This corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative aligns with the Cargill Cocoa Promise, the company’s strategic plan to improve incomes and living standards of farmers and their communities while growing cocoa sustainably.
The project is executed in partnership with CARE International, comprising of three primary schools, two kindergarten blocks, and one junior high school block respectively in Fahiakobo, Lineso, Fojuorkrom, Juabo, Afofiekrom in the Western North Region and Adjei Kojo in the Tema West constituency, close to Cargill’s processing facility.
The aforementioned communities are among those with the most pressing educational infrastructural needs as identified through ‘PROSPER’ – Cargill’s needs assessment project with CARE International.
The project is one aspect of the overall CSR approach which mainly focuses on access to education, health, nutrition and economic empowerment.
As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen cocoa-growing communities, prevent child labour and invest in education, the Cargill Schools Project’s new facilities will provide an estimated 700 children with access to education.
In a speech, Hon. Ntim Fordjour reiterated his outfit’s commitment to supporting the Cargill Schools building project and highlighted its readiness to deploy qualified teachers to the schools once the projects were complete.
“In this year’s budget, the government has further committed substantial investment into infrastructure expansion but the duty of serving humanity is when all come together particularly, the private sector, to augment the efforts of the government. And that is why I am particularly excited about Cargill’s initiative of investing into education.
“The best way to deploy CSR is to target education because that is where you are assured of yielding dividends which will come back to you. I salute the leadership of Cargill and challenge all others in the private sector to do the same and to up the scale.
“In alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal 7, the opportunity for access to quality education for all has been created through this Cargill project and no one will be left behind,” he emphasised.
A business desk report