Eric Addae Boateng handing over cash and items to Faustilove Appiah Kannin
Bawa-Rock Limited, a gold trading company, has donated relief items and cash worth about GH¢1.5 million to victims of the recent fire disaster at the Obuasi Town Hall in the Ashanti Region.
The intervention is expected to help about 300 affected seamstresses, dressmakers, apprentices and shop owners restore their livelihoods after the fire destroyed their businesses.
Under the package, each of the 65 master seamstresses and dressmakers will receive an industrial sewing machine and GH¢5,000 to restart their businesses.
The 110 apprentices affected by the disaster will also receive hand-held sewing machines and GH¢500 each.
In addition, the company will provide GH¢20,000 each to the owners of the 30 shops that were burnt, while the owners of 10 container stores will receive GH¢5,000 each to enable them to resume operations.
Speaking during the presentation, Eric Addae Boateng, Business Development and Sustainable Manager of Bawa-Rock Limited, said the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Rashid Bawa Moro, was deeply concerned when he heard about the disaster and directed that assistance be provided to the victims.
He said the support was intended to help the affected persons recover their livelihoods and become economically productive again.
Mr. Boateng called on other corporate organisations to support the fire victims and other vulnerable people in society, saying such interventions could contribute to poverty reduction.
He explained that Bawa-Rock believed companies operating in host communities had a responsibility to contribute to the wellbeing of residents.
“Residents of host communities ought to benefit from companies operating there and the people should feel the companies are not there to exploit but to benefit them,” he stated.
He said the donation represented the company’s social investment in Obuasi, where it operates as a gold trader, and urged the beneficiaries to use the machines productively and the financial assistance judiciously.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Obuasi, Faustilove Appiah Kannin, expressed gratitude to Bawa-Rock for responding to the Assembly’s appeal for assistance.
She said the fire had had a devastating effect on the dressmakers and seamstresses operating at the Town Hall, and acknowledged that the Municipal Assembly and central government could not meet all the needs of the victims alone.
“I am still appealing to other companies to follow the gesture,” she stressed.
The MCE disclosed that the Assembly was working to secure a temporary location within the market for the affected traders while arrangements were made to reconstruct the fire-damaged facility along Hospital Road.
Leader of the victims, Helena Mensah, expressed appreciation to Bawa-Rock for the assistance.
She said the support would help the victims in their efforts to recover their livelihoods and rebuild their businesses.
A Daily Guide Report