Over five hundred persons including Persons with Disabilities, street children, and hawkers had a refreshing taste of Christmas when the Influential Woman Foundation, a non-governmental organization embarked on an exercise to feed the destitute on the streets.
To ensure that street children, PWDs, and hawkers share in the festive season, the Foundation treated the children and hawkers to good hot meal drinks, water, and ice cream as dessert, as part of its objectives to support the less privileged.
The team of about 20 young women led by Extra Lamptey Baah Leader visited a bus stop at 37 military hospitals, Ridge hospital intersection near WAEC, and the Arts Centre area where they shared assorted packaged food and other items for the homeless.
It was a moment of joy and merrymaking for the beneficiaries, many of whom had spent their entire lives on the streets.
At Ridge hospital area members interacted with the victims and shared a message of encouragement, and hope to them particularly the children.
The Public Relations Officer of the Influential Woman Foundation – Hannah Mahmoud in an interview said the foundation, formed a year ago by women belonging to various professional groups aims to help women and children who find themselves in hard situations.
She said the foundation started its charity work by distributing free sanitary pads and toilet rolls to women and teenagers in some selected rural communities.
“So far, we have been able to donate over 2000 pads at Nyanfekon, Central Region, and at Kuntenase, Pease in the Ashanti Region, where three schools were selected and given sanitary pads, learning materials, nose masks, hand sanitizers, and soaps.
“We have also been in the Eastern Region, to Larteh Akuapem during their festive occasion, where we administered education on breast cancer, then to Asamankese, where we spent time with some widows.
We are also looking at empowering the girl-child through workshops, especially for those that we are unable to continue their education, to train them on some handcrafts, to help them to become independent, knowing that that particular group is vulnerable, to help stop them from being exposed.
We are also looking at the area of supplying learning materials to rural communities, where we have already given out over 1000 exercise books.”
Adding she said, “Christmas is all about eating, drinking and sharing, after receiving massive support from our donors we are on the streets of Accra, distributing food, drinks to the poor since we cannot celebrate Christmas without them.
Also present were Mrs. Sarah Ninson Misiorh, Asantewaa Asiamah, and others.