The Board of Directors of the SOS Children's Village Association of Ghana has appointed Mr. Kojo Mattah as the new National Director of the organization with effect from March 1, 2004

Mr. Kojo Mattah, 42, holds a Masters in Business Administration with Distinction from Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom. He is a Chartered Accountant and is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing both in the UK and Ghana.

Before taking this appointment, he was a Senior Manager in charge of Strategy and Finance at Metropolitan and Allied Bank. He had been Deputy Chief Accountant and later Finance Manager in Barclays Bank of Ghana where he worked for over seven years. Before joining Barclays he was Audit Manager at Benning Anang and Partners, a firm of Chartered Accountants and Consultants.

His wealth of experience spans over financial management, project and operations management, internal control and systems design.

By this appointment Mr. Kojo Mattah has overall oversight responsibilities for all the SOS projects in Ghana. The SOS Children's Village Association of Ghana is part of the worldwide private welfare organization, SOS Kinderdorf International, whose headquarters is in Innsbruck, Austria.

The sole aim of SOS is to provide a home and education for destitute children in an environment similar to a real family. The goal of the SOS Children's Villages is to offer these children - regardless of race, nationality, creed or religion, a stable home and to prepare them for independent life.

In Ghana the SOS Children's Villages are located in Tema in Greater Accra and Asiakwa in the Eastern region. The construction of a third village is expected to begin in Tamale in 2005.

Other SOS facilities in Ghana include Kindergartens, Primary and Junior Secondary Schools, clinics and a Vocational Training Centre where young people are given an opportunity to study catering, secretarial skills and dressmaking.

Mr. Kojo Mattah, is married with four children. In a related development, Mr. Bruno Kokou Fugah who until February 2004 was the Acting National Director takes up a similar appointment as National Director of SOS Benin.