Abesim (B/A), Sept. 22, GNA - As part of activities to mark the centenary celebration of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President, a Sunyani-based private radio station, Ark FM, has instituted an educational endowment fund to support brilliant but needy school children in deprived communities of the municipality. The radio station will organise regular fund raising activities to mobilize resources to ensure the sustainability of the "Nkrumah Scholarship Fund".

Mr. Joseph Kesse, Managing Director, disclosed this at the official launch of the fund at Abesim on Monday.

He said the station had provided a seed amount of GHC 10,000 for the fund, and appealed to philanthropists, public-spirited organisations, and well-to-do individuals to support the fund. Mr. Kesse said a seven-member board of trustees including a management member of the FM station would manage the fund. He stated that the station would organise regular fund raising rallies, to mobilize adequate resources to ensure that majority of school children would benefit.

The managing director expressed concern about how poverty had forced a number of children to drop out of school, notably in deprived communities.

"The youth who are the potential future leaders of every nation need all the knowledge and skills vital to enable them to function well in society and contribute meaningfully to local and national progress," Mr. Kesse said. Mr. Kesse explained that beneficiaries would not only enjoy monetary support, but their academic progress would be monitored. Mr. Kwasi Oppong Ababio, Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, commended management of the radio station for instituting the programme and implored other FM radio stations to emulate it. He expressed concern about the abysmal academic performance of students in the municipality and advised beneficiaries of the fund to study hard to ensure its sustainability. Mr. Ababio noted with regret the "alarming" rate of teenage pregnancy among basic students, and advised school children to concentrate on their books, particularly during their leisure time and avoid bad friends.