Accra, July 30, GNA - Solid Express Ghana Limited (SEGL), an import an= d export company, on Friday donated assorted items worth Ghc12, 500 cedis to the Osu Children's Home in Accra.

The items included a gas cooker, deep freezer, school bags, bags of rice, sugar, soaps, cooking oil fruit drinks and baby diapers. Mrs Frema Ashkar, Media and Relations Manager of SEGL, who spoke on behalf of Mr Youssef Chahine, Director of the Company, said the donation wa= s part of the company's corporate social responsibility to cater for the less-privileged in society. She said the company, which imports foods items, thought it prudent to give some of the products to the Home to lessen the troubles in managing th= e facility. Mrs Ashkar said the gesture would be an annual programme, since the children needed love and care.

She said that the company has promise to sponsor a child from the orphanage to attain education and the beneficiary's general upkeep. Mrs Ashkar appealed to the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare t= o formulate effective child welfare policies and asked the police to enforce laws on children to check child abuses, defilement and child trafficking. She called on parents to seek the welfare and development of their children and advocated punitive measures against parents who would abandon their children to serve as deterrent to others.

Mrs Sharon Abbey, Head of Osu Children's Home, thanked the company f= or the donation and promised that it would be used for it intended purposes. She said the Home has 165 children and casual workers, who manage the facility. Mrs Abbey said the Home was putting up a new nursery block to accommodate the growing number of orphans and appealed to individuals and other corporate bodies to come to the aid of the facility. 30 July 11 Captions

PICTURE: 0047 Shows Mr Youssef Chahine (middle), Director of Solid Express Ghana Limited, presenting the items to Mrs Sharon Abbey, head of Osu Children's Home. Also in the picture is Mrs Frema Ashkar, extreme left, a= nd next is Alexander Botwe.