Orphaned children in the central region of Ghana will be waking up to a day of celebration and the chance to make new friends on 12 February, as several volunteers from Stanbic Ghana donate their time and money to help improve their home.

The boys and girls of Country-Side Orphanage in the Bawjiase District represent one of seven community projects attracting volunteer support and donations from Newmont Ghana Gold, Star Assurance, UT Financial Services, and day spa business Allure Ghana, as part of the United Way Ghana (UWG) Day of Caring 2009 event.

Based on the spirit of love and caring associated with the St. Valentine’s Day tradition, the event aims to focus on some of the difficult conditions communities in Ghana still live under and how the ordinary Ghanaian can help to alleviate their suffering.

The Country-Side Orphanage was started in 1981 by Madam Emma Boafo Yeboah in a rented house where she lived with 12 children. Today, the orphanage serves about 150 children and is in need of urgent renovation.

Volunteers will be painting rooms, repairing windows, and replacing the children’s tattered mosquito nets and sleeping mats. The children are to receive a second water tank to supplement the orphanage’s sporadic access to water at present. And, on the day, both the children and their caregivers are set to enjoy a well balanced cooked meal. Counselling and self esteem development sessions are planned to help meet some of the emotional and developmental needs of the children.

“These children are very little and have no family to take care of them,” says lead project volunteer Jude Laryea. “There is one child of about 18 months who had to have a limb cut off after surgery. The orphanage helps by providing food and medical assistance but there are so many other stories like this one. What we want to do is support these children in any way we can and Day of Caring helps us to achieve this. It’s just too bad that the event is not all year round.”

Janet Butler, President of UWG’s Governing Council, says: “Day of Caring aims to show people that volunteering is not just a bunch of college kids from, say Sweden coming down for a year. Anyone with an hour to spare can participate. Our aim is to help communities take a quantum leap forward to achieve milestones in development that they have not been able to attain on their own.”

UWG is a unique not-for-profit organisation that seeks to create a society where each community is galvanised to identify and respond to the needs of its own. UWG plays a leadership role in bringing together stakeholders (individuals, local businesses, associations, non-governmental organisations, institutions, and government) to address the needs of the vulnerable and the under-privileged. UWG is building local capacity to care for ourselves and for each other.

Why not consider joining the likes of Newmont Ghana Gold, Stanbic Ghana, UT Financial Services, Allure Ghana, Teligent Wireless, Star Assurance, Gokals, and Nestle Ghana in supporting the following projects:

Mother Teresa School for Girls – Senya Beraku, Central Region

Help Age Ghana Day Centre – Osu, Greater Accra

Manya Krobo Queen Mothers’ Association – Krobo Odumase, Eastern Region

Country-Side Orphanage – Bawjiase, Central Region

Madina Social Welfare Training Centre – Madina, Greater Accra

Zongo Education Support Project – Nima, Greater Accra

Akropong School for the Blind – Akropong, Eastern Region

Pick up a paintbrush and let’s work together to put a smile on someone’s face! Call us on 00233 24 481 2141/ 00233 21 782 509, or www.unitedwaygh.org, if you wish to be a part of United Way Ghana Day of Caring 2009 or simply want to donate. ###

CONTACT: Ms. Karen Shormeh Sai Miss. Kirsty Osei-Bempong

Tel: 233 21 775343 233 21 775343

Cell: 233 24 481 2141 233 24 4512674

Email: ks_sai@unitedwaygh.org ko_bempong@unitedwaygh.org