Koko Plus Foundation donates to Ashan Children’s Home

Koko Plus Foundation, producers of Koko Plus, a food supplement to improve nutrition among children, has donated 2,000 pieces of the food supplement to the Ashan Children’s Home at Denase in the Afigya Kwabre District in the Ashanti Region.

The items were to help the home meet the nutritional needs of the inmates, particularly children under the age of five to prevent stunted growth.

Koko Plus is a traditional complimentary food in Ghana (porridge made from fermented corn dough) with added food supplement rich in amino acids, calcium, zinc, vitamins A, B1, B2 and B6 among others, to provide nutrients for children.

The foundation has since 2018 been collaborating with the Ghana Health Service to fight stunting among children in the country.

So far, 46 districts have benefited from the programme in the country and it is expected to expand to reach 106 districts this year.

Known as the Stunting Prevention Programme, it is a collaboration between the foundation and the United Nations World Food Programme to help mothers weaning their children with food supplements to help them grow.

Under the project, the staff of the GHS provide nutritional education to the mothers and introduce the products to them.

Presentation

Presenting the items to the director of the home, the Country Manager of the foundation, Mr Yusuke Takahashie, said children needed the nutritional boost to help them grow healthier and stronger, particularly those aged six months to two years.

He said the product was full of supplements that would help the children to grow well.

“From six months to two years old, they need nutrition, it is very important for the brain and body,” he said.

Appreciation

The Founder of the home, Nana Konadu, was grateful to the foundation for the donation which he said would greatly help the home to meet the nutritional needs of the inmates and help them to grow and boost their immune system.

He said the home never expected such donation and as such was full of praise for the foundation for coming to assist them.

Nana Konadu said even though some organisations had been coming to the aid of the home, the main challenge facing it was financial.

According to him, as a private institution that did not receive support from the government, “I have been running the place from my own pocket.

“We need adequate funds to help with their upkeep. People should not only donate food items because we need more to run the place,” he appealed.

The home, which was established some 20 years ago, currently has 50 children.