The Lebanese community in Ghana has donated a cheque for GH¢5000 to support the free distribution of the Junior Graphic newspaper to elected deprived schools throughout the country over a one-year period.
Making the donation to the management of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), the Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Ali Halabi, said the donation was in response to a request made by the Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, last year to assist the company to reach out to children in deprived communities in the country.
Lebanese support
According to Mr Halabi, the Lebanese community in Ghana is inspired by the objective of the Junior Graphic to educate school children, and thus, decided to contribute towards the distribution of free copies of the paper to deprived schools in the country.
He stated that the Lebanese community in Ghana was committed to assisting the education of children and young people, adding that last year, 22 students drawn from some tertiary institutions benefited from a scholarship scheme.
Additionally, 13 children of soldiers from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) who died during peacekeeping duties abroad also benefited from a similar scholarship scheme from the Lebanese community.
Mr Halabi expressed the hope that the support from the community would improve education in deprived communities.
Subsidised cost of paper
Receiving the cheque, the Editor of the Junior Graphic, Mrs Mavis Kitcher, said the donation would greatly support the effort of GCGL at distributing free copies of the Junior Graphic to deprived schools in Ghana.
As part of its social responsibility programme, Mrs Kitcher said, the GCGL had subsidised the price of the paper to make it affordable for children.
She said although the paper was sold across the country at a subsidised price, many students could still not afford to purchase a copy, and added that the company was committed to distributing the paper to as many children and students as possible.
She commended the Lebanese community for the donation and expressed the confidence that the donation would help increase literacy in poor communities.
For her part, the Director of Marketing at the GCGL, Ms Shirley Acquah-Harrison, acknowledged the need to invest in the education of children, and called on other organisations to support the project.
