Paddies donate educational materials to St. Nicholas Charity Foundation

A group of friends from diverse professional backgrounds with like minds to voluntarily offer support to individuals known as Paddies have donated educational materials to St. Nicholas Charity Foundation at Tema Manhean in the Greater Accra Region.

The donation, which is meant for the school run by the charity, included exercise books, notebooks, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, mathematical sets, bags of rice, cartons of tin fish, detergents, beverages and packs of toilet rolls worth more than GH¢22,000, intended to provide essential resources for the children’s educational growth.

In addition, the group presented GH¢2,000 to support the running of the school and also held a career guidance programme for the pupils.

The initiative aligns with Paddies’ vision of friendship, growth and community service. It also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the group.

Speaking at the ceremony in Tema last Saturday, the President of Paddies, Samira Mohammed, said as part of the 10th anniversary, the group resolved to give back to society in a meaningful way and thus selected the St. Nicholas Charity Foundation located in the densely populated fishing community in Tema Manhean.

“Your mission of transforming the lives of children from a densely populated and a fishing community like Tema New Town, who might otherwise never have had the chance to step into a classroom, is truly admirable and commendable,” she said.

She commended the management of the foundation for instilling hope, confidence and a brighter future in the young ones, adding that their commitment to nurturing great potential in the face of adversity resonated deeply with the values of Paddies.

One of the Trustees of the St. Nicholas Charity Foundation, Deborah Josephine Eleazor, said she and her employer, Tsakos Group, a shipping company transporting crude oil to Ghana, started the school 14 years ago because part of the ethos of Tsakos Shipping is to give back to the community where they operate.

Mrs Eleazor said after the Greek economic crisis, they decided to form a charitable institution in the UK, Greece and the USA to support the charity, adding that so far, the school had 250 children between the ages of three and 16 years.

She said apart from kindergarten and primary education, the school also had a junior high school.

Mrs Eleazor said they were faced with many challenges, mainly the running cost of the school and appealed to individuals and corporate Ghana to support the school with essential resources.

Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh