“A couple of months ago,” recalls Stephen Kwame Coffie, a 24-year old electrician based in Kumasi, “I saw it on TV that a building had collapsed on school children at Jamara and the Multimedia group was undertaking a campaign to mobilize resources to build a new school block for the community.”
When Stephen heard that the Multimedia was soliciting for support to build a classroom block for the children of Jamara, he felt inspired to make a contribution.
“I decided that since I am a certified electrician, I will support the initiative with my skills. So I called the designated number and pledged to do the electrical installation of the classroom block, free of charge, provided they supply the necessary materials I need,” he says.
“I decided that since I am a certified electrician, I will support the initiative with my skills.”
For Stephen, the fact that children-the future leaders of the country- have to be deprived of the opportunity of having descent classrooms to learn is disheartening. He believes that Multimedia Group’s Classroom project at Jamara is essential, not only for the people of Jamara, but for the entire nation since a good educational foundation for children could prevent deviant behaviours which are inimical to the wellbeing of society.
“Today, we hear of rampant criminal activities like armed robbery; I believe it’s because such people did not get good foundations when they were children. There are many of them who would not have ended up as criminals if we, as a nation had given them good foundations in education,” he states, “And an armed robber from one community is a threat to all of us, he is not going to rob only the people of his community, if ever. I believe that my modest contribution to the Multimedia Classroom project at Jamara, will help build a peaceful society.”
The Classroom Project at Jamara is one of the piloted interventions under the Giving for Change (GfC) local philanthropy initiative being undertaken by STAR-Ghana Foundation and partners, including the Multimedia Group. The Jamara project is about 50 percent complete, having delayed due to certain challenges, notably a fatigue for giving on the part of audiences to the campaign. As a result, the Multimedia group is building on the resources-including Stephen’s offer- to complete the classroom project as a corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Since Stephen learnt of the project about 10 months ago, he has sustained his interest and he is constantly in touch with the project manager as he awaits to fulfill his promise. Whenever he gets the green light, he anticipates to travel to Jamara and spend about three days with an apprentice, to do the electrical installations.
A graduate of Opportunity Industrialization Centre (OIC) in Kumasi, Stephen is one of several examples of young people who volunteered in their communities during the pilot of Giving for Change (GfC). Through his keen interest in the Multimedia Classroom project, Stephen continues to champion giving for community development.
“It is my hope that those of us who have the resources, be it money or skills, would be intentional about giving to support community projects. Even if it’s 1 Cedi you have it makes a difference. Nothing is too small,” he says.