CEANA supports education in Ewe land

The Council of Ewe Associations in North America (CEANA) has for the past 10 years, given a total of 7,900 dollars to support the education of 79 students in second cycle institutions in the Volta Region. The education support grant is under a scheme devised at the 2000 CEANA Congress in Los Angeles California, to link up Ewes in the Diaspora to assist in the development of education in Ewe Lands in Africa. Professor Divine Amenumey, Coordinator of the CEANA Education Grant Scheme, said this as a ceremony in Ho on Saturday during which 10 more students received grants. He said beneficiaries must have attended a public Junior High School (JHS) and had passed with aggregates six to eight at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE). The 2010 beneficiaries are Obed Zar, Prince Atsu, Weinceslav Atieku, Morkpokor Tornku, Emmanuel Mensah, Jerry-John Ofori, Prince Ofori-Atta and Gideon Drafor, students of Bishop Herman Senior High School (SHS) and Gabriel Novieto and Sydney Senanu Jones-Kuwornu of Keta Senior High School. Professor Amenumey said beneficiaries could be given the 100 dollar yearly grant every year throughout SHS, based on good performance. He said it appeared many students, parents and school heads did not know about the existence of the CEANA Education Grant and that the application forms were with all headmasters in public senior high schools in the region. Professor Amenumey said cash for the awards were sought at the yearly congresses of CEANA and that some individuals also sponsored awards under CEANA’s umbrella. He said four out of the 10 grants for 2010 were sponsored by Dr Bernard Glover, Businessman and Member of Council of State, Colonel Cyril Necku (rtd), Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Togbe Kwaku Yador, a Past-President of CEANA and his younger brother, Sammy Yador. He explained that the occurrence of awardees coming from the same school over the years was because of the trend in Ghana where best performing students clamoured for the elite schools. Togbe Yador said moves were being made to increase the grant and the number of recipients. He said CEANA had over the past 10 years presented medical equipment to the Cardio-Thoracic Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and funded the building of some school structures in Ghana and Togo.