This year’s World Food Day celebration on Thursday 16th October came with joy and excitement for residents of New Fadama and surrounding communities in Accra, when the Chairman and Founder of the Kevin Okyere Foundation, Mr Kevin Okyere led his team to fete 400 families at a memorable food donation durbar to mark the day.
Two days prior, the Foundation’s Team, together with an events planning agency distributed coupons to households through the Muslim, Christian and traditional leadership within the communities and the Nurudeen Orphanage to make the process easy and avoid chaos.
The package contained quantities of rice, sugar, beans, sardines, salt, tomato paste, gari, bathing and washing soaps, cocoa beverage, powdered milk, vegetable cooking oil, toothpaste and sanitary pads.
Mr Okyere said Fadama held a special place in his heart because he was returning a favour he received when the National Chief Imam, His Eminence, Sheikh Osman Hunu Sharabutu supported him with prayers at a critical period in the past.
‘I later learned that his home feeds hundreds of people every single day, regardless of background or faith. That quiet generosity moved me deeply. So when the time came to begin our Food Donation Programme, there was no better place to start than right here, in his community, as a gesture of gratitude and respect’. He explained.
According to him, the humanitarian act represented a bigger message, that in our shared humanity, we are only as strong as the compassion we show one another.
Turning to the theme for the Day, “Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future.” Mr Okyere called on society to go beyond the celebration and make it a commitment to keep working hand in hand for a better future for all, saying governments alone could not meet every need.
‘As a Foundation, we see every day that many families still struggle with access to education, healthcare, and opportunity. That is why we set for ourselves four key areas of focus — education, healthcare, economic empowerment, and humanitarian relief’.
Through these pillars, He said the Foundation has quietly supported lives across Ghana. In education, it has provided scholarships and materials to allow children to dream again whilst in healthcare it has funded dozens of life-saving surgeries particularly for children born with heart defects whose families could not afford treatment at the National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle-Bu amongst other interventions.
He said the Kevin Okyere Foundation remains committed to working with state institutions, the private sector, and civil society to tackle the roots of poverty and inequality — not just their symptoms. He also hinted at training the youth of the area to acquire employable skills in future to make them more productive in the country and abroad.
The Executive Secretary at the Office of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Osumanu Seidu thanked Mr Okyere and the Foundation for the supporting the people of Fadama and surrounding communities and expressed the hope that there would be opportunities to collaborate in many other areas in the future.
Mr Okyere and his team also paid a courtesy call on the Chief Imam to thank him for his continued acts of kindness to his people and humanity in general.
