Fundraising to support orphans

Accra, Aug.23, GNA - A Fundraising event dubbed, "Ghana Homecoming Queen" to raise funds to support orphans and vulnerable children is scheduled to take place in Accra on September 1 2008. "The pageant aims at informing Ghanaians living all over the world on the plight of orphans and also educate and provide them especially the youth who have never visited Ghana, an opportunity to learn about their home country. "We are involving Ghanaians all over the world to lend a helping hand to support this cause. We believe using a beauty pageant that involves Ghanaian young women who live overseas will be an effective and informative tool", Winifred Mensah, Contestant Manager said at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday.

The event, being organised by Basket and Beyond and supported by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the Ministries of Chieftaincy and Culture and Tourism and Diaspora Relations is part of the Ghana @50 celebration and expected to be an annual affair. "The platform would be used to expose Ghanaian designers who have not been privileged to showcase their talent as well as Kente weavers taken into consideration, the anniversary celebration which is attracting lot of the people from the Diaspora." " Homecoming Queen is an opportunity to remind Ghanaians both home and abroad of the rich culture heritage of the country," Ms Mensah said.

She said 16 contestants had been selected from the Americas, United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa and Canada to compete for the crown. Each contestant would be assigned an orphan child who would mentor them for their two weeks stay in the country prior to the event, she said, and added that all contestants would return to their home countries and have a year to raise funds for orphanages their mentor lived in. She said though the orphanages came up with proposals of what they needed, an assessment of the various homes had been made and their greatest needs would be met. 23 Aug. 07