MTN Ghana Foundation rewards COVID-19 heroes

MTN Ghana Foundation has held a ceremony to recognize the top 10 nominees for the MTN Heroes of Change awards. These were the nominees who were deemed to have executed the most impactful initiatives that contributed immensely to the management of COVID-19.

This season’s edition was specially dedicated to recognizing, encourage and supporting people who made significant contributions to Ghana’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The winners were selected based on their unique projects, which fell under the Foundation’s three focus areas: Health, Education, and Economic Empowerment. The winners each received a certificate, a citation, a gift hamper, and a cash amount of GHS 20,000 to enable them to undertake more projects and reach more people.

MTN Heroes of Change was launched in July 2013 with the aim of identifying and recognizing selfless people who sacrifice their time and resources to improve their communities and to brighten their lives. The previous editions focused generally on initiatives geared towards the focus areas of the MTN Ghana Foundation which are Education, Health, and Economic Empowerment.

The event which was well patronized and pitched as a unique Covid relief improvement project saw many emotional responses from the awardees, many of whom have been struggling to finance the projects using their own resources and contributions from other donors.

Under the Education category, the recipient of this year’s Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) Journalist of the year award, Portia Gabor of TV3 was recognized along with Isaac Ofori of the Ebeyeyie Foundation.

In the Health category, Professor Bobi Barimah, former Director at the Center for Plant Medicine Research, Professor William Ampofo, Coordinator for National COVID-19 Testing Network, Gloria Sarkodie Addo, a Psychiatric Nurse

and David Hagan of Galaxy Foundation Ghana was honoured for their contribution to the health sector.

Madam Cecilia Gifty Fiaka of Nneka Foundation, Henry Assumeng Ankah of HEAN Foundation, Rhoda Kadoa Wedam of Son-Ba Empowerment Center, and PatienceMunayatu Agana were awarded for their work under the Economic Empowerment category.

Both the Board Chairman of the MTN Ghana Foundation and the CEO of MTN Ghana paid glowing tributes to the heroes for their sacrifices.

The CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, said “Even though the COVID-19 pandemic was not a pleasant experience, it provided an opportunity to see the compassion, generosity, and selflessness of humans. I hope and believe that the work of our Covid Heroes will encourage other Ghanaians to emulate their laudable examples.”

Board Chairman for the MTN Ghana Foundation, Professor Franklyn Manu, said, “We launched the MTN Heroes of Change to recognize the work of Ghanaians who had dedicated their time and resources to improve their communities and brighten the lives of other people within their communities”.

“The far-reaching impact of the initiative we launched nine years ago is what we see today. Today’s heroes are special because of the unique circumstances under which these winners operated. You all deserve a round of applause”, Professor Manu added.

Guests at the awards event were entertained by Kwan Pa Band, El Dunamis choir, and Kurl Songx.

In attendance were various dignitaries including Hon. Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, Deputy Minister of Health, CEO of the Telecoms Chamber, Mr. Ken Ashigbey, Prof Franklyn Manu, MTN Ghana Foundation Board Chairman, Dr. Gloria Asare, MTN Ghana Foundation Board Member, MTN Executives, Heroes of Change Jury-Rev. Albert Ocran, Oheneyere Gifty Anti, amongst others.

MTN Heroes of Change Season 6 (COVID Edition) was launched on the 23rd of February 2022 to recognize individuals and institutions who have made a significant impact in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Over 500 entries were received, screened and shortlisted to an initial 100, and then 30. A team visited each of the project sites to verify the submissions. The panel of three judges selected the top 10 projects which were televised in a 13-week series.

As a result of its impact, MTN Heroes of Change has won several awards which include the 2016 IPR Best Community Relations Programme of the Year and the CSR Program of the Year 2015 by the Head of State Awards (HoSA) Scheme.