Asogli to raise money for endowment fund

Ho, Sept 25, GNA - A special appeal for donations into the Asogli State Education Fund would be launched at this year's Yam Festival grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the area in Ho on Saturday October 1. The fund seeks to increase access to education in the area and support Asogli and students from other parts of the Volta Region "at all levels, from elementary school through the first degree programmes" This was contained in a statement issued by John Kukah, Secretary to the Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli.

Statistics from the Ho Municipal Education Directorate indicate that some 18 per cent of children of school-going age in the area do not enter primary school and much less complete due to parents' inability to afford the cost.

Only 59 per cent of those who sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the area in 2003 qualified for admission into Senior Secondary Schools.

The statement said the ultimate objective of the fund is to enhance the opportunity available to all beneficiaries.

Seed capital, according to the statement, will come from 10 per cent of total landholdings of all land owning clans and families, converted into cash, 2 millions cedis each from all prominent citizens home and abroad and other cash donations from individuals, companies, philanthropic organizations and friends of Asogli. The statement said apart from donations, the growth of the fund might result from interest income, dividends, rents, profits and capital appreciation.

Street carnivals marked the symbolic official lifting of the ban on the entry of the new yam into towns in the Asogli state last Friday as part of the festival.

Other activities planned to mark the two-week event include a trade fair to showcase artefacts produced in the Volta Region and a cultural dance night.