The Asunafo North Municipal Co-operative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union (CFU) have donated 70,000 exercise books to the Asunafo North Municipal Directorate of Ghana Education Service (GES), here at Goaso in the Ahafo Region.
The donation was made as part of the union’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) to improve teaching and learning and to eliminate child labour in more than 60 basic schools in cocoa growing communities.
The President of CFU, Mr Daniel Amponsah, said the union had distributed 150,000 books and other educational materials at the cost of USD 119,000 since its establishment in 2008.
He disclosed that the union which was formed with assistance from the Department of Cooperatives of COCOBOD had about 1,500 members in 67 communities.
Mr Amponsah noted that CFU had transformed the lives of its members and their cocoa farms, planted trees along river bodies and empowered the youth to venture into farming, among other benefits.
“We have constructed bore holes, classroom blocks and teachers bungalows, co-operative house which currently housed the Ahafo Regional Co-ordinatingCouncil(RCC), and registered 1,500 farmers with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) among other support services.”
He said the union in collaboration with its partners had also provided skills and vocation training to farmers in soap and detergent, sandals, beads,bread and livestock production to provide livelihood to members during the cocoa out-seasons.
Mr Amponsah added that CFU had been organising free health screening for members, provided GH¢400 stipend each to wards of farmers in the tertiary institutions and supported Goaso Nursing and Midwifery Training School with potable water.
“We have also protected farms from bush fires with the support from the Ahafo Regional office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS),” he added.
The Asunafo North Municipal Director of Ghana Education Service (GES), Ms Margaret Buobu, who received the books commended the efforts of CFU to improve education in the municipality and promised to distribute the books to the beneficiaries.
Mr Patrick Owusu, the General Manager of CFU, thanked Mondelez Cocoa Life International, Tony’s choco lonely International and Fair Trade International for funding the union adding “we are grateful to the Asunafo Mutual Support Scheme, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) among other partners.”
He said the union was happy to receive 2020/2021 Global best Producer Organisation and 2020 National Best Formalised Co-operative awards by Fair Trade International and COCOBOD respectively.
Caption: Mr Ebenezer Amoah, the Chief Director of Ahafo RCC (left) presents the books to Ms Margaret Buobu
FROM EMMANUEL ADU GYAMFI, GOASO
