Birthdays are usually characterized by pump and pageantry, with celebrants organising parties for themselves and love ones. Many consider a birthday as a day to treat yourself to good food, drinks and entertainment.
However, on Monday, September 23, 2024, Sharaf Mahama, son of former president John Dramani Mahama, showed that birthdays can be celebrated differently by touching the lives of the needy in society.
Sharaf, who turned 27 on Saturday, September 21, marked the day by donating various items to needy orphans at the Home of Light Islamic School in Wa, the Upper West regional capital. The items donated through the Sharaf Mahama Foundation, a humanitarian organization, included learning materials (notebooks, pens and pencils), cooking ingredients (canned tomato and mackerel), and detergents.
Presenting the items on behalf of Foundation, Mr. Dramani Yunus said the donation was necessitated by Sharaf’s desire to see a society where every child has an opportunity to social services, including basic education.
He underscored Sharaf Mahama’s commitment and dedication to the development of children irrespective of where they hail from or whom their parents are.
Mr. Dramani urged the students to make good use of the books and learn hard, reminding them that they are the leaders of the not-too-distant future. He also expressed gratitude to management of the school for the tremendous efforts the make in providing basic educational needs for the children.
Receiving the donation on behalf of the orphans, Mr. Ruwaifa Abdul Haadi, the Administrator of the school, thanked the Sharaf Foundation for their “thoughtfulness and for choosing to support us”.
He said the support was timely and crucial, noting that the “donation will go a long way in providing the much-needed resources to continue the mission of the school”.
“May Allah reward you abundantly for your kindness” he prayed for Sharaf.
Mr. Ruwaifa assured the delegation that the items will be put to judicious use for the benefit of all the children at the school. He also called on other benevolent people to emulate Mr. Mahama’s kind gesture by supporting the educational needs of the less privileged, like orphans, in the society.
The Home of Light Islamic School, founded in 2016 currently has about 200 students with 180 being orphans. It started with a vision to provide free basic education and a nurturing environment to orphans. However, the school now charges feeding fees from the orphans due to reduction in sponsorship in recent times.
“Initially, everything was provided at no cost to the orphans, thanks to the generous donation and support we receive from Iqra Foundation for Education and Development,” Mr. Ruwaifa disclosed. He added that “However, due to financial constraints and reduction in sponsorship by 90%, we now ask that they (orphans) contribute towards only their feeding” while tuition and accommodation are still free.
He said this decision, though difficult, was necessary to keep the orphans in the school instead of sending them away.
The Administrator further disclosed that the school has also opened its doors to non-orphans as part of the means to sustain the school since the fees paid by them augment the finances needed to provide the high standard education to the orphans.
The delegation to make the donation was led by former Ambassador to Mali, H.E Mahmud Khalid, NDC Wa Central Constituency chairman, Alhaji Issahaku Famina, and NDC Regional Deputy Organiser, Prince Mahmud Sufyan.
Filed by: Adams, Timbile Hafiz
