By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Oct. 11, GNA – The Upper West Regional Chief Imam Educational Endowment Fund (IMAMFUND), has disbursed a total of GHS 40, 712.48 to 16 brilliant but needy students in the region to pursue various educational programmes in tertiary institutions in Ghana.
The sponsorship packages ranged between GHS1,000.00 to GHS3,600.00 depending on the need and request of the beneficiary in his or her application for the scholarship with some students to be sponsored throughout their tertiary education.
This came to light during the second congress of the IMAMFUND in Wa, to review the Fund after its first year of implementation and to launch applications for the 2023/2024 academic year.
Presenting the report on the IMAMFUND, Mr Mohammed A. Moomin, the Fund Manager, said the IMAMFUND had also partnered Fatima Farida, an Islamic Educational Complex in Wa to offer scholarships to five children at the school.
He explained that a total of GHS102,129.00 was accrued for the Fund through donations from individuals, groups, non-government organisations, businesses, cooperate bodies, and institutions among others.
He identified non-fulfillment of financial pledges as a major challenge of the Fund and said out of about GHS29,000.00 recorded as pledges during the launch of the Fund, only GHS3,500.00, representing about 12 per cent had been redeemed after several follow-ups made to the prospective donors.
“The Fund is yet to register appreciable subscribers to match the demand for sponsorship. This usually compels the administrators of the Fund to cap the disbursement and hence many students were unable to access the Fund last year,”, Mr Moomin explained.
He encouraged well-meaning Ghanaians, particularly in the Upper West Region, to see the success of the IMAMFUND as a shared responsibility of all and stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to achieve its goal.
He said the establishment of the IMAMFUND was necessitated by many requests the office of the Regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Osman Mahama Kanihi, received from students after seeking financial assistance to further their education at the tertiary level.
The Fund Manager announced that brilliant but needy students who wished to receive support from the IMAMFUND could send in their applications for the 2023/2024 academic year.
In a speech delivered on “Importance of education to Muslim Ummah”, Alhaji Daud Baba Nuhu of the Office of the Regional Chief Imam, said the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Mohammed proclaimed the importance of education.
He explained that, aside from education being a human right, it was also a weapon that could insulate a person from the challenges of the contemporary world, served as a key to career advancement, and a tool for building a morally right society.
Alhaji Tahiru Issahaku Moomin, the Wa Municipal Chief Executive, commended the office of the Regional Chief Imam for establishing the fund.
He said his outfit supported the initiative due to the critical role education played in the development of society and the need to ensure that every child had access to quality education.
Alhaji Moomin, who donated GHS2,000.00 to support the initiative, urged the people to contribute in any way possible to support and sustain the initiative.
“Together, we can create a society where education is a right and a means for a better and a brighter tomorrow,” he observed.
GNA