By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi, GNA
Accra, July 14, GNA – The Presbyters Union of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), has launched a National Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial support for brilliant but needy students, vulnerable church members and disaster victims.
The fund, which is backed by newly adopted policy guidelines, was launched during a thanksgiving service to climax the Union’s three-day conference at Trinity Parish, Madina, near Accra.
Dr Anthony Astu, Presbyter and National President of the Presbyters Union, said the initiative was conceived two years ago following a proposal by a member to establish a welfare fund for the less privileged within the Church and the wider society.
He said the proposal was approved by Conference, the Church’s highest decision-making body, which tasked the National Executive Committee to develop policy guidelines before the fund was officially launched.
Dr Astu said the fund would provide scholarships for brilliant but needy students, particularly in northern Ghana, support the construction of pavilions for congregations worshipping under trees, and provide relief for members affected by disasters, including floods.
He said the fund would be financed mainly through a monthly contribution of GH¢2 from every presbyter, with an initial target of raising GH¢20,000 as seed capital before disbursements begin.
“For now the focus is on the church members but we shall open our tentacles wide to serve the larger society as the years go by,” he said.
Rev Vincent Dagadu, Parish Pastor of Trinity Parish, Madina, described the initiative as the Union’s first successful endowment fund after an earlier attempt by the Church did not materialise.
He said the fund would be managed by appointed overseers and expressed confidence that the wider church membership would support the initiative after witnessing its impact.
Rev Dagadu said the Union had already donated GH¢10,000 to Saboba Senior High School in the Northern Region and expressed the hope that the endowment fund would continue serving future generations.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Patrick Ofoe Nudzi