Unilever invests GH¢550,000 in 582 employees' children
The Unilever Ghana Foundation (UGF) has invested a total amount of GH¢555,000 in the education of 490 Senior High School (SHS) students and 92 undergraduates, since its inception a decade ago.
Mr Andrews Evans Quayson, Chairman of UGF Board of Trustees, who announced this at a scholarship awards ceremony for 55 employees’ wards in Tema, said the scheme was aimed at making secondary and tertiary education accessible to brilliant students.
Mr Quayson said under the scheme a total of 30 SHS students received full scholarships and 20 had bursaries.
Additional scholarships to cover the full academic user fees of five undergraduates, part of their residential user fees; allowance to buy books and some pocket money.
He said the award winners were selected out of 96 SHS and seven undergraduate applicants through a rigorous selection process by a panel, consisting of officials of the Ghana Education Service and some Trustees of the Foundation’s Board.
The Board Chairman stated that even though the beneficiaries had earned the scholarships on merit, their academic, as well as socio-moral performances, would be monitored to ensure that they remained aligned with the values and principles that the Foundation stood for.
Mr Sam Dontoh, Director at Unilever in charge of Human Resources, stated that as a thoughtful and conscientious employer, one of Unilever’s core principles “is to ensure mutually beneficial relationships with our stakeholders.”
Mr Dontoh said the company strived to ensure that employees had conducive work environment to enable them to give of their best as they worked to deliver their business targets.
“One of the ways through which we inspire our employees to excellent performance, is through the provision of socio-economic support for their dependants,” he emphasized, adding that the scholarship awards was a clear case in point.
The beneficiaries, most of whom had their fathers present at the ceremony, thanked UGF for the gesture, and pledged their determination to study hard to attain high academic laurels.
The Foundation is currently focused on three areas of development, namely: Women’s Empowerment; Health; and Formal Education.
Source: GNA