Paige Greenwood (left) with Sylvia Francois (2nd from right) after the presentation. With them are other officials of the school.

Philanthropist supports 3 needy children

Rhoda Amponsah Jun - 29 - 2024 , 16:35

An African-American philanthropist, Paige Greenwood, has sponsored three intellectually challenged needy children to receive education at the New Horizon Special School in Accra.

The gesture, which forms part of her birthday celebrations, was in contribution to the special school’s Sponsor-A-Child programme, an initiative which solicits help from benevolent individuals and organisations to support the education of such children.

At the ceremony recently, Paige Greenwood explained that her motive for the scholarship was due to her observation that many children across the world deserved access to quality education and as such the mission of New Horizons Special School resonated with her.

She was inspired by the dedication of the institution not only to the education of special children but also to the training of adults in various vocational courses.

“Learning how they provide services for not only the youngest kids but also for adults who need vocational training, I think that that's an incredible mission and it's something that I really wanted to support and I'm passionate about,” Ms Greenwood added.

While some parents can afford tuition for their children at the school, many more who require that special education cannot afford it.

Appreciation

The Board Chairman of the special school, Sylvia Francois, expressed her appreciation for the support.

She reiterated the motive behind the establishment of the school by her late mother, but lamented how the institution suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When COVID hit in 2019, we lost a lot of sponsorship and over 40 children stopped coming to school after COVID because they could not pay their school fees, they did not have transport, they did not have anyone to bring them,” she said.

Due to this, Ms Francois said the leadership of the school decided to revive the initiative and estimated that the cost of catering for each child’s tuition, transportation and feeding among others per day for a year would amount to $2,000.

“So one of our board members reached out to Paige and she set up the GoFundMe and was able to raise a little over $6,000, which will cover three children with a little bit extra that can supplement a few other children,” she added.