Widow wins house from Joberg Foundation

A widow and mother of five, Salormey Gyamea, has won a new one-bedroom house at the second edition of “Taking the Homeless Home Awards”, an intuitive of the Joberg Foundation.

Ms Gyamea, a baker who lived in a dilapidated wooden structure at Nsawam, moved into her new home last Friday when she was presented with the keys to the house located at Katamanso, near Ashaiman, in the Greater Accra Region.

Apart from the house, she was also presented with an undisclosed sum of money to start a business at her new residence.

Scheme

The “Taking the Homeless Home Awards” is organised by Joberg Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and charity wing of Joberg Ghana Limited, a construction company, in partnership with Mypagegh.com, an online news portal.

The scheme seeks to support the homeless, poor, vulnerable but hard working people with free homes.

Ms Gyamea was declared the winner out of five shortlisted candidates after a rigorous selection process by the Board of Directors of the Joberg Foundation and the public.

The other four shortlisted candidates were also presented with cash prizes by the foundation at the ceremony.

The first edition was won by a petty trader,  Helen Kalayi, who used to live in a kiosk with her four children.

Presentation

At the event, a Presidential Adviser on HIV/AIDS and Board Member of Joberg Foundation, Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, said the gesture was part of the foundation’s efforts to support the vulnerable in society.

“We are committed to the socio-economic, physical and mental wellbeing of our society, and as such the foundation has taken it upon itself to provide decent homes to the needy and vulnerable,” he said.

The presentation ceremony was also attended by Victor Smith, a former Ghana High Commissioner to the UK, and Kwame Tenkorang, a former Ambassador to Japan, both board members of the foundation.

Given back

The Chief Executive Officer of Joberg Construction Company and the foundation, Joseph Magnus Marteye, said his outfit was committed to helping those in need.

“This is our small way of giving back to the society and to put smiles on the faces of vulnerable hardworking homeless Ghanaians,” he said.

Appreciation 

Ms Gyamea shed tears as she thanked God and Joberg Foundation for the gesture, saying she never imagined ever living in “such a beautiful house”.

Kneeling down in her new home, she asked for God’s blessings on the Joberg Foundation.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh