Vodafone rewards children for giving value to GHC1

In these times of austerity measures and economic hardships particularly with the rise in utility tariffs and fuel, every single cedi counts and can make a huge difference.

Vodafone Ghana’s One Ghana Writing competition is one such initiative which is giving real value to money by encouraging creativity and thoughtful spending among children. Last week the telecom giant paid a surprise visit to some basic schools to reward the children for their creative entries.

Hundreds of entries have so far been received from various basic schools nationwide and the creativity among the children was very refreshing. It was interesting to note that the bulk of the entries from the children said they would GHC 1 to buy mobile top up as most of them owned mobile phones.

However some of the interesting ideas that were rewarded included an entry from a 13 year old pupil of Datus School Complex who said he would give GHC 1 to President Mahama to feed two additional children for the School Feeding Programme. Baba Shadow said he had heard on radio that it cost 40 peswas to feed a child for the programme.

David Owiredu, a pupil of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic School said he would use GHC 1 to buy seeds and plant trees in his neighbourhood to check erosion and the depletion of the ozone layer.

There were several other entries which were touched on recycling. For instance Maruf Osman, a class six pupil of the Perfect Primary School in Dome Pillar II said he would use GHC1 to buy empty milk tins and build a toy car. At the presentation ceremony, Maruf said his dream was to be an auto-engineer and therefore looked forward to building vehicles in the future.

For their prizes the children each received a fully connected Samsung Galaxy table from Vodafone and Samsung. Vodafone Ghana and Sumsung a few weeks back launched the competition targeted at children below the age of 15 to encourage them to give value to GHC 1.

To submit an entry, Vodafone is asking all children to write on what they can do with GHC1 and include any used Vodafone top up card from their parents. They can either post it to Vodafone or drop it in any of their retail shops nationwide. A panel of judges which includes a child psychologist has been constituted to look out for the most innovate, original and realistic ideas. Vodafone and Samsung are presently on a roadshows to basic schools to reward.

Vodafone’s One Ghana bundle offer took the Ghanaian market by storm in 2011. At the 2013 CIMG Awards, One Ghana was singled out and acknowledged for its uniqueness on the market. In September 2013, Vodafone re-launched the new and improved offer with the addition of 100 free SMS, 5 minutes talk time to other networks and 20 megabits of data to the original offer of 100 minutes for 1 Ghana Cedi.

Customers can subscribe to the offer by dialling 7272 and follow the voice prompt; they need a minimum of 1 Ghana Cedi to enjoy this incredible offer. 

Women in Vodafone spend time with children suffering from cancer

Women in Vodafone (WIV) have visited the Children’s Oncology Ward at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to spend time with the children recovering from various types of cancer.

The group, made up of female staff of Vodafone Ghana, read to the children and also encouraged them to push through with their various treatments so they can fully recover. They presented books and assorted fruit baskets to the children aged 6 months to 13 years.

Vodafone Foundation earlier this year undertook major renovation works and created a world class child friendly Cancer Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching hospital. Some of the extensive construction work carried out included overhauling the entire sewage and roof; renovating bathroom and toilet facilities; creating a sterile treatment room, recreational area and a reading room for the children.

The leader of the team, Iris Owusu-Manu, said Women in Vodafone were committed to supporting vulnerable women and children. She was grateful for the support of Vodafone Foundation in making the Oncology Ward a child friendly environment and pledged Women in Vodafone will regularly visit the ward and support with the recovery of the children.

Women in Vodafone have in the past offered career guidance to some selected young girls in Accra. They have in the past also made donations to various groups and associations including the Country Side Orphanage in Bawjiase, the Central Region.