Traditional authorities and leaders in various communities across Ghana have commended the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for its significant contributions and impact on local communities through the foundation’s scholars’ community engagement and impact projects.
As part of its impact activities, the foundation trains and nurtures scholars to undertake entrepreneurial and training projects aimed at community development and creating job opportunities, with the goal of reducing poverty and promoting growth and development.
According to the leadership of the programme at KNUST, while this initiative has shown great promise, many scholars face setbacks due to a lack of support and collaboration from stakeholders in their respective communities.
This realisation prompted the foundation’s leadership at KNUST to organise a three-day stakeholder engagement to raise awareness of scholars’ engagement projects and to create a platform for collaboration and support to enhance the activities of scholars in their communities.
Speaking at the engagement, some local leaders expressed excitement about the impact in their communities so far and pledged their commitment to promoting and supporting the scholars’ projects to create jobs and reduce unemployment and poverty.
Patrick Opoku Onyinah, the Liaison Officer for Community Engagement and Impact, highlighted the purpose of the engagement in an interview, emphasising the priority that the foundation’s office at KNUST places on community engagement projects.
“The Community Engagement and Impact Sensitisation Workshop is designed to engage selected chiefs and assembly members from communities where scholars’ projects have significantly impacted the lives of community members. The workshop aims to enhance leaders’ understanding of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme at KNUST and to foster collaboration and gather insights to improve the implementation and sustainability of scholars’ projects in their communities.”
“The objective is to strengthen the engagement and collaboration between community leaders and the community engagement initiative of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme at KNUST, and to ensure improved support and resource allocation toward the implementation and sustainability of individual Community Engagement Projects by the scholars,” he said.
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