Emmanuel said, in an interview that, the scholarship would ease the financial difficulties he and his family had faced in supporting his education while bringing him closer to achieving his career goals.
It is going to help reduce the financial constraints on my family and myself. It will also help me achieve my goals and become a better person in my community,” he said joyously .
He explained that he had applied for several scholarship opportunities in the past without success until he learnt about the RNAQ Foundation initiative through social media and received encouragement from his aunties and other family members to apply.
Describing the award as a major opportunity, Emmanuel expressed gratitude to the two foundations for their support.
Another beneficiary, Joel Boakor Teye, a Level 400 student of Koforidua Technical University, also commended the RNAQ Foundation and the Ga Mantse Foundation for investing in the education of young people from the Ga community.
He urged his fellow beneficiaries to take their studies seriously and make good use of the opportunity, stressing that they must not allow the investment in their education to go to waste.
Teye also prayed for God’s blessings for the leadership of the two foundations for making the scholarship initiative possible.
A total of 115 students selected from 1,689 applicants have been awarded scholarships under the first cohort of the RNAQ Foundation and Ga Mantse Foundation scholarship programme.
The initiative is designed to support brilliant students from the Ga-Dangme community whose educational aspirations are threatened by financial difficulties.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Chairman of the RNAQ Foundation, Richard Nii Armah Quaye, said the partnership with the Ga Mantse Foundation was aimed at ensuring that financial challenges did not prevent young people from pursuing higher education.
He said the ceremony was an opportunity to fulfil the commitment made to the students by providing the financial support they needed to return to school and concentrate on their studies.
Today is to present the students with what they need so they can go back to school. We are here to honour our promise, and the students must also honour their part,” he said.
Quaye urged the beneficiaries to become responsible adults who would contribute meaningfully to the development of the Ga-Dangme community and Ghana.
He cautioned that the foundations would not continue supporting students who failed to meet the academic expectations attached to the scholarship.
If you want to appreciate the two foundations, then do what is expected of you. Study hard and pass,” he advised.
He further encouraged the students to avoid bad company, remain disciplined and maintain unity both on and off campus.
Quaye also urged the beneficiaries to extend similar support to others when they become successful, emphasising that the scholarship should inspire a culture of giving back to society.
Beyond the financial assistance, he announced plans to provide employment opportunities for interested beneficiaries within his company and support those who wished to establish their own businesses.
Speaking on behalf of the Ga Mantse, HRM Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Naa Lamiley Ajaaku Dromo II (Manye Nukpa), said the foundations received 1,689 applications, but only 115 students were selected for the first cohort.
She acknowledged that many deserving applicants could not be accommodated in the first selection but assured them that they had not been forgotten.
Your fight is not over. You have not been forgotten. Your turn will come,” she told unsuccessful applicants.
She used the occasion to remind the beneficiaries of the Ga community’s rich history of academic excellence and contribution to education, journalism, medicine and public service.
Referencing notable Ga personalities who had broken barriers in their respective professions, she said excellence was part of the community’s heritage and urged the students to reclaim that tradition.
Excellence is our inheritance. Somewhere along the way, we lost our goal for excellence. But today, we start taking our excellence back,” she stressed.
She described the beneficiaries as the foundation upon which the future development of the Ga State would be built, urging them to approach their studies with seriousness, discipline and a commitment to service.
She also encouraged them to support one another throughout their academic journey rather than seeing themselves as competitors.
No one must be left behind. Push one another, lift one another up and never let one of you fall back,” she charged.
She further reminded the students that their responsibility would extend beyond obtaining academic qualifications, urging them to invest in the next generation when they eventually became professionals.
When you become a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, a scientist or even a builder, you too must help the next child. Invest in the next generation,” she said.
The foundations reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the beneficiaries throughout their studies, provided they maintained the required academic standards.
The scholarship payments will be made directly to the respective universities through bankers’ drafts, with the amounts varying according to each beneficiary’s programme of study and financial requirements.
