Story: Mary Ankrah
A US$12,400 acoustic and sound music studio has been opened at Chorkor in Accra to assist less privileged children in that community to develop and improve their music talents.
BASICS International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), initiated the project which was funded by the Australian High Commission through the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Programmes.
The aim of the project is to find an avenue for children in the community to discover their music talents and to enable local musicians to record their music at an affordable price.
Inaugurating the studio in Accra yesterday, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr William Billy, underlined Australia’s commitment to helping the less privileged in deprived communities across the country to better their lives and reduce poverty in those communities.
During the inauguration, the Australian High Commissioner also presented an amount of GH¢32,233 to the BASICS International to fund programmes to support the disadvantaged children in the community.
He disclosed that money was raised from the Australian community annual Melbourne Cup charity dinner held last month to support disadvantaged children in Chorkor.
“Together with our sponsors who have assisted in raising such a generous amount, we hope the funds will be put into good use to assist children at BASICS,” he said.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the NGO, Ms Patricia Wilkins, said the donation would help BASICS to expand its initiatives by adding screen printing workshop and other future creative works to meet the needs of the children and the community.
She thanked Australia and its government for the support and pledged to make good use of the money and the studio in order to improve the lives of the beneficiaries and the country as a whole.
According to the Programme’s Director, Mr Allotey Bruce-Konuah, for the past 12 years, BASICS has been providing programmes, services and aids for children in the community to improve the quality of life for the people.
He said about 100 children (from six to 20 years) visited the BASIC social intervention centre each day after school for assistance to do their homework and private tutoring. They also participate in extra curricular activities including computer training, sewing, music and dance, cooking, poetry, drama and film making, among other activities.
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