World Vision open to Corporate Partnerships and Programme Support – Mrs. Agnes Obeng 

World Vision, a Christian relief, development, and advocacy humanitarian organization has expressed readiness to work and collaborate with the private sector to help vulnerable children, their families, and the communities in which they live, in line with its strategic goals of collaborating and advocating for broader impact. Mrs. Agnes Obeng, Senior Programme Effectiveness Manager of World Vision Ghana revealed this in a speech she delivered at the 10th edition of the National Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability Conference at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Ghana. The Conference was organized by the Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), West Africa, a leading CSR and Sustainability advocacy organization, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries, AGI.

According to Mrs. Agnes Obeng, Senior Programme Effectiveness Manager for World Vision in Ghana: “World Vision is ready to work with partners including the corporate sector to ensure children, irrespective of where they live, realize their full potential in societies which respect people’s right and dignity.”

She continued: “World Vision has been working in Ghana for the past 44 years, contributing to the wellbeing of children and families especially the Vulnerable. We recognize the corporate sector with other stakeholders as a powerful force, to impact positively on the lives of marginalized children and empower our communities. By engaging with the private sector we can leverage financial and non-financial resources and engage with companies whose practices may be directly impacting on children and the realization of their rights, therefore, granting us greater opportunity to advance child rights.”

World Vision in Ghana has had several success stories with some corporate institutions in the area of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Health and Nutrition, livelihoods and environmental restoration, and Education for Youth. Its collaboration and work with Promasidor, Kia Motors, Societe Generale, Voltic Ghana, now and in the past, have maximized the strengths and advantages of each party as well as contributed to lasting improvements in community members and in the companies themselves.

Other socially-responsible businesses and organisations such as PwC, RYTHM Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), World Vision, Volta River Authority, Vodafone and VIVO Energy delivered speeches and presentations on their commitments to social responsibility and sustainability at the Conference.

Prof. Martin Gyambrah, Director of the University of Applied Management, Germany (Ghana campus) delivered a lecture on a new world imperative for business sustainability, post COVID-19. He campaigned for organisations to develop and harness the potentials of their workforce and transform them into “Merchants of Foresight”.

GOIL, Ghana’s leading marketer and distributor of oil and petroleum products represented by its Public Relations Manager, Mr. Robert Kyere and Madam Jamilatu Mohammed, RYTHM Foundation represented by the Head of the Foundation, Santhi Periasamy and PwC, represented by one of its Partners, Mr. Richard Ansong.

Other notable companies and organisations that participated in the Conference include Toyota Ghana, Promasidor, Republic Bank, CBL West Africa, Imperial General Assurance, SIC Ghana, Ghanaian German Economic Association, Societe Generale, Consolidated Bank, Blay and Associates, Fruveg, Rivella Enterprise, J.A. Abrahams & Sons, Bosomtwi Industries, Amla Foundation, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and many others.

Other dignitaries such as the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ghana Industries, AGI, Mr. Seth Twum-Akwaboah, Director of Finance and Administration of the AGI, Mr. Nathaniel Quarcoopome, the Chief Representative of JICA Ghana, Madam Suzuki Momoko, Madam Ramya Chandrasekaran, Chief Communications Officer for the QI Group and others.

Mr. John Kojo Williams, Co-Founder of the Centre for CSR, West Africa concluded: “Since 2013, we have been at the forefront of creating awareness on CSR and sustainability issues and matchmaking companies to create sustainable impact. We are happy that this Conference is a huge success and that companies were provided the much-needed platform to render their CSR account, network and partner for more sustainable projects that will keep their businesses alive and make society better. This Conference brought together, companies, business associations, regulatory agencies, international aid organisations, academia and the media.”