VOLTIC PROVIDES TRANSPORT FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN (PAGE 11, JAN 3, 2011)

A PROJECT aimed at transporting schoolchildren from their homes to their schools and back in 10 specially-designed trikademik cycles, in the New Juaben Municipality, was today launched at Koforidua.
Under the project, a total of 55 school children, aged four to 11 years, who walked long distances daily to and from their schools will be picked from their homes and sent to school in the morning and taken back to their homes after school.
The initiative is aimed at reducing absenteeism among the beneficiary schoolchildren and improving teaching and learning in the selected schools.
The beneficiary schools are Kyeremanteng Basic School and Good Shepherd School at Ada, Babs International School at Mangasin, Presbyterian Basic Schools, Nana Kweku Boateng Basic School, Rock of Ages, Mosama Preparatory School and Assemblies of God School at Koforidua and the Roman Catholic Primary School at Effiduase.
The initiative, which will commence when basic schools resume in the second week of January, 2011, will be implemented on a pilot basis and is expected to be extended to other communities, based on its successful implementation.
It is being sponsored by the Voltic Ghana Limited in partnership with Instinct Ghana Limited, a marketing and advertising agency.
In an address at the launching ceremony at Koforidua, the Managing Director of the Voltic Ghana Limited, Mr Dhananjay K. Deshmankar, said as part of its corporate social responsibility, the management of the company decided to partner Instinct Ghana Limited to provide free transportation for the beneficiary school pupils.
“Through our observation and interactions with our consumers, we have realised that school attendance for some school children was not regular due to lack of transportation to and from various schools in the selected communities and it is our hope that this initiative will encourage increased attendance among the beneficiary children”, he stated.
The Voltic MD said the introduction of the project would provide employment for 15 riders and two bike mechanics, adding “we hope it will be an avenue for these people to nurture their entrepreneurial skills to earn decent incomes for themselves”.