As part of efforts by Access Bank to improve health care delivery in Ghana, one of the 14 groups of volunteering employees of the Bank has refurbished and adopted the Labour Ward of the Ridge Regional Hospital in Accra.
The project, estimated at the cost of GH$ 50,000.00, involved major renovation works including demolitions and refurbishment; fixing and changing of ceiling fans, doors, water closets and basins; and repairs and installation of new air-conditioners in the rooms, corridors and offices.
Other components of the project were plumbing works, electrical fixtures, re-netting of the entire labour ward and the repair and spraying of all beds and side desks, among other interior decorations.
In addition, a 32-inch LED flat screen TV and decoder, three computers, three office desk and tables, and notice boards were also provided in the wards while curtains were replaced in all the rooms– including offices for doctors and nurses–corridor and conference room.
The gesture forms part of the Bank’s Employee Volunteering Programme (EVC) which allows staff of the Bank to invest their time, skills and expertise as well as their financial resources to improve the lives of people in the communities in which the Bank operates.
Present at the handing-over ceremony was Dr Obeng Apori, Medical Director of the Ridge Hospital, who described the intervention as timely and urged other corporate bodies to emulate the rare volunteering spirit demonstrated by the staff of Access Bank.
The Project Director of the Employee Group, Ms Sally Fordjour, pledged support in cash or kind all year round to the ward to ensure that the facility was well maintained. “We are convinced that the thousands of mothers (and fathers) that pass through the ward will receive quality health care service which will save many lives (both living and unborn),” Ms Fordjour added.
In an address to hand over the refurbished ward to the Hospital, Mr Dolapo Ogundimu, Managing Director of Access Bank, said issues of health, education and environment were critical to the development of any nation because these issues affected everyone–individuals, organisations and government–and that organisations and government needed a healthy workforce for economic production. “We understand this too well at Access Bank, and this why over the past 11 years we have been acting as a catalyst for growth and development in over nine African countries,” Mr Ogundimu intimated.
Mr Ogundimu said the Bank was committed to strong, healthy and sustainable communities where people could live and work, and business could thrive. “Profits we make from our banking business are ploughed back into the very communities in which we operate. They are not repatriated. This guarantees all our shareholders, customers and the public that they become beneficiaries of the investments they make at Access Bank,” he added.
He said the Bank would continue to utilize three initiatives―philanthropic interventions; employee involvement through volunteering; and funding for community projects and programmes in the areas of health, education, arts and entertainment― to address social inequities and assist vulnerable people and, thereby, improve living conditions in communities across the country and to engender social change.
Over the last four years, Access Bank has displayed a strong commitment to health, education, environment and social improvement issues by leveraging its people and financial resources to invest in various projects across the country.
These contributions by the Bank, coupled with its financial performance and business expansion, were responsible for various industry awards the Bank had received.
These awards are the 2012 Best Growing Bank in Ghana, 2010 Most Socially Responsible Bank in Ghana, 2010 Best Bank in Agricultural Financing in Ghana and the 2010 1st Runner-up in Financial Performance.
Currently, Access Bank– with a presence in 8 other African countries– is one of the largest banks in Ghana and operates across 39 office locations.
Source: ISD (G.D. Zaney)
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