Spreading Love & Joy: Achimota Mall and Shoppers donate to ‘Haven of Hope’ Orphanage

In a heartwarming show of kindness and community spirit, Achimota Retail Centre (ARC) and its shoppers have donated a large consignment of clothing, food and household provisions to the Haven of Hope Orphanage at Midie, in the Greater Accra Region.

The initiative forms a key part of the Centre’s just-ended Easter family festival, which saw the launch on April 1 of a month-long charity drive to collect clothing, food and home essentials for donation to the needy within the community.

According to Centre Management, the response from ARC’s shoppers and patrons was overwhelming. By the close of collection on April 30, benevolent shoppers had donated a total of 21 sacks of clothing, shoes, toys and some food items.

ARC management supplemented the donations with assorted provisions, including toilet rolls, sanitary pads, powdered soap, soft drinks and biscuits, and delivered warm lunch packs to inmates and officials of the facility during the presentation. Some tenants, like ARA – the mall’s children’s game and entertainment mavens, also contributed to the cause with various donations.

The beneficiary orphanage, Haven of Hope, is operated by the ‘Every Child Ministry’, a United Kingdom-based Christian humanitarian NGO, which, besides the Midie facility, runs similar institutions in Sogakope, Biriwa and Koforidua. With an overall population of 81, the Midie orphanage runs concurrently with an educational wing – the Haven of Hope Academy, a basic school system which caters for children from crèche, through primary school to JSS.

The children, care handlers and even the management staff of the facility were euphoric when the truck-load of provisions was unpacked into what appeared to be the assembly hall, and the ARC Marketing Manager, Mrs Linda Pappoe, announced that their home had been selected as the beneficiary of a donation from Achimota Retail Centre and its shoppers.

Spontaneous singing broke out as the delegation of ARC officials was welcomed by the management staff of the orphanage, led by Mr. Steven Kuayi, Supervisor at Haven of Hope. Subsequently, however, it was Pastor Samuel Arthur, the Activity Coordinator of ‘Every Child Ministry’, who officially received the donation.

“It is such a blessing for you to come all the way from Accra to put smiles on the faces of these young children, here at Midie. I’m told you could have taken it to any one of the so many other facilities in the region….but here we are….God Himself chose us and has guided you to our humble home,” Pastor Arthur said, adding that “it was God who gave Achimota Mall and your customers the kindness of heart to think beyond yourselves and extend a helping hand to the less fortunate children in our community. May God bless you and your customers.”

Mrs Pappoe told the inmates and officials of the facility that Achimota Retail Centre is a family-centred retail institution with a keen interest in the welfare and development of children. She said the gesture was conceived as a special Easter season charity initiative, undertaken in proud partnership with the centre’s valued customers as an expression of ARC’s commitment to community support and the positive impact of collective effort.

Alice Esi Coleman, Centre Manager at ARC, interacted so amiably with the children, urging them to be well-behaved and take their studies seriously.

“Children, as we leave you, the advice I give you is that you must, at all times, be very prayerful, respectful and learn as hard as you can, if you aspire to develop in stature and succeed in life. If you’re able to do that, nothing can prevent you from achieving whatever goals you set for yourselves,” the Centre Manager entreated the children.

Achimota Retail Centre, better known by most of its patrons as ‘Achimota Mall’, is located at Dome, near St. John’s Grammar School off the Accra-Nsawam Highway. The Centre serves diverse social categories residing in almost a dozen communities in the Ga East Municipality.

ARC is anchored by the grocery giant Shoprite and Melcom superstore and offers customers a product mix of both Ghanaian and international brands in different retail categories, including fashion and clothing, electronics, grocery and a range of popular delicatessen and eateries.

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