Otumfuo Sows Seed For Anglican Educ. Fund

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, 19 December 2006
THE Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has donated ¢50 million towards the establishment of an Education Endowment Fund for junior and senior secondary school students within the Accra Diocese of the Anglican Church.

The gesture was in honour of the Most Rev. Dr. Justice Ofei Akrofi, Anglican Archbishop of the Church of the Province of West Africa (CPWA), in support of his immense contributions towards youth development.

The donation was announced at a special thanksgiving service last Sunday to celebrate a decade of Episcopal Ministry and three decades of ministry of Archbishop Akrofi. Otumfuo expressed the hope that the fund "would be a fitting memorial to the celebrations."

The Most Reverend Dr. Akrofi, who was ordained deacon and priest on December 19, 1978 in Accra, was elected Bishop of the Accra Diocese in 1996 and then as an Archbishop of of CPWA in September 2003.

He commended Otumfuo for persistently making education a priority and promised to invest the fund in the promotion of youth development.

The guest preacher, the Right Reverend Benjamin Kwashi, Bishop of the Anglican Church in Jos Nigeria, in a sermon bemoaned the fact that many young people on the continent had stayed out of the church.

"Young people in the church are a minority compared to people in the same category who are engaged in serious crimes and other anti-social behaviours.

"If the church misses out in getting young people into its fold it will be a great disincentive to the growth of the church and until we reach out to them, we will have nothing to offer to God," Right Rev. Kwashi stated.

On Saturday, the Most Rev. Dr. Akrofi feted about 700 youth from the diocese as part of the celebration which was under the theme "Reaching out to the youth." He stressed the need for investing in the youth to ensure future growth of both the church and the country.

Among dignitaries who attended the service were Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, former Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, Defence Minister, Nii Kojo Ababio II, Nii Kpobi Tettey Tsuru, Ngleshie and La Mantse respectively, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, Juabenhene and Nana Dr. S.K.B. Asante, Asokorehene.