Eugene Arhin's vision of impacting lives, worthy of emulation

"This is Eugene Arhin in a different dispensation and land," I thought, after reading a touching account about a wealthy man. This account was reportedly given by a Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola.

The account states that Otedola was asked to share his happiest moment on mother earth. In response, he said he had passed through four stages of happiness but the fourth gave him true happiness.

The first was when he accumulated so much wealth for himself. The second being the accumulation of valuables. I am sure he was referring to mansions, laxirious cars, name the rest. And the third was when he kept on winning more contracts.

Nonetheless, none of these gave him true happiness. He rather experienced real happiness when one of his friends appealed to him to purchase wheel chairs for some 200 hundred physically challenged kids and he did.

Upon reading this account, which I republished on my Facebook wall on the topic, "I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I will be able to recognise you and thank you once again," I began to view the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin, in the same manner I do view this kind hearted wealthy man.

In fact, Mr Arhin's vision of touching lives and transforming Awutu Senya West Constituency places him on the same scale with this billionaire. He is the first private son of the land who has resorted to raising funds to build social infrastructure that are critical in transforming the lives of the people of the area.

In his bid to promote quality education in the deprived district of Awutu Senya West, the Communications Director, built and resourced a Community Library and ICT Centre at Awutu Beraku. Having worked with the Danquah Institute, where he had practical experience of the power of research based knowledge, Mr Arhin felt the need to inculcate into the youth of Awutu Senya West, the love for research, the very reason why he added ICT to the library.

What places him side by side with the godly billionaire in question is his decision to deliver the poor children of Obodakaba from the danger and pain of journeying on foot to another village to attend school. Just like Otedola who was moved by compassion to help the cripples with wheel chairs, Mr Arhin couldn't control his emotions when he first met these kids walking to the village he was driving from to Obodakaba, where the school children were coming from. The result of this heart-breaking spectacle is the construction of a three-unit classroom block for the children of this village.

Eugene Arhin's acts of love for his people do not begin and end with social infrastructure. He is also on record to have lobbied for several job opportunities for the youth of the area. Through his efforts, 16 qualified youth have secured jobs with the Ghana Education Service (GES) while 26 others are being processed. He has also secured permanent public sector jobs in such institutions like the Ghana Audit Service, Ghana Revenue Authority, the security agencies and other public and civil service institutions.

Mr Arhin's effort in transforming Awutu Senya West Constituency and impacting lives of the people is not only touching and inspiring, but also worthy of emulation. It is indeed gratifying to have such a person whose source of joy is not through needless display of opulence, but putting smiles on the lives of the poor.

The author is an essayist and a social commentator

By Bala Ali