UniMAC students donate food and stationery items to Street Children Empowerment Foundation

A group of Level 300 Development Communication students of the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC) has donated assorted food items and educational materials to the Street Children Empowerment Foundation (SCEF) as part of efforts to support street-connected children and vulnerable young people.

The students, operating under the name Bright Future Movement, presented the items to the foundation at a ceremony on Friday, August 21. The donation included bags of rice, cooking oil, sugar, biscuits, mineral water and assorted drinks, as well as exercise books, pencils and pens.

Leader of Bright Future Movement, Yaw Worlanyo, hands over items to SCEF

The initiative formed part of a practical Fundraising and Resource Mobilisation Project designed to give students hands-on experience in applying development communication to address the needs of underserved groups.

Under the project, students were required to identify the needs of a beneficiary organisation, mobilise non-monetary resources and present the items to support its activities.

Group picture of members of Bright Future Movement at the donation ceremony

Leader of the Bright Future Movement, Yaw Worlanyo, said what began as an academic assignment had gradually developed into a cause the students hoped to continue beyond the classroom.

“This started as a course project for us, but along the line we embraced it as something we want to do for our own fulfilment because of the impact it will make. We believe supporting SCEF, as small as it is, will make a major impact in the lives of the children SCEF caters for,” he said.

Mr Worlanyo expressed the hope that the donation would not be a one-off activity, adding that the group intended to continue supporting the foundation in the future.

The course lecturer, Dr Jonas Kodwo Anson Boateng, said the project was designed to move learning beyond the classroom by exposing students to the practical realities of fundraising, resource mobilisation and community engagement.

“Part of our mandate is to teach communication. However, we are not into teaching in the classroom alone. What we do is to practicalise our learning,” he said.

Dr Boateng explained that the students were tasked to identify a needy organisation, understand its challenges and collaborate with it to mobilise resources that could respond to some of those needs.

“For us, what we are looking for is the impact it will have on society. The effort they have put in is appreciated, and we are thankful that you have been a good partner to help them realise their class goals,” he said.

Dr Jonas Kodwo Anson Boateng speaking at the event

He encouraged the students to build on the knowledge and experience acquired through the project and sustain the Bright Future Movement beyond the completion of the course.

“We are hoping that the brightness of this group will not dim after this programme,” Dr Boateng added.

Receiving the items on behalf of the foundation, the Head of Social Service at SCEF, Nana Asamoah, expressed appreciation to the students for selecting the organisation as the beneficiary of their project.

He said the donated items would contribute significantly to the foundation’s work of supporting children living and working on the streets.

“I want to say a very big thank you. We are very much appreciative of your choosing us. What we do at SCEF is to get children off the street. We have been doing this for 15 years now and we are still making the lives of children better,” he said.

Nana Asamoah speaking after receiving the items on behalf of SCEF

Mr Asamoah encouraged the students from UniMAC to continue the initiative, stressing that support from individuals and organisations remained important to sustaining the foundation’s work.

“On behalf of SCEF, I want to say a very big thank you to you. These items will go a long way to help us,” he added.

The Head of the Faculty of Communication and Liberal Studies at the Institute of Journalism, Dr Albert-James S. Tayman, also encouraged the beneficiaries to remain committed to their education and aspirations.

Addressing the children, Dr Tayman assured them that they had not been forgotten and that support from the university community would continue.

“We are here to remind you that nobody has forgotten about you. We are here to support and help you with a few things. We will come here from time to time, and if you need anything to become what you want to become in the future, we will try and help you,” he said.

Dr Albert-James S. Tayman speaking at the ceremony

The Street Children Empowerment Foundation, founded in 2010, works to improve the lives of street-connected children and vulnerable young people through education, protection, advocacy and community-based care.

The donation highlighted how classroom learning in development communication can be translated into practical community action, while providing students with experience in resource mobilisation, partnership building and social intervention.