Asantehene Honours Ghana Red Cross Society

The Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tuttu II has honoured the Ashanti regional Red Cross Society with a citation and appreciation certificate in recognition of the Red Cross Society's loyal and dedicated service to him; the Ashantihene, Manhyia Palace and Asanteman during the burial and the final funeral rite of the late Queen mother of Asante kingdom, Nana Afia kobi Serwaa Ampem.

The Ashanti Regional Manager of the Ghana Red Cross Society, Mr. Michael Asante who received the citation on behalf of the regional team, in an interview with the media said the society's mandate is to protect lives by providing immediate health care to the sick, wounded and those who lose consciousness during public events and in times of accidents. This he added are the very kind of services the organization rendered to the bereaved King during the burial and funeral rite of his late mother who until her passing on was the Queen mother of Asante kingdom.

The regional Red Cross manager disclosed that his outfit deployed over 70 emergency first aid volunteers to the Manhyia Palace to assist people who may need any form of emergency services during the burial and funeral rites of the late Queen Mother.

“ We extended our services beyond the provision of the usual first aid services to include sanitation and hygiene services such as hand washing facilities for a landmark funeral of this kind .

"The society considered it as a proactive measure to add hand washing facility for the thousands who attended the funeral to prevent possible spread of certain contagious diseases through hand shakes especially as a suspected outbreak of N1H1 virus was allegedly reported in the metropolis on a period closed to the event” Mr. Asante explained

Mr. Michael Asante was proud that his outfit was among the few to receive a citation from the great king out of the many institutions and organizations who played diverse roles during the event and thanked the Asantehene for recognising their efforts towards the late Queen Mother, His Royal Majesty, the Manhyia Palace and the entire Asante Kingdom.

“We least expected that our efforts would be recognised by the king and this citation would go a long way to motivate the leadership and our volunteers all over the region and the country at large. We would continue to render selfless services to mother Ghana and humanity as required of us” he added.

The Regional Manger called on the general public and corporate institutions to support the activities of the Ghana Red Cross Society especially in the Ashanti region.

“We are calling on all institutions including churches to contribute anything little towards our activities to enable us acquire the needed logistics . We are also urging Ghanaians to patronise the services of the Ghana Red Cross Society when organising public events such as rallies, funeral, public entertainment shows and other outdoor programme particularly our first aid and hand washing facilities,” the regional manager concluded.