The First Lady and Founder of the Rebecca Foundation, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has welcomed back the first batch of 15 pupils from the Ghana-China Exchange Programme.

The pupils, drawn from SOS schools in Tamale, Kumasi, Tema, Asiakwa, and other parts of the country were in China for a 10 day sports and cultural exchange programme. 

This was facilitated by The Rebecca Foundation, and Belt and Road Collaborative Innovation College (BRCIC) of China.

The Team which left Ghana for China on October 20, returned on 1st November, 1.

Beneficiaries were afforded the opportunity to engage in various activities with their Chinese colleagues including football matches, cultural dances and folklore.

The visiting team beat their host, Quingdao Licang Experimental School by 10 goals to win the trophy in a keenly contested soccer competition.

Formally welcoming the pupils at her Office in Accra, Mrs Akufo-Addo expressed her delight at opportunity offered them to engage in various activities with their colleagues on another side of the globe.

She advised them to use the exposure offered them by their trip, as a stepping stone to aspire to greater heights.

The First Lady urged corporate bodies and benevolent institutions and individuals to support the Foundation in its humanitarian endeavours.

Through collaborations with the public, the Foundation has so far constructed the Mother and Baby Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and recently launched the Learning to Read Project.

Narrating their experience, the pupils said the trip was an eye-opening one which exposed them to the culture, education and history of the people of China; an opportunity which for most of them, would have been only a dream.

They described China as a very clean country with no sight of littered rubbish and the people as friendly and hard-working citizens who practised a high level of environmental hygiene.

The pupils used the opportunity to present to Mrs. Akufo-Addo, the trophy they won in a football gala competition with their Chinese counterparts.