MoneyGram money transfer has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Graphic Communications Group to improve on educational standards in the country, especially from the primary level.

The two organisations will collaborate to organize essay competitions through MoneyGram’s Back to School Promotion for basic level pupils. This year’s essay competition is on the topic: “Why is it important to buy made-in-Ghana goods?” and it is open to children from classes four to JHS Three. The promotion runs from August 13 to September 30, 2014. 

The signing agreement was in fulfillment of MoneyGram’s promise to renew the agreement annually to partner Graphic Communications Group to help improve the reading and writing skills of basic level pupils. The partnership will ensure the disctribution of 20,000 copies of Junior Graphic to deprived public primary schools in the Eastern, Greater Accra and the Central regions during the period of the Back to School Promotion.

Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd., said the partnership between the two companies was in line with the Graphic Communications Group’s mandate to improve and promote reading among Ghanaian children. He said the future of every nation was dependent on its children, adding that education was key to the total upbringing of such children.

Mr Ashigbey expressed worry over the challenging situations some children in very deprived areas in the country had to overcome before accessing quality education.He, therefore, called on MoneyGram to partner with the GCGL to also distribute computers to the deprived public primary schools across the country.

The West Africa Regional Manager of MoneyGram, Mrs. Kemi Okusanya, said MoneyGram was poised to give back to society, adding that “we see this as a corporate social responsibility.” Mrs. Okusanya said MoneGram has invested lots of resources in education, and adding that this showed MoneyGram’s total commitment to the progress of education in the country.

Mr Kofi Akyea, Senior Marketing Executive, Anglophone West Africa, assured Graphic Communications Group that it would do its best to partner the company to distribute computers to deprived primary schools in the country as requested in the not-too-distant future.

MoneyGram is the second largest money transfer firm in Ghana. MoneyGram is in partnership with 20 local banks and available in over 1,600 locations across Ghana.