RYTHM Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the QI Group, (parent-company of QNET), has disclosed that ensuring equity and equality for people with disabilities is the main inspiration behind its decision to extend and expand their partnership with the Central Region-based award-winning Ghanaian non-governmental organisation (NGO), ANOPA Project.

RYTHM Foundation invests in the communities and people through strategic partnerships, community service, and employee volunteering, aligning with and playing its pivotal role in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). RYTHM is an acronym for ‘Raise Yourself To Help Mankind’.

The first phase of RYTHM’s partnership with Anopa Project saw the Foundation combined resources and personnel with the NGO to empower some persons with disabilities in the Central Region of Ghana through competitive sports, particularly swimming. The project recorded significant success, with some of the swimmers going on to compete in national and international competitions including the Paralympic Games. 

Speaking to West African journalists on the sidelines of the September 2024 edition of QNET’s biggest bi-annual conference VCON in Malaysia, Ms Santhi Periasamy, Head of RYTHM Foundation stated that the decision by her outfit to scale up the project is due to the success of the first phase and QNET’s commitment to empowering people with disabilities and tackling the educational and socio-economic issues facing them.

While praising ANOPA for being an effective and reliable partner, Santhi Periasamy stated that their engagements in the Central Region have exposed them to the dire situation of some communities, particularly in education, and therefore they want to help address these challenges.

“ANOPA has been a very good partner. We worked with them for three years. The project was about enabling children with visual and hearing impairments to be empowered through access to education and sports, specifically swimming.

“Beyond swimming, there were also inputs and directions on building their confidence. The project proved to be very successful because the children excelled in school and, as a result, were given the opportunities to participate in national and international competitions,” she said.

Detailing the scope of the new project, which will also last three years, Santhi Periasamy explained that RYTHM and ANOPA decided to expand the project as part of a holistic aim of promoting equity and equality in the communities. She summarized that the second phase of the project will be typified by the construction of educational infrastructure to ensure that children in the selected communities study under the conditions conducive for their academic development.

“We decided to continue working with ANOPA with an enhanced commitment. During our activities, we realized that there were schools with people with disabilities who have special learning needs and were in environments that were not conducive due to a lack of resources.

“What we are doing is looking for equity and equality for all the children. We are providing some schools in Cape Coast with the infrastructure and other means to upscale their physical needs and conditions,” she concluded.

Over the years, RYTHM has made considerable strides in ensuring education for all (SDG 4), encouraging gender equality (SDG 5), safeguarding clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), providing access to affordable and clean energy (SDG7), promoting decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), helping reduce inequalities (SDG 10), and strengthening partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).

More than 80,000 beneficiaries have been impacted by RYTHM-funded community projects in approximately 30 countries over the last decade. Across the world, RYTHM Foundation has partnered 135 organisations and more than 17,000 youths and 155,000 women and young females have been assisted through its flagship initiatives and community programmes.