The Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) is to embark on a vigorous fund-raising drive as a means of reducing its reliance on foreign donors to support its activities. Professor Stephen Adei, Chairman of the Society gave the hint at a meeting with the Volta Regional Committee of the Society and its staff in Ho on Thursday. Professor Adei, the immediate past Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) said the only area in which the Society would seek foreign donor support would be in the acquisition of capital items like vehicles. He observed that local fundraising of the Society had been almost non-existent. Prof. Adei said the national headquarters and Greater Accra branches of the Society would raise the bulk of the funds because of the huge potential sources available there. “Every region should have a strategic plan to raise funds”, he said. He said the distribution of the funds would not be based on need or how much each region was able to raise but on the amount of effort each area put into the fund raising project. “I have a problem that people think that unless people help them, they are paralyzed. Money is not the constraint but lack of ideas is the constraint”, he observed. “The way to become super rich is to use your ideas”, he said. Prof. Adei therefore, urged the Regional Secretaries of the Society to share ideas among themselves and identify and establish good working relations with personalities who matter in society to help provide the necessary financial leverage for the Society. “The feeling of we cannot do it is a lie, we can do it,”’ he said optimistically. He assured the regional branches of the Society that he would come over at anytime to help them in their fundraising activities. Responding, some members of the Committee observed that Prof. Adei’s leadership would bring a great transformation to the profile of the Society as he did for GIMPA because of his ideas and drive. Source: GNA