Full text: Speech by Nana Kwesi Coomson, CEO of 233times.net at Remar Orphanage

• Posted on April 14, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

I have always had the perception that, donations were made by very wealthy people in society. I had that perception because anytime I heard about donations; they were made by Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates, Ken Agyapong or Lordina Mahama. This was further concreted when asking for help from friends and close relations for this donation, they kept asking “Is it your church organizing it?, Is it the Ministry of Information (where I am doing my National Service) organizing it,  which organization? etc” I have realized society has injected into our brains that, you only donate when you are well to do but this donation has given me another view of giving because we could do much with very little resources available to us.

I chanced on a Jewish axiom which said “the best form of giving is anonymous to anonymous” and I was very touched by that phrase. Immediately, I was convinced if 233times.net could get over 14,000 visitors a day, we could capitalize on that database to impact society. When I consulted Hayford Adjorlolo (my colleague at work) who is also an Up and coming Artiste on 21^st March about this donation, without any second thought, he was very supportive and we started sharing ideas as to how things should be done perfectly. If not for anything, I can boast of the intelligence of Hayford (CEO, Rolly Panda Music).

Initially I chose a popular orphanage in Accra and he convinced me that, those homes receive a lot of donations so choosing place outskirts of Accra would be great. Since my first love is internet, I started surfing the internet and this branch of Remar Orphanage magneted us.

I must confess that this has not been an easy endeavour. This has seriously tested the temperament of most of us especially me. It has as well given me the opportunity to know those around me very well. We encountered a lot of disappointments when we started and heard a lot of stories. One of them which I will never forget is when a woman told me “I even need donation than the kids there” when I approached her to help us in this. Another is when my 11-year-old nephew went into his wardrobe to bring me clothes and my cousin upon seeing the clothes given me by my nephew said he wears them presently. He quickly refuted and rhetorically asked him in Fante “Oy3 wo dia? Me si mennhy3 biom!”  That opened my mind and heart to understand that; even children are touched knowing the plights of those in such homes.

Our main aim of this donation is to make sure the residents of this home look good during the Easter holidays that is why clothes were the main focus during our soliciting. The team has been amazing especially when last week Saturday, we started collecting the clothes from the donors. The team led by DJ619 and Lionel started from Kasoa to Tema to collect the clothes from the residents of the donors.

I consider the donors to be pivotal in this donation because in this constipated economy, those who could not give clothes gave us money to support our endeavour. Some went to the extra mile of buying clothes to add to what they had and I must say God will bless them as much as they blink their eyes.

To the celebrities and distinguished guests present, I am so proud of you for travelling this far to support these kids here. 26 letter alphabets would not be enough to thank you for this love shown. I know the Almighty God would open the flood gates in your lives. I believe you will come back here to touch lives. These are people whose survival are heavily dependent on donations so I suggest even if you are not giving money or clothes but using your social media with a lot of following to solicit for items for them would not go unblessed.

To Ministry of Information and Media Relations, we are extremely grateful for the unflinching support given us.

To the residents of Remar Orphanage, I know you sometimes feel you have ceiling to your dreams but I challenge you to do better than all of us here because regardless of your background, if you do well, you will be accepted. I hope these gifts meet you well and you will add all of us to your prayers.

To the administration of Remar Orphanage, this opportunity given us means the world to us and on behalf of 233times.net, Rolly Panda Music and all the donors; we would want to express our profound gratitude. We will not forget about you and we assure you that 233times.net is available anytime you want anything to go public.

God bless 233times.net, God bless our donors, God bless Remar Orphanage, God bless Ghana and God bless us all, Thank you!