John A. Kufour foundation appeals for fund to support the Youth An Endowment Fund of The John A. Kufuor Foundation (JAK Foundation) has been launched in Accra in promoting the legacy of selfless leadership and commitment to national development by a former President of the Republic of Ghana, JAK Kufuor. The fundraising dinner in Accra which was organised by JAK Foundation, and was in line with the “80 for 80” campaign, which seeks to raise GH¢80 million cedis ($15 million) to commemorate the upcoming 80th birthday of former President Kufuor on December 8. Proceeds of the Fund will be allocated as follows; five million dollars for the construction of an ultra-modern Centre for Leadership and Governance at the University of Ghana, and 10 million dollars invested in the Fund. The returns on the investment will be used for the running of the various projects of the Foundation. These include The Kufuor Scholars Programmme (KSP), The Kufuor Young Entrepreneurs Network, Annual Lecture Series on Governance and Development, The Kufuor Election Observers Group, and The Kufuor Prize for Best Community Leadership. Former President Kufuor, during the launch at the weekend, said: “After ending my term in political office, I decided not to retire from serving my country hence my decision to set up a Foundation to continue to work on my vision for a peaceful and prosperous nation with leadership as its flagship program”, these are words from the former President of Ghana and now Board Chairman of The John A. Kufour Foundation, John Agyekum Kufour. According to the former President, The Foundation has kept the vision alive by developing good initiatives and implementing well-designed projects and programs. He said, he has done a lot as an individual but “every project comes with its challenges and the biggest challenge continues to be The Foundation’s long term-term sustainability and funding for the project”.He therefore, appealed to individuals, philanthropists and cooperate bodies to support The Foundation with money. The CEO of The Foundation, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah for his part, said, “the combination of The Foundation’s focused-strategy, diversified programming and growing partnerships will create long-term value for our target groups and our country as a whole”, He mentioned that, they are beating a path as the first in Ghana to institutionalize the visionary leadership of a former President whose post-president life has been fully dedicated to furthering the well-being of his people and humanity. The Foundation envisages the establishment of a peaceful, well governed and economically sustainable society in Ghana and Africa, it functions primarily to promote effective leadership, democracy and socioeconomic development through advocacy, development interventions and strategic partnership. A former Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho who co-chaired the event applauded the former President for the initiative. According to him “governance and leadership are things we need as a nation at this crucial time, there are a lot in these subjects for our young people”. Mr. Adjaho joined the tall-list of people and companies who supported The Foundation with cash at the dinner night. Story by Edzorna Francis Mensah GBCONLINE ---DECRYPTED---