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Ecobank Group has donated items worth GH�289,000 to 25 public schools across the country. The donation is in commemoration of the 25th anniversary celebration of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank Ghana. The items include library books Ecobank branded exercise books, teaching aids, computers, white boards, dual desks, and teachers� tables and chairs. Mr Eddie Ogbogu, Group Executive Director in-charge of Operations and Technology, ETI, at one of the presentation ceremonies at Prampram Senior High School on Saturday, said the event, the first of its kind was taking place in 33 other countries across Africa. He said the annual event dubbed �Ecobank Day� was to give the Ecobank Group the opportunity to execute its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that exists between the bank and its stakeholders in all markets where the bank operates. Mr Ogbogu said the aim of the annual community action day was to inspire and energise Ecobankers to use their collective talents and resources to make to make a positive difference to their local communities. He noted that CSR has assumed great importance in many institutions the world over and at the same time, stakeholders were demanding more from organisations to be ethically and socially responsible. Mr Ogbogu said it is in line with these developments that the Ecobank group, as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, has set aside the first Saturday of October each year to undertake CSR initiatives in various countries where the bank operates. �Ecobank is therefore making history as all our subsidiaries across Africa are simultaneously undertaking various philanthropic initiatives today,� he said. Here in Ghana, Mr Ogbogu said, the Ecobank Day ceremony is being held across 25 locations in the country. In all these locations, Ecobankers are carrying out various charitable activities and our focus for the maiden event is to provide the needed amenities to help improve teaching and learning in public schools. �Employees of our four Ghanaian subsidiaries, namely Ecobank Ghana Limited, eProcess International, Ecobank Development Corporation and EB-ACCION, are today engaged in cleaning, painting of schools and presentation of library books and other materials,� he said. Mr Ogbogu said light renovation works were also being carried out in some of the locations to give some institutions the needed facelifts for the safety of students and teachers. �We are by these donations, making a strong commitment that Ecobank will continue to be a good corporate citizen. We will continue to conduct our business activities in an ethically responsible manner towards all stakeholders, whilst contributing our quota towards the socio-economic development of our local communities and the country at large,� he said. He appealed to heads of the beneficiary schools to protect the assets acquired for them so that future generations of pupils and students would also benefit from their use. Mr Samuel A. Adjei, Managing Director of Ecobank, said the donation was the second from the bank to the Prampram Senior High School adding that Ecobank had come to establish a special relationship with the school. He said last year June, during the world environmental day, they visited the school and presented seedlings and other agricultural tools and equipment to equip the school to plant trees at the new site to serve as wind breaks for the structures under construction. He pledged the bank�s commitment to improve on the existing relations and continue to provide assistance to the school. Ms Diana Nortey, Headmistress of Prampram Senior High School, expressed gratitude to the Ecobank group for their continuous support. She said they felt very honoured to have been selected as a beneficiary of the Ecobank Community day initiative for this year. �The interest shown by the bank in our school gives us enough inspiration and hope that one day Prampram Senior High School will also achieve academic laurels�, she said. Ms Nortey pledged the commitment of the school�s management team to ensure that the items are put into good use. Ms Margaret Frimpong Okore, the District Director of Education, said education is key to empowerment in every aspect of life and commended the bank for the gesture. She said Ningo Prampram is a newly created district that was developing at a very fast pace and appealed to the bank to open a branch in the district to facilitate both commercial and private transactions. Togbe Hatsu Agbenyo, Headteacher at Kpi-Ete Primary School, one of the beneficiary schools in the Kpone Katamanso District of the Greater Accra Region, thanked the Ecobank group for the donation and appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to post more teachers to the school. He said due to deplorable nature of the road network many teachers sent to the school declined the offer and as a result currently they were only four teachers manning eight classrooms. Togbe Agbenyo also appealed to the District Assembly to ensure that work on the proposed Teachers� Quarters, started about five years ago, progresses together with work on the proposed kitchen for the school feeding programme.