Afro pop star, Rebecca Acheampong, popularly known as Becca, will on February 13, 2010 organise a charity ball, dubbed "Becca's Children Ball" to raise funds to support needy children whose parents cannot afford to pay their medical bills.
"I want to raise 150,000 dollars to register 10,000 children on the National Health Insurance Scheme across the country and to sustain it for as long as possible," Becca told a press conference in Accra on Tuesday.
She said she was moved to embark on the gesture by an incident she encountered at a hospital where she met a "dishevelled woman sitting on a bench and staring blankly into the air, drained of all hope". Her four-month old baby had just died because she could not afford medication that cost only GH�15.00.
Becca said that event really prompted her to start the project and she had already pledged a portion of her digital music sales to the cause and her first cheque was ready.
She explained that the February show would also feature a dinner and other fun-filled activities with comedian Basket Mouth from Nigeria and the legendary South African musician Hugh Masekela performing.
She said the patron for the maiden edition of the Children's Ball was Mr Ishaac Diwan, Country Director of the World Bank, who had thrown his full weight behind the organization of the ball.
Becca urged all Ghanaians and other philanthropists to support the project.
She said all donations shall be made directly to Deloitte and Touch� of which 70 per cent shall be made immediately and directly available to the needy children and 30 per cent saved towards administration and organizing the Children's Ball in February.
Hospitals would be asked to provide the Department of Social Welfare with a list of needy children who will screen applicants to ensure that truly deserving ones only benefited.
Deloitte and Touch� would then pay for those recommended by the Social Welfare while itemized statements shall be issued annually to donors to enable them to know the specific individuals they were paying for.
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