Chantelle Kuukua Eghan developed her passion for arts when she was young, not having the opportunity to play with other children as she grew up, she started playing with papers, coloring and drawing things. With the desire to build a career in interior decoration and pursuing her passion for arts, Chantelle is currently studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon.
In 2018, Chantelle incepted the Arts for the needy initiative after having a random conversation with a junior high school dropout. Always having the desire to help others, she decided to use her hobby of painting as an avenue to generate funds and support needy but brilliant students to stay in school and get the best of education. Arts for the Needy initiative was officially launched on 21st October, 2018 which also doubles as Chantelle’s birth date.
Since its inception, Arts for the Needy Initiative has supported three Junior High students to further their education, write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (B.E.C.E) and go onto Senior High Schools of their choice. Aside providing financial aid, the beneficiaries are also mentored and guided in the course they can study in Senior High School based on what they are passionate about.
In getting beneficiaries for the initiative, the Arts for the Needy team went to St. Joseph Preparatory School, the alma mater of Chantelle, shared the initiative idea with the proprietor and were presented with a list of students who were brilliant but needy. Based on the academic performance of the students, the team selected the beneficiaries, had their parents sign a consent form and then made payment of fees for the rest of the school year and the registration fees for the BECE.
The long term goal for the initiative is to have a handful of students the project can fully cover by providing these students with quality education, mentoring and guidance for them to attain their goals of going to Senior High Schools.
In the course to raise more funds to continually support students, there will be other arts events to help the team generate the needed funds towards the initiative as the year goes by. The focus is to increase the beneficiaries from the current record of three to six this year and more increase year on year. To support the initiative, you can order a painting of your choice or directly donate funds without getting a painting.
To celebrate one year since the inception of the initiative, Chantelle and her team are looking forward to organize an arts and cocktail event were people would have the opportunity to paint for fun and whatever proceeds they get at the end of the day, would be invested into the initiative to help more needy but brilliant students get quality education.
Source: medium.com
