The Anyaa-Ablekuma Area of The Church of Pentecost under the leadership of Apostle William Ohemeng-Kwakye, officially launched The Church of Pentecost Chairman’s Education Foundation (CoPCEF).
The event, held on Sunday, May 28, 2023, was attended by the Area pastorate and delegates from Pentecost University, including Vice Chancellor Apostle Professor Kwabena Agyapong-Kodua.
COPCEF is an education-support fund instituted at Pentecost University by the Church’s Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, to assist needy but brilliant students.
In addition to providing internal scholarships, the foundation also supports Pentecost University’s infrastructure and staff development, contributing to the University’s ambition of becoming the university of choice in Africa and the world.
The launch ceremony aimed to raise awareness about COPCEF and encourage members of the Church to support the foundation.
In his welcome address, Apostle William Ohemeng-Kwakye commended the Church’s efforts to provide educational support to deserving students, even with limited resources, through various scholarship avenues such as COPCEF.
He highlighted that the foundation, which is a substantial scholarship fund managed by Pentecost University, is available to all brilliant but needy students at the University.
Apostle William Ohemeng-Kwakye also took the opportunity to outline the various educational scholarships offered by the Church.
Firstly, he mentioned the Pentecost Educational Scholarship Scheme (PESS), which is funded by the Church’s Headquarters. This scholarship is awarded annually to brilliant but needy members of The Church of Pentecost, with one student per area selected, depending on the availability of funds. Nationwide, over seventy (70) students are selected each year.
Another scholarship opportunity available to Church members is the Pentecost University (PU) Scholarship. Each area is required to contribute a percentage of its Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to sponsor bright but financially disadvantaged students to attend Pentecost University. The number of students sponsored per area depends on the IGF generated by that area.
It is noteworthy that the financial strength of a particular area determines the number of students selected for each academic year.
In addition to these scholarships, Apostle William Ohemeng-Kwakye mentioned that districts, local assemblies, and individual church members also provide scholarships or financial support to deserving students within their respective areas, depending on the availability of funds at each level of the church structure.
Apart from these avenues, the Area Head mentioned that there are also benevolent individuals who support the education of needy church members.
Apostle Ohemeng-Kwakye highlighted the significant progress achieved in the past four years since the inception of these educational interventions.
He expressed his delight in the church’s commitment to educational support.
“During the recent 46th session of the General Council Meeting held at Pentecost Convention Centre in Fetteh, the Chairman disclosed the success of the church’s educational support initiative,” he stated.
He added that “In 2022, the various districts, areas, and ministries in Ghana, along with the Headquarters, spent GHȼ10,686,084.76 to sponsor the educational pursuits of church members at various levels. This included GHȼ863,443.64 spent under the Headquarters’ sponsored Pentecost Education Scholarship Scheme (PESS) for tertiary students outside Pentecost University.”
Focusing on the Anyaa-Ablekuma Area, Apostle William Ohemeng-Kwakye emphasized that despite the numerous financial challenges faced by the area, it continues to support the educational pursuits of its members.
Currently, the area provides full scholarships to 21 students, with eight of them being enrolled just this year.
Report by Anyaa-Ablekuma Area Media Team