The Anwelle Foundation launched in Jirapa with a call to action from the Paramount Chief, Naa Di-Naa Donlabong III, who urged natives both at home and abroad to take personal responsibility for their community’s development instead of relying on central government support. Speaking at the event, he challenged people to move away from a culture of entitlement and to consider what they could contribute to their hometowns.
“Development does not always have to begin from Accra. It can begin here. It can begin from a young man who refuses to give up on his community; it can begin from a woman farmer, a teacher, a student, a philanthropist, or from the traditional palace. And sometimes, it can begin with nothing more than a decision to care,” the Paramount Chief said.
The launch gathered traditional leaders, government officials, diplomats, academics, and civil society actors. They came together to introduce the foundation’s plans to close resource gaps through work in education, youth empowerment, sustainable livelihoods, and rural development.
Naa Di-Naa Donlabong III also addressed questions about his recent decision to enskin social media influencer Parrot Mouth as the Jirapa Development Social Media Influencer Chief. Some critics questioned whether this move diluted traditional customs. The Paramount Chief dismissed those concerns, arguing that traditional leadership must use modern communication tools to tell Jirapa’s story and promote its opportunities.
“The palace must not become disconnected from the tools of the modern world. A story about Jirapa can travel across the world before the Traditional Council has finished its meeting,” he said. “We cannot complain that the world is not hearing about Jirapa and, at the same time, reject those who have the capacity to make the world listen to us.”
He called on Jirapa’s sons and daughters living abroad to return home with their capital, academic qualifications, networks, and technical expertise to help build a competitive local economy.
The foundation’s founder and CEO, Frank Anwelle, explained his motivation. His own experience showed him that access to educational support in rural Ghana was often arbitrary. “At a critical moment in my life, someone saw potential in me and opened a door. But support was largely a matter of chance. Sometimes, scholarships exist, but the brilliant student in the village never hears about it,” he said.
The Anwelle Foundation aims to close this gap by making help visible and accessible. Before the official launch, the foundation had already provided emergency relief to students displaced by a dormitory fire at Jirapa Senior High School. It also gave sewing machines to vocational trainees and drilled boreholes to supply clean drinking water.
A beneficiary, Abdul Karim Hakim, a Level 400 Computer Science student at the University for Development Studies, shared how the foundation supported him. A native of Walewale, Hakim had been working as a security guard in Accra to fund his education when Anwelle met him in 2022. Since then, the foundation has covered his tuition, accommodation, and living expenses for all four years of his study.
The foundation also announced a youth-focused automotive apprenticeship partnership with industry operator Johani Annie. Selected young people from Jirapa will receive training in automotive workshops in Tamale, Sunyani, and Accra. Later, the foundation plans to open a modern auto workshop in Jirapa to employ the trainees locally.
The launch drew international attention, including from Daniel N. Kolubah, the Presidential Envoy for Trade, Investments and Special Duties of Liberia, who works with Anwelle as his Special Aide for Ghana. Kolubah urged African leaders and organisations to focus on measurable community impact rather than empty declarations.
“The true measure of leadership lies not only in what we achieve for ourselves, but also in the opportunities that we create and the lives that we positively impact. Let this foundation be defined not by the number of programmes it announces, but by the lives it transforms,” Kolubah said.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Puozuing, praised the initiative and donated GH₵20,000. He encouraged local stakeholders to develop agricultural value chains that cover production, processing, storage, and market linkages. This approach aims to make farming more attractive to young people. Still, he warned against placing too many demands on the foundation too soon.
“When one person undertakes to help, we shouldn’t break the fellow’s back. In Jirapa, we are over 200,000 natives. If one person comes to support and our demand seems to quadruple because there is an Anwelle Foundation, the foundation will collapse before we get the necessary impact,” Puozuing said.
Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, leader of the People’s National Convention and Bimoba Youth Chief, contributed GH₵5,000 to the foundation. He cautioned political actors against undermining youth-led development initiatives through partisan views or the “Pull Him Down” syndrome.
In his acceptance remarks, the foundation’s Board Chairman, Prof Williams Angko, noted that the name Anwelle translates from the local dialect but did not provide further details in the speech.
The launch of the Anwelle Foundation marks an effort to address poverty and youth unemployment in Jirapa through education, technical training, and community-driven development. Whether this initiative can sustain itself depends on the involvement of the wider community, as well as careful management of expectations and support.
According to Joy Online.
