In an era where it is easy to impress others by posting about their wealth and accomplishment on social media, Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu Tswasam, chooses to share his wealth with the less-privileged.
“I did not have it easy growing up. My parents tried but things were tough. I remember I used to walk from Madina to Achimota to play football.”
With his passion for prisons, he connected with Crime Check Foundation (CCF) through which he could reach those behind bars.
“I used to do charity but I needed a proper way to reach out to prison inmates. I went online and chanced on your channel. I followed your activities for some time and then I concluded that I could trust CCF,” he said.
Since his collaboration with the crime prevention advocacy organization, the player has contributed to prison decongestion through the payment of fines for the release of petty offenders.
“The word of God says we should visit those in Prison so I went to the Nsawam Prison. The condition there was terrible so I decided to support the inmates. That is how I started donating to the prisons,” the player explained.
Aside from his support to the prisons, the Hatayspor forward has been an advocate for the passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing bill into law.
Speaking to crimecheckghana.org, Atsu attributed the delay in the passage of the bill to negligence on the part of stakeholders.
“I think our leaders are not responsible for their actions. If they were to be responsible, the bill would not have been delayed in the passage,” he intimated.
Here are some beneficiaries of Christian Atsu’s benevolence:
Christian Atsu paid for the release of a 62-year-old woman affectionately called Mama Theresa. The woman was jailed for 10 years for possessing marijuana.
The former Chelsea player intervened to pay for her fine.
Atsu also paid the court fine of a blind inmate of the Nsawam Prison, Peter Enin to gain his freedom.
The Black Stars player embarked on a ‘freedom’ mission at the Cape Coast Prison.
He paid the fine of ten petty offenders who were imprisoned for stealing food.
A lactating mother and her two daughters would have spent three in prison if not for Christian Atsu’s intervention.
The three were fined Three Hundred and Sixty-Three Ghana cedis for stealing Ten Ghana cedis worth of leftover corn.
Atsu gifted them One Thousand Ghana cedis after their release.
Other beneficiaries included a set of 40 inmates who gained their freedom after the player paid their fines.
The Hatayspor forward has also been supporting young players with the donation of boots to local teams.
While in the country in 2021, the footballer donated eighty pairs of boots to his former team, Cheetah FC.
Schools have not been left out of his benevolence as he supported the people of the Central Region.
He made a donation to an orphanage, Becky’s Foundation in Senya Brekum.
Christian Atsu owns an orphanage, ‘Arms Around The Child’ at Gomoa Fete in the Central Region.
The orphanage provides home, protection, education, and support for children who have been orphaned, abused, affected by HIV/Aids, trafficked, sold or live in child-headed households.
He is currently building a school, which would be able to accommodate 300 children.