"A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses" goes that Chinese proverb that says people who do good to others benefit indirectly. 

For a free giver like Alhaji Seidu Agongo, that fragrance and goodness is life itself. 

The business magnate who started his sojourn as a shoeshine boy knows and feels the pains of others' poverty in his bones. He came from there and has vowed never to let others suffer that pain, so long as he can help it.

He is a friend to widows and orphans, the sick and the rejected, those abandoned and those living with disabilities. Indeed, he just about anybody on the vulnerability spectrum.

For many who have encountered or heard about his philanthropy, his name is synonymous with generosity, charity, and free giving. And he does without talking, behind the scenes and without showing up.

However, despite the secrecy of those good works, they eventually get to the public arena, mostly through the beneficiaries who will talk about their blessings from a man so calm and humble to their friends and family.

And such unbridled gratitude is the fragrance left on a giver like Alhaji Seidu Agongo, whose charitable reputation goes before him. And they cut across the cross section of society.

Your favourite koko or waakye spot may not have existed but for his charity. That exceptional doctor and surgeon might not have made it to medical school but for Alhaji Agongo’s intervention and sponsorship; that smart young lawyer who helped you to successfully fight your case in court might have ended up wasted had Alhaji Agongo’s helping hand been missing in his or her life; and I'm sure some of you reading this article may have tasted his generosity in one life-saving way or the other.

Apart from his uncountable anonymous charity works and generosity, there are some that, by their mere nature, caught the attention of the media or were powered through those platforms for greater and wider reach.

BUILDING OPD WARD FOR KORLE BU CHILD EMERGENCY UNIT 

In 2018, the Muslim philanthropist constructed an Out-Patient Department (OPD) block at a cost of GH¢857,000 for the Child Emergency Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (K’Bu) in Accra.

He handed the 30-bed capacity block to the Hospital in 2019.

Alhaji Agongo decided to build the block after visiting the hospital in 2017 to console one of his secretaries who lost her baby at facility and witnessed how newborn babies and their mothers were packed into a small, congested space with some of them making do with the bare floor due to the congestion. He said he saw four babies sharing a cot meant for one, which really got to him.

Such is his fellowfeeling and humanity.

He said upon enquiry, he was told that the unit had space limitation.

“One officer, Dr Otoo, jokingly asked if I was going to build them a new block and we all laughed over it,” he said.

He said he later contacted the unit formally and requested to construct an additional block for the unit and land was provided for it.

He explained that he was from humble beginnings and had to strive often to ensure that his God-given successes impacted others positively in whatever small way he could.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR BRILLIANT-BUT-NEEDY PUPILS & STUDENTS

The management of St. Paul’s Lutheran School, in 2019, presented a citation to Alhaji Agongo for adopting and sponsoring 17 pupils there over the past few years.

The 17 were among 81 pupils Alhaji Agongo adopted almost 10 years ago and sponsored from the basic to the university level.

Realising that education was the only means by which he could help end the cycle of poverty in the families of poor pupils, Alhaji Agongo decided to move his own children from Al-Rayan International School, where he was spending about $5,000 on each child, at the time, to the St. Paul’s Lutheran School near the state-owned Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in Accra, so that he could use the savings he made on his children’s school fees, to sponsor the 81 poor pupils up to the university level.

Presenting the citation to Mr Agongo at a PTA meeting on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, Mrs Fatimah Carol Yamusah, the Admissions Coordinator of St. Paul’s Lutheran School, expressed gratitude to the Muslim businessman for his care for the less-privileged in society and his many philanthropic works and encouraged him to continue his good deeds, especially his scholarship offers to help needy children get a good education and foundation in life.

The citation read: “For your outstanding contribution towards the admission drive of St. Paul’s Lutheran School, it is with great pleasure that the management of the school would like to honour you for your exceptional initiative and tangible impact".

“You do this unobtrusively and efficiently without bringing attention to yourself. You certainly have set a fine example of reliability, dependability and commitment".

“You do not speak of the people you help or the crisis you have diffused in the lives you have touched. Your religion is no barrier to your compassion for all. You are a person who shows selfless dedication to others and believes in promoting academic excellence in the lives of every young person you have encountered. Mr Agongo is without question a most deserving recipient of this honour.”

GIFTING HAIRDRYERS, SEWING MACHINES TO POOR ARTISANS 

In November 2019, one hundred talented-but-needy hairdressers and seamstresses/tailors benefited from the third edition of Class Media Group’s ‘Founder’s Empowerment Project’ held in Kumasi, Ashanti Region.

Class Media Group is a Ghanaian media conglomerate which operates Class91.3FM, Accra100.5FM, No.1 105.3FM, Kumasi 104.1FM, Adehyee 99.1FM, Ho FM, Sunyani FM, Taadi FM, Dagbon FM, CTV, and ClassFMonline.com.

It is founded by Alhaji Agongo, who decided to use the power and wide reach of his media empire, to positively impact the lives of the poor across the country.
Fifty hairdryers and 50 sewing machines were given to the beneficiaries in Kumasi.

Alhaji Agongo initiated the philanthropic programme with the aim to equip underprivileged artisans, including apprentices, who do not have the financial means to set up their own businesses, so that they can be independent.

The Kumasi charity event followed a similar donation of the first set of 86 hairdryers and sewing machines to a similar profile of people in the Greater Accra Region.

Also, some 31 underprivileged seamstresses/tailors and hairdressers including two people living with disability, benefited from the second edition at an event held on 25 November 2019 at the forecourt of the Ho Central Market.