The items included bags of rice and sugar, cartons of milk, milo, tea bags and a prayer mat.

The presentation was made at the residence of the National Chief Imam in Accra yesterday.

The Head of Legal of the bank, Muctar Abbas, said it had always been a long standing tradition on the part of the institution to make donations to the Chief Imam during such festive periods.

“The idea is to help him deliver on his spiritual and physical obligation to the community because, as we are all aware, every day in this very house, the Chief Imam cooks and gives out foodstuffs to everyone in the community,” he said.

He said the items were the bank’s way of contributing to the Chief Imam’s effort to deliver his mandate and to also seek Allah’s blessing for its staff, management, shareholders, the entire company and the country as a whole.

Social responsibility

Mr Abbas said the bank, as part of its corporate social responsibility, was engaged in some religious and non-religious activities, including investing in projects concerned with women empowerment, health and charity, adding that “we do a lot; it’s just that sometimes we don’t really publicise them”.

He said the institution was seeking to make a positive impact because it was not all about making money to pay its staff and making dividends for shareholders, but to also give back to society.

“All this is important because we are not an island; every penny we make is from the community.

So that same community within which we operate needs to benefit, and this is our widows mite, and we are making sure to spread the fortunes we have been blessed with,” Mr Abbas said.

Prayer, Gratitude

The Chief Imam prayed for Allah’s blessing and divine intervention in the lives of staff of the bank and the future of the bank.

The spokesperson of the Chief Imam, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, expressed the Chief Imam’s profound gratitude to the bank for recognising and assisting him to handle the huge responsibilities on his shoulders.

“Honestly, most of them are deprived, and they depend on the Chief Imam’s support in breaking their fast, so this comes at a good time, and the Chief Imam is grateful,” he said.