On Monday, Ghanaian media reports revealed many human aspects of the late international player Christian Atsu, who died under the rubble of his building after it was destroyed by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey, as he used his talent and wealth to lift the deprived out of poverty.
Atsu, 31, has been missing since the collapse of the apartment building in Hatai since the sixth of this month.
From the arrival of Atsu’s body in Ghana
Ghana’s Vice President Muhammadu Bawumya was at the head of the player’s coffin draped in the country’s flag at the Kotoko International Airport in the capital, Accra, on Monday.
Ibrahim Oppong Quarteng, founder of the Crime Check Foundation and a close friend of the late player, said: Christian Atsu paid the medical bills and fines of more than 150 prisoners and also gave them trading capital earlier.
In 2018, he also paid the money for the release of nine African prisoners, and the Ghanaian reports said that he donated 7 thousand pounds sterling to support them, and before that he paid the money for the release of a 62-year-old woman and her daughter who were imprisoned for stealing corn.
Atsu
Reports indicated that Atsu reached out to the charity to help release some prisoners in Ghana who were imprisoned for petty crimes, and pledged to support more prisoners in the future.
Reports also indicated that one of the released prisoners, who benefited from the support of Atsu, as for twins, was imprisoned for biting the hand of a member of her family during a quarrel. The charitable foundation was able to help her by renting luxurious housing for the mother and her children, and they were also given financial support to purchase needs and facilitate their lives. .
And the official account of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ghana tweeted, saying, after confirming the death of the player: “I stood with the refugees, and was a proud donor of UNHCR’s fundraising efforts in Ghana. We are deeply saddened to hear that you cannot survive, our heartfelt condolences to your entire family.”
A woman in Ghana’s parliament appealed to the fulfillment of Christian Atsu’s wish, who wanted to see the non-custodial provisions bill, and indeed it was passed into law, as the player expressed in 2021 his desire to pass the law, so that young men would have a new chance in life.
The non-custodial sentence is an alternative to a prison sentence, in which the judge can convict the offender of community service, in addition to being affected by the fact that prisons in Ghana lack basic facilities to make the place suitable for people with disabilities.
Chris Clown, a Nigerian comedian, also revealed that he was one of the beneficiaries of Atsu’s charitable work, and he said after the death of the Ghanaian star: Christian had been supporting me for a long time in 2015, when I lost my father, he called me and offered to sponsor my support until I graduated, and he did. He was a great friend.
Besides supporting prisoners and refugees, Atsu has always donated football boots to the players of his former club in Ghana.
Together with the charity, Christian Atsu has been helping orphaned children, visiting them regularly when he returns home in the summer, bringing them gifts such as books, stationery and other essentials, and contributing to the development of their building.
Atsu played with Chelsea, Newcastle United and Everton, and spent a period in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Raed, before moving to Hatayspor in September 2022.
Atsu played 65 matches for Ghana and helped them reach the final of the 2015 African Cup of Nations, when the team lost to Ivory Coast on penalties. He last participated with Ghana in 2019.
