Soldier Forms Charity To Improve Education

Serving in the Royal Signals, Lance Corporal Nyame Ayeh (Sony) Assuon balances married life, three children and a military career.

However, he hasn’t stopped there. He founded the charity, The Assuon Foundation Trust, to support his home region in Ghana by improving educational facilities. Sony feels passionate about education in his community because he understands the challenges faced by students growing up in the remote village, Nsueam.

“I had to walk about 5 miles every day to school and 5 miles back. I sat under a tree, there was no educational materials, sometimes we don’t even have teachers”

After coming to the UK in 2007, Sony approached the British Army career centre in Northampton which gave him the educational opportunities he desperately wanted.

Hear Sony Assuon speaking with Forces Radio BFBS Presenter Adam Powney below:

Now a Communication Systems Engineer with the Royal Signals, it’s hard to imagine that he had never seen a computer before his journey to the UK.

“The first time I saw a computer was when I was checking through immigration in Ghana to come to the UK.”

The gratitude Sony has for the Army is apparent. He explains what the Army has given him:

“It’s given me confidence, the ability to think and that selfless commitment. That’s why I want to give something back.”

Sony resonates the core values and standards of the British Army and one of those being integrity. He expressed his concern with other charities and the money going towards other means, rather than the projects that make a difference. 

“Everything we raise in the UK here, goes to the projects back home.”

The British Army has changed Sony’s life and now he wants to change the lives of those back home in Ghana. You can find more information here > www.assuonfoundationtrust.org.uk/