A north east well management firm has stepped in to raise $110,000 (£70,000) in five months to build an orphanage in Ghana.

EXCEED’s charitable trust joined forces with a local organisation in Ghana, Becky’s Foundation, to build a new home for 45 orphaned children after being served with an eviction notice for the premises it was renting. The company has strong ties with Ghana having worked there in-country for over six years.

This, together with EXCEED staff links to volunteering missions in Ghana, has led to a project funded by the EXCEED Trust directly from corporate profit contributions and staff fundraising activities, which will continue with a series of planned events over 2015, including a team of EXCEED staff participating in Ride The North in August. Most of the children in the care of Becky’s Home have been rescued from child labour exploitation in the fishing industry, or in some cases, been left without parents as a result of AIDS. The establishment does not receive any government funding and relies solely on the support of donations and volunteer helpers.

As a result of the eviction notice served to Becky’s Foundation at the end of 2014, the children were forced into temporary accommodation in a nearby day care centre. At that point EXCEED’s charitable trust stepped in and agreed to pledge the sum of £70,000 needed to buy the land and build the Foundation its own home.

The well management and performance improvement specialist has raised some $250,000 (£165,000) through its Trust fund since its inception in 2008.

EXCEED has made sure that this is not a “remote” project, with several members of staff deployed in Ghana regularly delivering supplies and gifts and visiting the build. Supplies of clothes and school materials such as notebooks and pens were hand delivered by EXCEED employees in January. Aberdeen Football Club has also part-funded a donation of football strips for the children.

EXCEED founder and director Ian Mills said: “We don’t just want to hand over a cheque, we want to give back to the communities in which we work and we are committed to make a lasting and meaningful difference in the children’s lives. Our role is to change circumstances, so the children can fulfil their potential. Therefore we have the privilege to help Becky’s Foundation achieve its aim of providing a safe and nurturing home for these children. We believe that a business has a real responsibility to give back to the communities within which it works.

“This is legacy project for EXCEED – this collaboration is the first step towards ensuring a permanent home for these and other young children and to building further ties with the local community. Crucially, the project will also include accommodation for visiting volunteers. One of the core values of Exceed is to lead by example and we are immensely proud to be leading such a worthwhile project.”

It is of equal importance to EXCEED to engage with the local workforce, and a local architect has volunteered to oversee the project, ensuring appropriate quality materials and safe practices are used. The work is progressing well and the aim is to be in a position that the children can move into their new home in April this year.