Day: June 15, 2024

The Africa Centre for Human Rights and Sustainable Development (AfCHuRSD) has presented sewing machines and weaving kits to six girls in the weaving and sewing department of the Wa School for the Deaf (Wa Deaf).

They included three sewing machines and three weaving machines.

Mr David Gaanye, the Upper West Regional Coordinator of AfCHuRSD, handed over the machines to the school on behalf of Madam Bernice Naah, the Executive Director of AfCHuRSD.

The items were received by the school authorities, led by the Headmaster, Mr Andreas Kormle Gbormekor, for onward presentation to the beneficiary school children.

The intervention formed part of the ‘Promoting Equal Rights for Women and Girls with Disabilities in Ghana (PERD)’ project, sponsored by the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana.

It was jointly implemented by a three-member consortium-AfCHuRSD, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) and Women in Need (WIN).

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during the handing-over ceremony in Wa, Mr Gaanye said t
he machines were meant for the children to work with at home when they complete their training in the school to enable them make ends meet.

Similar support was provided to the vocational skills department of the Wa Methodist School for the Blind with the provision of camp bed frames and nylon lopes to ten girls.

The Schools for the Blind and Deaf were also provided with showrooms where their wares would be showcased to prospective buyers.

Mr Gaanye said they had also presented similar support to some women PWDs in the Nadowli-Kaleo District.

‘All these are in connection with the fact that we want these vulnerable women and girls in these schools and the entire community to feel at home and to be part of society,’ he indicated.

Mr Gaanye explained that some people looked down upon PWDs in society hence the gesture was to make the beneficiaries, who were the most vulnerable segment of society, live a comfortable life.

He said AfCHuRSD had been working with PWDs in the Jirapa and Wa Municipalities and Nado
wli-Kaleo District in the Upper West Region and Sanarigu in the Northern Region over the last three years to empower and support them to achieve a decent livelihood through entrepreneurship.

He advised the girls against engaging in acts including amorous relationships with men in the school and at home as that could jeopardise their lives.

Mr Andreas Kormle Gbormekor, the Headmaster of Wa Death, thanked the NGO for the support and expressed hope that it would positively impact the lives of the beneficiary children after school.

He said it would keep them busy after leaving school or during vacations and they would earn a living from it.

Madam Claudia Kyiileyang Viiru, the Head of the Vocational Skills Department of the school, expressed gratitude to AfCHuRSD for the support to the girls and advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the machines to reap the maximum benefits from them.

She also appealed for support to the male students in her department with the provision of sewing and weaving machines
to enable them to earn a living after school.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 1974-year batch of Keta Senior High Technical School (KETASCO) has handed over a refurbished and renovated clinic to the school to promote its health needs.

The handing over ceremony was done Friday to mark the 50 years Anniversary ceremony of the group at the school’s Assembly grounds.

The school clinic adopted by the year group in September 2019 was renovated and refurbished into a state-of-the-art standard to meet the health needs of students as part of their anniversary project.

Items procured included new beds, basic treatment kits, drip stands, double door refrigerator, pharmaceuticals, beds, bedsheets, and pillows cases, among others.

Renovation works done included repairing of all broken beds, changing of mosquito nets, electrical fittings, construction of disability friendly staircases and repainting of the entire structure.

Mr Siegried Sedziafa, Chairman, 1974 KETASCO Alumni disclosed to Ghana News Agency that they spent about GHS45,000.00 on the project.

‘It was a great delight for us to
touch the soil of our alma mater after 50 years and the training we had gave us the conviction to come and give back to the school.

‘We wanted to do something that could affect both students and staff and we chose the sick bay. That is why we raised the standard to a status that can even take care of staff and students as well.’

Mr. Innocent Augustt, KETASCO Headmaster, receiving the keys to the renovated clinic commended the Association for their support and promised it would be put to good use.

‘It is with joy we receive this clinic in this new condition, you cannot pursue academic excellence in bad health, so the decision to make our school clinic better will positively affect our academic performance very greatly ….’

The Association promised their continuous commitment to the school as they planned to work in other departments towards boosting academic excellence.

Present at the unveiling ceremony was Madam Bridget Katriku, Chairperson of KETASCO Past Students Association, Council of Elders, 1974 Ass
ociation members, staff of the clinic and entire student body

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Richard Kovey, the Convenor of the Campaign Against Privatisation and Commercialization of Education (CAPCOE), says passing the free Senior High School (SHS) bill into law in its current form is not the best.

Mr Kovey told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that regulating the policy and ensuring its sustainability would require addressing the challenges in the sector, which included feeding, provision of learning resources, infrastructure, and payments of grants needed to purchase some items for the school, among others.

He added that the Government must also come clear as to whether the next leadership must partner with parents to ensure the smooth running of the policy and outlined the necessary steps needed to achieve that aim.

‘If you implement a policy that says everything should be borne by the Government in its current state and then, in the future, you don’t see the donor support that is being used to cater for some of the things, what it is going to mean is that schools would have to
close down. Because, by law, parents are not supposed to pay anything and the government too does not have the resources,’ he said.

He suggested that parents whose wards were in boarding schools be made to pay for feeding, utilities, and other minor things.

This, he said, would reduce the desire of people trying to send their wards to category A and B schools.

The convenor of CAPCOE said that resources obtained from Category A and B schools could be used to improve schools in the other categories.

He stated that basic schools were experiencing challenges because of the free SHS policy and called on the authorities to invest in the educational sector equally.

Source: Ghana News Agency