Okuapemman Fekuw of Chicago supports School for the Blind
The Okuapemman Fekuw, a group of Ghanaians from Okuapemman living in Chicago, Illinois in the USA, has re-roofed and renovated the dining hall and the kitchen of the Akropong School for the Blind in the Akuapem North municipality in the Eastern Region.
Advertisement
The school, established in 1945, has trained visually impaired pupils and students, some of whom serve in diverse ways in the country. Currently, the school has a population of 410 students, 38 teaching and 45 non-teaching staff.
The refurbished dining hall and kitchen were handed over to the school at a colourful ceremony which was attended by the assembly members of the Akropong Electoral Areas, chiefs and opinion leaders of the Akuapem Traditional Area and the Akuapem North Municipal Chief Executive, Barima Awuah Sarpong Asiedu-Larbi.
The Headmistress of the school, Veronica Dery, in her remarks, was full of gratitude to the Okuapemman Fukuw of Chicago, USA, for refurbishing the buildings which had been a problem for the school for a long time.
She said the school appealed to many organisations and institutions as well as individuals for assistance but had not been successful until the group from the USA came, adding that the refurbishment was timely.
Ms Dery said the school, which was built in 1945, had the needed infrastructure but as time went on some of them began to deteriorate, which called for frequent maintenance, hence the need to appeal to the general public for help.
Plight of the students
The representative of the group from the USA, Ebenezer Yeboah Mireku, who is also the Secretary to the Okuapemman Fekuw in the USA, who handed over the refurbished buildings to the school said the group, was touched by the plight of the students and pupils of the school when the school’s administration contacted them.
He said after the group assessed the cost of the damage and what would go into the refurbishment, they put their resources together and put the buildings in shape. Mr Mireku said no contribution was too small to help alleviate the plight of their younger brothers and sisters of the Akropong School for the Blind and therefore appealed to everyone, especially the Ghanaians outside the country, to support needy institutions such as the Mampong School for the Deaf.
Other Trending Stories
Inclusivity
Mr Asiedu- Larbi also lauded the group saying that the dedication, generosity and passion for inclusivity had transformed the school into a state-of-the-art facility, which would continue to provide equal access to education for all.
He noted that the spirit of the Okuapemman Fekuw in the USA should inspire every member of Okuapemman in Ghana and elsewhere to build bridges between communities, foster empathy and support one another to promote the development of the Akuapem Traditional Area.