Battor resettlement home project gets boost

A resettlement home project being developed to accommodate 300 displaced people in Battor and Aveyime areas in the Volta Region received a boost with a donation of GH¢150,000.

Civil engineering and construction firm, Oswal Investment Group Limited, donated the amount.

The homes, being developed at the two locations at Battor and Aveyime by Construction Ambassadors in collaboration with the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, are expected to accommodate some of the victims whose mud homes were completely washed away by the floods, which followed the spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams that submerged hundreds of homes and farmlands.

Presently, a number of the homes have been completed paving the way for the relocation of the first badge of 300 displaced persons from some of the classrooms at around Battor.

Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa told the Daily Graphic that the priority of the project partners was to ensure speedy completion of all the project phases due to the increasing number of displaced people, especially those with special needs, as well as children who were missing out on education.

The contractors of the project, he said, completed the work and handed it over to him last Thursday.

“As you can see, the longer we keep people in the classrooms, the more children in our communities continue to fall behind in their education,” the MP said.

“Also, we do not want the buildings to be unoccupied while people, particularly the aged, those with disabilities, as well as young girls continue to sleep in the classrooms.

“So we have started fixing bunk beds and other necessary soft furnishings that will make life comfortable for the people to enable them to move in tomorrow,” Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa added.

He said that the traditional leaders had also donated additional parcels of land at different locations to help develop more homes to accommodate more victims.

The MP expressed the hope that members of the public would come to the aid of the victims to help build these homes that would significantly go towards the restoration of the lives of the victims.                                   

Funds

The Group Chairman of Oswal, Humphrey Awuletey Williams, expressed the belief that the donation would be invaluable in helping to address some of the most urgent needs of the project.

During a visit to some of the camps at Agbetikpo near Battor, some of the victims were seen sharing student mattresses.

A 90-year-old lady and her 70-year-old daughter, for example, told the team that they had only one student mattress to sleep on, which created discomfort for them.

Improved living conditions

The initiators of the project hope that the resettlement homes would provide victims with a safe and comfortable place to live, with access to basic necessities such as clean water and sanitation.

They said that would be a significant improvement over the sleeping-in classroom arrangements in place for the victims, which has kept many children out of school.

Chiefs

The Paramount Queen of the Battor Traditional Area, Mamaga Asieku IV, who together with the MP received the donation, said the gesture by the Oswal Group would help to provide a safe and secure haven for those who had lost everything.

“Your donation is a symbol of hope that the displaced victims are not alone and there are people who are committed to helping them to rebuild their lives,” Mamaga Asieku said.