Catholic Relief Services renovates Tarikom Primary School - Move to provide community, displaced children with education
Displaced children among about 1,000 Burkinabe asylum seekers at a resettlement camp at Tarikom in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region, can now have an education.
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This has been made possible due to the renovation of the primary school in the town to provide a congenial environment for both the displaced children and the children in the community to have access to basic education.
Executed by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in partnership with the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO), the renovation works were carried out on two three-unit classroom blocks and other ancillary facilities.
Additionally, the school has been provided with 120 metal dual desks, teachers’ desks and tables and assorted writing materials to aid in teaching and learning of both the children in the town and the asylum seekers’ children.
Dilapidated school blocks
Before the coming of the asylum seekers from Burkina Faso to the town, children in the community over the years studied in dilapidated classrooms, which posed a danger to the lives of school pupils.
Almost all the roofs of the classrooms had been destroyed and leaked badly and anytime it rained, the management of the school found it very difficult to have a place to accommodate the pupils.
The previous bad state of one of the classrooms
The bad state of the school negatively affected teaching and learning, as well as enrollment because most of the pupils were discouraged from attending regular classes.
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More important, parents were scared of allowing their children to attend school, since they were afraid that misfortune could befall them, especially when there was a heavy rainstorm.
The school, established in 2008, is situated about two kilometres from the camp.
Out of a total of 616 pupils in the school, 178 of them are displaced children of the Burkinabe asylum seekers.
Timely intervention
To consolidate earlier support to the asylum seekers which formed part of the phase one assistance to them, the CRS with funding from the O’Nell Foundation, undertook the second phase by renovating the entire primary school for $100,000.
At a brief ceremony to hand over the renovated school last Tuesday, the Head of Office, CRS, Timothy Amang-Bey Akanpabadai, said the phase one and two interventions were in line with the CRS’ mission statement to promote human development, by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease and poverty and nurturing just and peaceful communities.
The previous state of the primary school
He said, “we hope that this support will go a long way to reduce the current difficulties faced by the asylum seekers and residents of the host communities.”
While urging the government and other stakeholders to continue to mobilise resources to meet the needs of the vulnerable, he said the CRS was grateful to the chiefs, NADMO, UNHCR among others who had supported to bring relief to the people.
Church’s mission
The Human Development Coordinator, NABOCADO, Dr Joseph Ayembilla, said the mission of the church thrived on three key areas in terms of human protection, namely welcoming victims, protecting and integrating them into society.
He stated that it was for that reason that the church was deeply involved in promoting integral human development by collaborating with the CRS to renovate the school to provide sound education to the pupils, especially the displaced children.
He said, “I wish to call on the management of the school, community and the Ghana Education Service to ensure the prudent and efficient maintenance of the school to stand the test of time.
The Head teacher of the school, Alambila Ruphine Zenabu and the Chief of Tarikom, James Ayoore, who could not hide their joy and excitement, indicated that the renovation of the school was a big relief to them as its former state was a worry to them.
The District Chief Executive for the area, Tahiru Issahaku Ahmed, thanked the CRS and NABOCADO for the timely support and called for more such partnerships towards providing the needed assistance to the asylum seekers.
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While acknowledging that it was the duty of the assembly to improve the state of the school, he encouraged other partners to continue to collaborate with the district assembly towards the development of the area.
Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com