Ghanaian couple build social centre for Twumkrom

A $350,000 Social Centre complex built by a Ghanaian couple based in Canada for the people of Twumkrom in the Dormaa Central Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region has been inaugurated.

The Twum-Barima Centre, constructed by Dr and Mrs David Twum-Barima, comprises a library, a science laboratory, a computer laboratory and a 1,500 seating-capacity centre for social gathering.

It was jointly inaugurated by the Queen of the Dormaa Traditional Area, Nana Akosua Fima Dwaben, and the Chairman of the National Peace Council,  Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante.

Selfishness

Delivering a sermon during the inauguration of the centre, Most Rev. Prof. Asante denounced the selfish attitude of some Ghanaians domiciled abroad who were only interested in what the country could do for them and not what thy could do to eradicate the poverty and deprivation associated with people in their hometowns.

“Anytime you meet them all that they talk about are the negative things going on in the country and not about the positive things and how they could use their connections to mobilise resources to better the living standards of people in areas where they lived and grew up to become what they are today,” he said.

He likened the gesture of the couple to that of Nehemiah who was taken into captivity but returned to mobilise the people for the reconstruction of the ruined walls of Jerusalem and called on Ghanaians to rekindle the communal spirit they were noted for in order to build a country that the present and future generations could be proud of.

Injustice in education

Touching on the lack of infrastructure, tools and equipment to enhance teaching and learning in “outlandish” areas, Most Rev. Prof. Asante said it was “an injustice” for pupils and students in schools in such areas to write the same examinations with their counterparts in prestigious schools in cities.

Most Rev. Prof. Asante called for measures to be put in place so that students in deprived areas would be given opportunities to rise to the top of the academic ladder.

He stated: “We shouldn’t create a class system in our education.

 Efforts should be made to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity”, he said and added that spending more money to create equal opportunities for students would be cheaper than spending less to create a class society”.

Academic laurels

For his part, Dr Twum-Barima said he was inspired to build the centre to provide amenities that would propel pupils and students in the area to achieve higher academic laurels.

“Twumkrom has done something for me. This is where I was nurtured, and it is my responsibility to ensure that children in this community and beyond are provided with the necessary tools and amenities to reach where I am today,” he stated.

Nana Akosua Fima Dwaben commended Dr and Mrs Twum-Barima for their gesture and called on citizens of the Dormaa Traditional Area living elsewhere to come home regularly to support the development efforts of the people.