Hope at last: Presidential aide rehabilitates dilapidated Kokotro School
What began as just the sharing of a video on social media to showcase the singing capabilities of school pupils of the Kokotro Methodist Primary School in the Bekwai Municipality in the Ashanti Region has brought transformation to the entire school.
Established in 1935, the school had until recently become a pale shadow of its former self due to the deplorable state of its classroom block, which had hindered teaching and learning and demotivated both pupils and teachers.
All the floors in the classroom were in a broken state, resulting in its dusty nature, coupled with broken doors and windows.
The school block’s veranda was not spared either, as it was in a completely poor state requiring urgent renovation to pave the way for the school to return to its former state.
Several appeals to the municipal assembly, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and corporate bodies for support towards the school’s renovation over the years did not yield any results.
Choir video
However, as fate would have it, the state of the school caught the attention of a presidential aide at the Office of the President, Ms Amanda Okyere, after a video of the school’s choir — shared on social media by a teacher, Sampson Abankwah, popularly known as Sir Sam — revealed part of the dilapidated building.
Nana Gyasi, the Chief of Gyasikrom and Benkumhene of Asakyiri, cutting the tape to inaugurate the school block. Looking on is Dr Frank Amoakohene (left), the Ashanti Regional Minister
Moved by the singing and performance of the school’s choir, as well as the poor state of the school, Ms Okyere subsequently reached out to the teacher who established the choir,
Mr Abankwah, to request additional photos of the entire primary school.
Afterwards, she fully funded the entire renovation of the school, thereby giving it a facelift to put smiles on the faces of the pupils and teachers.
According to Mr Abankwah, the teacher who founded the school choir that attracted the support, he conceived the idea three years ago to prevent pupils from skipping school to work at illegal mining sites.
Having trained the pupils for some time, he started sharing the choir's videos on social media to show the singing prowess of the school pupils.
Work done
The rehabilitation works involved cement works, fixing of the broken doors and windows, together with the painting of the entire school block, thereby giving it a facelift to deliver quality education to the school pupils.
Dr Frank Amoakohene (2nd from right), the Ashanti Regional Minister, presenting one of the laptops to Collins Owusu, the headmaster of the school, during the event
Specifically, the rehabilitation involved floor casting of all classrooms and around the entire block, the fixing of 24 pairs of windows and 12 pairs of doors, and the provision of seven teachers’ tables and 10 chairs.
Other contributions included the provision of six marker and graph boards, 60 students’ dual desks, seven new cupboards, the fixing of the ceiling of all the classrooms and the provision of 13 ceiling fans.
The remaining contributions included a lighting system, tiling of the floor at the headmaster’s office, the provision of a television in the same office, and general maintenance of the main building.
The facelift given to the school came at the right time, as the pupils and teachers had yearned for it to enhance academic work.
Further, Ms Okyere donated 10 laptops to the school to enhance the teaching of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Inaugurating the facility recently on behalf of Ms Okyere, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, commended the chiefs and elders in the community for allowing her to execute the project.
Further, he expressed gratitude to the presidential aide for her decision to shoulder the transformation of the school to complement the efforts of the government towards improving education at the basic level.
He also urged all public-spirited individuals from the region to emulate the example of the sponsor by also identifying certain problems in hard-to-reach communities and addressing them.
Delighted
At the event, the Municipal Chief Executive, Salifu Issaka, said the chiefs and people of the area were delighted to witness the total transformation of the basic school to improve academic work.
Schoolchildren in one of the classrooms before the rehabilitation
He described the rehabilitation of the school block as a major boost towards the delivery of quality basic education to the school pupils.
The Chief of Gyasikrom and Benkumhene of Asakyiri, Nana Gyasi, said if individuals are blessed with financial resources, they must extend a helping hand to others who are in dire need.
“We are very grateful to Ms Okyere and Mr Abankwah, who shared the video which attracted attention towards the rehabilitation of the school.”
“As a community, we graciously welcome the intervention, as it will go a long way to boost the morale of both the staff and school pupils in the school,” he said, stressing, “undoubtedly, this is a life-transforming support to this area.”
The current state of one of the classrooms after the renovation
He urged the school’s management and community members to jealously guard the facility to ensure it stands the test of time, adding that if it is not protected and deteriorates within a few years, it would discourage other public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies from coming to the school’s aid.
In a remark, Mr Abankwah advised the youth to make good use of social media to reap its full benefits, whether personally or for the growth and development of their communities and the nation as a whole.
"I never thought sharing the choir's video on social media would indirectly attract support towards the entire renovation of the school.
This is something I never imagined in my life,” he stated.
Headmaster speaks
The Headmaster of the school, Collins Owusu, who could not hide his joy, commended the benefactor for coming to their aid, saying that it was a huge relief to the beneficiary pupils and teachers in the school.
The previous state of the school from outside
He stated that the former state of the school was demotivating to both the staff and the school pupils, indicating that “learning in such an environment was a great source of worry to us.”
Further, he appealed for the construction of a teacher’s quarters for the school as it had resulted in a low number of teachers, saying “the absence of the quarters prevents teachers from accepting posting into the area.”
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