NGO gives books, tablets to Akuapem South basic schools

OKWAF Foundation with support from Books for Africa, a non-profit organisation at Minnesota in the USA, has donated assorted books and computer tablets to selected schools in the  Akuapem South District in the Eastern Region.

The books, comprising science and mathematics textbooks as well as storybooks, were distributed to 10 schools.

They included Aburi Demonstration JHS, KEMP Methodist JHS and Aburi Anglican JHS. Others were Aburi Presby JHS, Ahwirase Presby JHS, Djankama Methodist JHS and Kitase JHS.

The rest were Ajemanti JHS, Nsakye JHS, and Aboadaka JHS, all of which were selected by the district office of the Ghana Education Service (GES) after a needs assessment.

At a presentation ceremony done at a mini-durbar organised by the Akuffo Foundation at the forecourt of the Omanhene’s palace in Aburi, the Executive Director of OKWAF Foundation, Emmanuel Ansa-Ntow, said the books were not given out of mere benevolence of the Omanhene of Akuapem but to encourage reading and interest in AI and engineering among young schoolchildren.

He emphasised that “knowledge as it is often said is power and should be the watchword for everybody to put premium on educating their wards”.

Inculcate

He encouraged parents, teachers, educationists and every child to take advantage of the books to inculcate the habit of reading, which would open their minds to things around them..

He said the foundation would rest at nothing until Okuapehene’s vision of developing education in the area becomes a reality.

He said a number of activities had been outlined to ensure that the donation gets to every nook and cranny of the four zones the foundation planned to distribute the books in.

Mr Ansa-Ntow said the expectation of the foundation was that the computer tablets “will facilitate and ignite the interest of the children towards AI and engineering”.

He advised the students to stay away from drugs and other social vices and stick to their books “because that is the only way to the apex of life”.

The Public Relations Officer of the Akuapem South District GES, Esther Kddey, who represented the district office of the GES, thanked the foundations for the donation.

She charged the students to take advantage of the books and read to acquire knowledge for their development.

Mrs Kiddy encouraged the students to take advantage of the many opportunities available to them to develop their talents for their own benefit and that of society.

“Your generation has no excuse to fail because you have everything at your disposal to be successful,” she urged.

The District PRO urged teachers and the beneficiary schools to take good care of the books and assist and guide the students to take interest in reading them. She called on corporate bodies, individuals and philanthropists to invest in educational programmes in the district.

The beneficiary students expressed excitement at receiving the items. Abraham Nii Noi said “this is a dream come true because I never expected to own a tablet now but thanks to OKWAF that dream has come to reality”.

Simon Opare, another beneficiary of the tablets, thanked the foundation for the device and said “with this tablet and books, I will leave nothing to chance until my dreams are fulfilled”.