Kosmos Energy supports Ashanti School for the Deaf

Oil and gas production company, Kosmos Energy Ghana, has refurbished the boys' dormitory of the Ashanti School for the Deaf at Jamasi in the Sekyere-South District in the Ashanti Region.

The 300-bed capacity make-over dormitory will provide decent accommodation for almost all the 318 male students, who form more than half of the student population.

The school established more than 45 years ago with nine pupils, two teachers and 12 non-teaching staff currently has a student population of 608 pupils made up of 290 females and 318 males, and 122 staff, including 60 non-teaching members.

Until its renovation, the block one of the oldest buildings on the premises had never seen any facelift.

At the handover ceremony at Jamasi yesterday, the Senior Vice-President and Head of the Ghana Business Unit at Kosmos Energy Ghana, Joe Mensah, said it was the belief of the company that its support would enhance the efforts of the government and the Parent-Teacher Association to create the perfect ambiance for a social, academic world.

The facility has bungalows for the housemaster and house mother, bathhouse, laundry area, electrical fixtures and fittings, among others.
The school currently operates five departments: kindergarten, primary, junior high school, vocation and blind units.

“As a good corporate citizen, we are pleased that our resolve to support the special school and that of the Ashanti School will help more than 300 male students of the school and lead to the stimulation of the desire of the beneficiaries to excel in their education," Mr Mensah said.

He said the move formed part of its corporate response to the lingering effects of COVID-19 and external factors that had had a negative impact on the most vulnerable members of society.

“As part of our support, Kosmos Energy Ghana is offering humanitarian relief to four state schools for students with special needs in the Northern, Ashanti, Western and Eastern regions,” he said.

For the company’s commitment to the four state schools for students with special needs, the Ashanti School for the Deaf, he said, was the second of the schools to benefit from its humanitarian relief programme after the Savelugu School for the Deaf last year.

Oldest building

The Headmistress of the Ashanti School for the Deaf, Vida Aidoo, said “the project by Kosmos Energy has left an indelible mark in Ashanti School for the Deaf by creating the perfect ambiance for the students who now have a decent accommodation”.

Mrs Aidoo mentioned other challenges of the school to include the lack of equipment for the blind unit and the vocational department.

“Our students in these two departments require technical tools such as sewing machines, dress and shoe-making materials, kente weaving equipment, Perkis Brilla machine, among others to enable the students to be effective and efficient,” she said.

The District Director of Education, George Adu Abrakwa, said efforts of companies such as what Kosmos Energy had done helped to ensure improvement in educational infrastructure.

“The children here need our support and perfect ambiance for their development,” Mr Abrakwa said.