Stephen Appiah donates to flood victims

Former Ghana national-team midfielder Stephen Appiah took to the streets of Accra earlier this week to deliver relief and offer his support to the victims of the recent flood in the city.

StepApp, accompanied by Nana Kwame Bediako—the CEO and President of Petronia City Development—visited Adabraka, one of the neighbourhoods to have been hit hardest by the adverse weather conditions to have devastated the Ghanaian capital as well as the surrounding region.

The flooding across Accra has, over the last week, left many homeless and without basic living requirements.

It has also been responsible for a national disaster, when 160 people were killed last Wednesday evening in an inferno at a petrol station after seeking shelter from the rain.

The victims of the tragedy were believed to be sheltering from the downpours when fire broke out, according to the BBC.

Speaking to Citi News, Appiah begged the Accra community to support those in need and to offer their own solidarity with their compatriots affected by the flooding.

“I want to use this opportunity to tell my fellow Ghanaians that in our own small way we can help these people because these are hard times,” the 34-year-old began.

He went on to respond to criticism aimed at the Ghanaian government and, in particular, their mayor of Accra, after accusations of poor management and disaster planning.

“We always blame people when such incidents occur but we need to make things right and that requires that we take responsibility.

“The dumping of plastic bags and rubbish on the streets and into our gutters is one of the major reasons why such tragedies occur and we all know that when this happens it will be difficult for the water to escape.

“We have to make a conscious effort to do the right thing. We don’t always have to wait for these things to happen, we need to change our attitude,” he concluded.