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Accra New Town Collapse: Here is why this 18-year-old is calling on government

Abena New Town.png Abena is currently looking for government support to further her education

Wed, 1 Apr 2026 Source: www.ghanaweb.com

An 18-year-old teenager whose mother perished in the Accra New Town building collapse says she is at risk of becoming a school dropout following the death of her mother.

She indicated that her late mother was the breadwinner, hence her passing has left a void that threatens to end her education and her hopes for a better life.

Speaking to TV3 on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, and monitored by GhanaWeb, Abena (not her real name) explained that she was expected to return to school on Monday, March 30, 2026, but could not do so due to lack of financial support.

“My dad, too is late and I'm supposed to be in school by now. But with what has happened, I can't go now. So, I'm seeking help from the government to be able to return to school,” she pleaded.

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Narrating events leading to the tragedy, she said she normally accompanies her mother to church on Sundays, however, on that fateful day, she felt a strong urge not to attend church service.

Abena believes this was God’s way of saving her from the disaster.

“I normally go every day. That's the church I attend. But that particular day, I was getting the feeling that I don't want to go. And she said I should come and I said, ‘Okay, then, I'll come.’ And she went around 2:43 PM. So, I was taking my bath and I heard a noise. People were making noise that the building has collapsed. And I went there. It was the very building they were having the church service, and that's where my mom was,” she said.

“She had been insisting that I come…but I think maybe it is God who wanted to save me that particular day because I was having the feelings that, shouldn’t go and so I slept,” she narrated.

Accra New Town Building Collapse: What we know so far

Abena further shared fond memories of her late mother, recalling how she would often visit her at school to check whether she needed anything and how her mother never missed church services.

Abena said these memories will make her miss her mother who she described as a passionate Christian.

“…My mother never misses church. The only days she does not go to church are Mondays and Saturdays. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, she's in church. When she's even sick, she will go,” she said.

See the state of the Accra New Town building before the collapse

When asked what last words she heard from her mother before her unfortunate demise, she stated, "I should try and come to church. She said it three times.”

VKB/VPO

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Source: www.ghanaweb.com