Young At Heart, beacon of voluntarism

Is sad but true that volunteerism and communal spirit, which used to be the bedrock of the Ghanaian society where communities came together to find solutions to problems militating against their development is becoming endangered.

This has caused grave consequences to national development, but the “light at the end of the tunnel”, was that a group of young graduates from the universities have come together to offer services to improve education, especially in the area of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to deprived communities at their own cost.

Known as the “Young at Heart” led by Marian Godwyl and based in Koforidua, the group has not only offered free ICT teaching to deprived schools in Koforidua but in other areas in Ashanti and other regions, bearing the cost of accommodation, meals, transportation and using their personal laptops and other needed materials to teach.

Young At Heart, a team of about 12 volunteers of graduates from the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and All Nations University and other institutions of higher learning was formed just about a year ago with the idea of giving back to the society the privilege of the quality education they have received.

The team does this by providing practical ICT lessons to young people in basic schools in deprived communities, and have so far been to eight outreach programmes including Bredi D/A Okyerekrom, Aboubogya, Mentukwa, Antwi Agyeikrom Primary Schools, Little Flower School and Koforidua Methodist Junior High School in the Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and Eastern Regions.

Ms. Godwyl said the team encourages volunteerism among the youth in Ghana and Africa, a commodity which she described as highly relevant now in the discourse of nation building and the continent as a whole.

She said many people are not privileged to be exposed to the knowledge and training they have acquired due to financial constraints and geographical location.

Ms. Godwyl said members decided to focus on ICT because even though it is an examinable subject at the Basic Education Certificate Examination, its implementation is faced with challenges such as the lack of personnel and materials to facilitate teaching and learning.

She observed that it is not enough for the establishment of computer laboratories in schools in deprived communities or the donation of computers to such educational facilities when there is lack of electricity supply or no competent teachers to teach.

The latest outreach service of Young At Heart was a partnership between Vedic Maths Ghana to provide children in Little Flower School, founded by a couple in a deprived community to provide quality pre-school education to children in the catchment area free of charge from tuition to feeding from July 13- July 27, 2014.

Monsignor Bobby Benson, Philanthropist and Founder of Mathew 25 House, an HIV and AIDS Care Centre in Koforidua that caters for People Living with AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children, who was at one of the sessions of Young At Heart, at a school in Koforidua was full of praise for the team.

He said such spirit of giving back to society even from people who have not gone through such deprived living conditions was fulfilling and must set the tone for an example to be emulated by all.

Monsignor Benson said the call to serve by God is not about going to church alone but by strengthening the feeble hands.

He promised to support the group with learning materials which would be useful in their outreach programmes and called for support from the public to advance such a noble cause that has been lost from the Ghanaian fabric long ago.