People living in this community struggle to make calls due to poor network
An aid organisation donated computers to remote villages inside the Upper East region to link deprived schools to the rest of the world through the internet — but the charity crew left the donation grounds not in doubt that the thankful recipients may have to hang the processors on a tree to catch a glimpse of the global village on the monitors.
This is because the humanitarian group, on arrival in the Bawku West District with the computers, found schools and individuals in those communities making and receiving emergency telephone calls on treetops as network signals had, for decades, been impossible to catch on the ground. Several villages in the district- including Yibonde, Bulinga, Gundago, Dagunga and Zongoiri among others- do not have network service poles.
“This is a place where there is no service. There is no service at all. I have been here for about six years now. We are cut off. These days, they don’t give circulars from the education office. They mostly rely on phone calls. If you don’t hang your handsets on a tree, you might miss important calls from the office. Teachers don’t want to stay in this community because of the network challenge,” said Joshua Akumbole, the Headmaster of the Zongoiri Junior High School.
James Ayemiga, an instructor in charge of Information Communication Technology (ICT) at the school, pleaded: “As we do not have network service, the students would only be looking at you when you go to teach them internet. We are begging government to provide this community with a service pole for the sake of ICT. Even emergency calls, we have to place our phones on trees. Those who cannot climb trees hang their phones on a rope from a height and put them on loudspeaker when they are expecting calls. There are no privacy calls here.”
Authorities Gird up Loins against the Odds
Until the philanthropic organization—known as Just Help the Youth Foundation (JUSTFON) – made the donation, schoolchildren at Zongoiri reportedly had never had a face-to-face encounter with a desktop computer.
Only 15% of candidates from the school do obtain a pass mark in ICT at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) every year, according to the authorities. But despite the haunting network challenges, the school now looks forward to making great strides at ICT examinations with the equipment received.
“We are very happy to see things like this. When I was posted to this school, I realised that we were using only a laptop, which didn’t have a mouse. The students didn’t know what a computer mouse was. It was a challenge. Computer accessories are not found in this community.
“We had to go and look for a computer mouse to teach them. Performance has not been good. But with the items we have received, we can be sure our students will do much better in the years ahead,” Mr. Ayemiga remarked.
Two Students to One Chair
The troubles at the Zongoiri JHS are not just about the persistent network freeze. The school’s only borehole is broken down. And the classrooms are so inadequately furnished that students sit tight in pairs in single wobbly chairs.
“We don’t have enough furniture. Two students share one mono desk. Some have to sit on the floor whilst they write. People only come here to take data, to ask of the number of furniture that we have, but they don’t supply any furniture to us.
“They come from time to time; they keep taking data; we don’t see any solution. The classrooms are choked. Some are sitting on the floor; they can’t concentrate. The challenges are so many,” the headmaster grieved.
A Community in Rags sitting on Gold
The donors also presented to the Zongoiri JHS some abridged copies of the Holy Bible, assorted storybooks, a bale of folders and a number of writing materials among other items.
Touched further by the furniture crisis eating up the school, JUSTFON’s Chief Executive Officer, Justice Atta Afriyie, pledged more assistance.
“Our goal is to help the youth in deprived communities. There was a school building put up 50 years ago at Kasongo. There were 50 children in one classroom without chairs and tables. There were cracks in the building also. I posted it on our website. People traced the school, saw it and helped to rebuild the school,” Mr. Afriyie said.
“I will do same for the Zongoiri JHS,” he added. “It’s a shame to still find schools without furniture, computers, and internet in Ghana today. Those in the urban areas are benefiting from the national cake more than those in the rural areas like Zongoiri. Zongoiri is a deprived area- the end of Upper East. It’s a shame.”
He was accompanied by his deputy who doubles as the organisation’s Information Technology (IT) Director, David Akwasi Afriyie, and another official, Bismark Anokye. Albert Anaba, a representative of the Chief of Zongoiri, Naba David Akparibo Asuguru I, patted JUSTFON on the back for the helping hand.
“We appreciate the support JUSTFON has brought to the people of Zongoiri so far. We would also want to plead that any other benevolent group or individual should just take a glance at Zongoiri, see how deplorable the main road is, see how people hang their phones on top of trees just to receive or make emergency calls, see how people have difficulty in getting their wards to school because of the numerous challenges they have, see how students share one mono desk and come to the aid of this community,” Mr. Anaba said.
Zongoiri farms tirelessly in rags on mineral-rich fields. Commonly described as the farthest part of the district, the extremely impoverished community is bordered by a wild-looking escarpment and a winding river to three famous settlements in the Northern region- Gambaga, Nakpanduri and Nalerigu.
