World Vision commissions projects for Dangme West

Kadjanya (E/R), June 02, GNA-World Vision -Ghana (WVG), a Christian charitable organisation on Friday commissioned three classroom blocks and other educational projects for four communities in Dangme West District.

Kadjanya, Osuwem, Nyigbenya, and Asutsuare communities benefited from the 1.4 billion cedis project funded by the organisation. The organisation also presented life jackets and a canoe worth 70 million cedis to Klebuse, another community within the District, to assist pupils to safely cross the Klebu Lake to attend school at Duffor, a nearby community.

Mrs. Angelina Baiden-Amissah, Deputy Minister for Education, Sports and Science, who commissioned the projects, commended WVG for its continuous support to enhance educational opportunities for children within the district.

" It is no mean achievement for an organisation to put up 40 school buildings, beside the KVIPs and other interventions in all spheres of human endeavours with eleven years of its stay in the Dangme West District, she added.

The Minister said Government remained committed to resolve teeming problem confronting the country, adding, " The NPP Government wants to get all hands on board to find solutions to the problems that constrain us. The era of 'Aban' must do it for us, is gone forever." Mrs Baiden-Ammisah said it was unfortunate that some parents could sell their children for only 400,000 cedis to strangers who engage them in all sorts of labour, and called for a collective support of civil society to address the inhuman practice.

She advised the community to adopt the culture of maintenance in order to sustain investments made by WVG in the District and to take advantage of the projects to enrol all children at school. Government has introduced the Capitation Grant to lessen financial burden on parents, she said, and it was therefore unacceptable for parents to refuse to enrol their wards at school. Mrs. Baiden-Amissah also commended the teachers for accepting posting to the community and appealed to communities to care and support them, instead of assaulting teachers for using corporal punishment to discipline their wards.

Mr. Sam Asare, National Director for World Vision, said since education remained a priority to the organisation, 30 per cent of its Area Development Project budget was spent each year on education. He said as a result, 8.1 billion cedis had been invested in the sector since 1996, and the organisation had also assisted in infrastructure development in both first and second cycle institutions in the District.

Mr Asare appealed to school authorities to promote balance education within the district and urged parents to also support their wards education, since education begins from home. The National Director expressed the hope that with continuous support from institutions and communities, World Vision could bring total transformation to the district.

The projects included a three-classroom block, office and store for three of the communities, and a two-room office block and store for the teaching staff at Asutsuare. 02 June 06