News
Teachers at Ave-Atanve ‘flee’ to neighbouring communities for Internet
The absence of network infrastructure is making it difficult for teachers in the community in the Volta Region to make good use of a computer laboratory.
As a result, there is not a single resident teacher at Ave-Atanve Community in the Dzalele Traditional Area of the Akatsi North District due to lack of network to access internet connectivity.
This has, therefore, compelled about 10 teachers of the basic school at Ave-Atanve to “flee” the community in search of internet and cellular phone networks elsewhere.
In order not to abandon the pupils to their fate, the teachers have rather rented rooms in the neighbouring communities where they can readily have access to these facilities.
Torgbui Hodzi Dunyo IV, Chief of Ave-Atanve told The Spectator at his palace last Friday that even the computer laboratory of the school which was fitted with 10 desk-top computers had been of no use owing to lack of network
Shedding more light on the absence of resident teachers at Ave-Atanve, Torgbui Dunyo explained that some of them were pursuing Distant Education programmes and needed to make use of the internet which could not be in the community.
He said that the teachers now commuted to school on commercial motor-bikes (Okada) and public transport.
That, he said, was affecting teaching and learning in the school which had an enrolment of about 250 pupils, as some teachers turned up late for school and left earlier than scheduled.
Apart from that, the Chief said that the situation was dangerous, considering the rugged state of the road to the Ave-Avante located along the Ho-Denu road.
Most cellular phones in the area often pick the signals from the Republic of Togo which is very expensive.
This became readily evident during the chat when this reporter’s cellular phone displayed a signal from Togo and a message welcoming the user of the phone to that country, with tariffs on making calls and sending text messages.
Torgbui Dunyo complained that the situation was also undermining efforts by the traditional authorities to woo investors to the area.
Appeals to the Akatsi North District Assembly to intervene and put things right, he said, had fallen on deaf ears.
He pledged to make land readily available to any cellular phone service provider willing to install a mast in the community “to connect us to the rest of the country and the world.”
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ave-Atanve
Mr. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie, the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodioo Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, has assured the Accra Street Academy of his support in achieving its mission of uplifting vulnerable children within the community to break the cycle of poverty. “Without the needed support, your efforts may go round in circles due to the enormity of the task. This should not be left on the shoulders of the Academy alone. You need support from both government and the private sector. With that, the Academy would be in a good position to shape the future of these children on the streets,” he said.
The Accra Street Academy, originally formed in 1985 as a boxing arena, now serves as a school for deprived children, with most of its population numbering hundreds of pupils being neglected children from the streets of Jamestown and its environs. Mr. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie made these remarks at the annual stakeholders’ meeting and fundraising event held over the weekend under the theme “Empowering Street Children: Health and Wellness.” The event is one of the Academy’s annual programmes, organized to raise funds and other forms of support to aid the school in catering to the needs of the children and holding its Christmas get-together.
According to the MP, it is worth noting that these children are taught and provided with two meals and a snack daily through the support of benevolent members of society. In view of this, he promised to facilitate the acquisition of documents needed for the construction of an Astroturf within the school’s premises. He noted that “every child has the right to play, and therefore I pledged to do my best to secure the needed documents” for the project to commence.
The legislator disclosed that over the years, the academic programmes of the Accra Street Academy have transformed children surviving on the streets into successful adults. He therefore urged other members of society to partner with the school to “help pupils rise higher for a better Ghana.” In the 2025/26 academic year, 22 pupils were absorbed by the Accra Metro Education Directorate as they transitioned into various Junior High Schools, while still returning to the Accra Street Academy for academic support.
Ms. Yvonne Abba-Opoku, a chartered governance advisor and senior executive in the nonprofit and charity sector, stated that the best gift to give a child was education.
By Spectator Reporter
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Mrs Regina Kudom, Senior Midwifery Officer at the New Atuabo Health Centre in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality, has urged expectant mothers to attend antenatal clinic regularly for safe delivery.
She revealed that “in Tarkwa and its environs many pregnant women prefer staying at prayer camps, we are not against that, you can be there, but when your time is up for your antenatal session make sure you attend.”
Mrs Kudom gave the advice when the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) observed the World Prematurity Day with pregnant women at New Atuabo, Huniso and Awudua health centres.
World Prematurity Day falls on November 17, every year, and it is celebrated to raise awareness about the challenges faced by pre-term babies and their families.
She said research suggested that sex during pregnancy could soften the cervix and potentially aid in labour preparation.
“That is the reason why we encourage pregnant women to have sex with their partners, if they do not have any health implications,” she added.
Mrs Kudom appealed to the GFGF to upgrade the New Atuabo health centre as the current structure was too small because they received many patients daily.
Madam Ayishetu Mohammed, Project Coordinator for GFGF, explained that they received donations from Project C. U. R. E and the items were given to health facilities in their operational area.
She stated that they noticed there were baby dresses, sanitary pads, and baby apparel, so they decided to distribute them among expectant mothers in three of their host communities.
Madam Mohammed said because the foundation was interested in preventive care, they brought a midwife from the Tarkwa Mine hospital to educate the pregnant women.
She extolled the midwives in New Atuabo health centre for the education they gave to the pregnant women and implored them to heed to the advice given during antenatal visits to reduce maternal deaths in the Tarkwa Nsuaem and Prestea Huni-Valley Municipalities.
Mr Paa Kwasi Egan, Deputy Chief Physician Assistance, emphasised that a pregnant woman being anemic meant she was not eating a balance diet, and added that, “Some of these women do not have money to buy food or visit antenatal clinics.”
He said when men follow their wives for antenatal visits, they would be educated extensively on why they should provide funds for their pregnant wives.
Mr Egan, therefore, encouraged all men to be involved in their pregnant wives’ antenatal care appointments so they could learn more about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. – GNA
