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ACCESS Bank donates to Basic Schools in Bolgatanga
Two Basic schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality have received donations from Access Bank, Bolgatanga branch.
The donation, which was in the form of sandals distributed to the schools, was meant to ameliorate the challenge of schoolchildren from poverty-stricken communities trekking miles to school barefoot.
This altruistic gesture from the bank was honoured after the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Bolgatanga, Roland Atanga Ayoo, engaged banks, financial institutions, and other benevolent individuals and organizations operating in the municipality to solicit their support for the growth and development of Bolgatanga.
Presenting 100 pairs of sandals to the Basiengo Kindergarten/Primary School and Yorogo-Akakiya KG/Primary School, respectively, at separate fora on Saturday in Bolgatanga Branch Manager, Alhassan Salifu Kahaar, said the gesture was part of the organization’s corporate social responsibility of giving back to society.
He said the bank, as a corporate institution, was touched by the precarious challenges confronting learners from underprivileged communities and families in the Bolgatanga Municipality and its environs.
“As a bank, this is a project that we undertake to reduce the burden on parents and guardians,” he pledged. “We know how parents struggle to put food on the table, let alone getting their wards sandals and other educational materials.”
At the Basiengo Primary School, located at Sherigu, Mr. Kahaar noted that the sandals are locally manufactured and eco-friendly.
“The sandals are made out of worn-out car tyres. We have tasked all staff members across the country to make their worn-out vehicle and motor tyres available, so we contract a private person to recycle them and produce sandals to be distributed to children from marginalized communities,” the Bolgatanga Branch Manager added.
He moreover said the bank had been engaged in the project for the past years, “and here in Upper East, we have actually visited orphanages like Mama Lardi Children’s Home at Sherigu in the Kassena-Nankana West District to make donations.”
He assured that the bank meant business in supporting education, health, and other areas of national life in the region to thrive, and would therefore extend the gesture to other schools in the future.
Felicia Adongo, Headmistress of the Basiengo KG/Primary School, commended Access Bank for the support, and equally lauded the MCE for selling the proposal to the bank and other benevolent organizations to intervene and address some challenges confronting the school.
She appealed to the bank to consider supporting the school with furniture, as some children had resorted to sitting on the floor during lessons because of a lack of desks.
The MCE, Mr. Ayoo, said he had recommended the two basic schools to receive the support because of the “seriousness” of their issues.
He pledged that the assembly was working around the clock to address the furniture problem affecting academic work at the Basiengo Primary School.
“I tout the Basiengo community for undertaking the construction of a Junior High School. The structure, a self-initiated project, needs government support, and that will be done in due course,” Mr. Ayoo promised.
He disclosed that the construction of the school would be put under the legacy projects in the municipality for expeditious execution, and asked staff members and learners to stay calm.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BOLGATANGA
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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