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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
Medical Doctor and dietician, Dr Bernice Korkor Asare, has urged women to take greater responsibility for their lifestyle choices, particularly their eating habits and levels of physical activity, to help reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.
According to her, although, some breast cancer risk factors, such as family history and certain reproductive factors, may not be within an individual’s control, lifestyle choices offer an opportunity for people to take preventive action.
She made this known during a talk on the topic: “Role of diet in breast cancer prevention” organised by Times Ladies Association of the New Times Corporation, publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator, in Accra on Thursday.
The event themed “Breast Cancer Awareness- Promoting Early Detection, Healthy Eating and Prevention.” 
She noted that having a risk factor did not automatically mean a person would develop breast cancer, but could increase the likelihood of developing the disease compared with someone without that particular risk factor.
“Having close relatives who have had breast cancer, particularly a mother, sister or daughter, may increase the risk, although not everyone with a family history will develop the disease,” Dr Asare opined. Read More.
By Adizatu K. Munkaila
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A group of compassionate friends from Innovation Gospel Impact last Friday visited the management, teachers and learners of the Street Academy in Accra.
The visit was to interact to get a deeper insight into the operations of the Academy that houses hundreds of street and underprivileged children and find ways to support them.
The team was led by Rev. Dr Isaac Apenteng Yeboah, a former Director for West African Mailbox Club and Director for Prisons Support Foundation, and Rev. Dale Sutherland from Washington DC.
The call, according to the visitors was occasioned by reports about the struggles of the Academy despite the occasional support it enjoys from individuals and some corporate entities.
Briefing them, the Founder and Executive Director of the Academy, Dr Ataa Lartey, thanked them for the concern showed, indicating that “this is a major boost for both teachers and learners; knowing that their plight is known by people outside their premises.”
According Dr Lartey, the Academy had planned to undertake a number of project to enhance teaching and learning and also procure facilities for the children with keen interest in sports but had to shelve those plans for lack of finance.
He told the team that their biggest concerns were the monthly utility bills that takes a toll on their finances.
“We have a piece of land we planned to turn into an astro turf pitch to train the younger ones whose interests lies in making a career out of football, however, we have been unable to commence because there is no money now,” he said.
Dr Lartey expressed gratitude to the teachers who have dedicated their lives to training these children, rather than going for well-paying jobs and hoped that with time, their conditions of engagement would improve.
Moved by the plight of the Academy, the group donated a cash amount of Gh₵3,000 to settle its water bills.
They described as unfortunate the conditions of learners and teachers of the Academy and pledged to continuously support their operations to realize the dream to build a better future for the unfortunate children.
The group offered to support the school with its monthly utility bills, feeding and staff allowance and urged the Academy staff to remain in constant touch with them.
The Street Academy is located at the Accra Art Center and offers brilliant but needy the chance to pursue their educational dreams by enrolling them in public schools with others offered training in sports and cultural activities.
By Spectator Reporter
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