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Promoting sustainable environment: Up-close with Makafui Awuku …brain behind plastic bus shelter project
Thursday, February 3, 2021, saw the inauguration of a modern bus shelter made from recycled plastic at Dzorwulu Junction in Accra.
The project, first of its kind in the city, had gained positive reviews since it was outdoored and would remain a proof of the creativity of a Ghanaian youth as there numerous alternative uses of plastic waste in the country.
This paper puts the spotlight on, Mr Makafui Awuku, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mckingtorch Africa, the initiator of the project, as he continues to push the “sustainable environment” agenda and encourages people to be “more responsible” in handling plastic waste.
Project
Constructed with recycled plastic beams, ‘chale wote’, used car tyres, used gallons, plastic bottles, burnt clay brick, among others, the bus shelter, according to Mr Awuku, was to demonstrate that recycled plastic could become “a durable construction [material] and relevant resource that can create jobs.”
The Environmentalist, Innovator, Artist and Entrepreneur, had started working with plastics in 2017 before registering Mckingtorch Africa in 2018.
He said the bus shelter idea was hatched in 2020 but the execution was postponed until he found a partner organisation which was interested in funding the innovation.
“I got the funding in February 2021, applied for permit which took about six months, and we started working on the designs and dimensions. Some of the material we wanted to use also took about six months to be ready so it was really a long journey but we finally built it in January 2022,” he told The Spectator.
Challenges
He said apart from funding and the delay in completing the project, finding a suitable location was another hurdle as the team took into account various factors to ensure the shelter served its intended purpose.
“We looked at a various locations within the jurisdiction of Awayaso West Municipality and the Dzorwulu Junction was the most suitable,” he stated.
Although the fund released for the project was about GH¢ 20,000, Mr Awuku said the cost had increased to GH¢ 45,000 due to delay in getting some materials and equipment for the construction.
“It was the first time we were building something from plastic lumber which is an innovation in Ghana. We had to do a lot of experiments and buy some devices we did not think we would have used.
“As we built, new ideas and designs came and all these influenced the cost,” he noted.
Objectives
Touching on the lifespan of the project, the Founder explained that the materials used were fire and water resistant and would, therefore, be able to “last as long as it can.”
Among other objectives, he said that the construction of the bus shelter was to explore “sustainable ways of keeping plastic waste out of the environment and how plastic beam innovation could be used as a viable alternative for wood and other materials for construction.”
“It is one thing to create the innovation and it is another thing to make it relevant enough to make people experience how it can be used in everyday life.
“If we are not able to create something we use in everyday life, it would be difficult to solve the plastic waste problem,” he said.
McKingtorch Africa, as the initiator of the project, had support from partners including: Geodrill Ghana, Ayawaso Municipal Assembly, Academic City University College, Pyramid Recycling, Caveman Watches, AB Solar, and Yielding Accomplished African Women.
Mr Awuku indicated that the company was looking forward to building more of the bus shelters across the country in future when it found “ideal locations,” and would possibly incorporate features such as USB charging ports and in-built radio to enable people to listen to news or music while waiting for transport or resting.
Invention
In addition to other innovations, Mckingtorch Africa produces sandals, rubbish bins, flower pots, wall artworks, laundry baskets, bracelets and other products from plastic waste.
The company, he added, was focused on making an impact on future generations, and would continue to produce long-lasting products from plastic waste as well as develop programmes to ensure plastic waste do not end up at the landfill sites.
Expressing his view on the waste pollution menace in the country, Mr Awuku stressed the importance of adding value to plastic waste, and the need to promote recycling to limit the impact of waste on the environment.
Background
Mr Awuku hails from Keta in the Volta Region. He studied Marketing at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) and took up an additional course in Environmental Management along side the programme.
He is an alumnus of the United States Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI) and received training on the Sustainable Development Goals in 2017.
In 2018 and 2020, he was listed among the 50 Most Influential Young Ghanaians by Avance Media, a Media and Public Relations Agency.
He had won a United Nations Waste Recovery Grant and benefitted from a number of support programmes and contributed also to the Ghana Plastic Waste Management Policy.
He is a member of the advocacy group, One Ghana Movement, and is a part-time soccer coach at America International School.
The old student of Keta Secondary School has background in Sports Marketing and currently works at Academic City University College as Technology and Entrepreneurship Manager, responsible for turning student ideas into viable businesses.
By Ernest Nutsugah
He once sold kenkey to pay his school fees, and now wears the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police. DCOP Kofi Sarpong, police officer and award winning gospel musician is charting a journey few could script.
In an interview with The Spectator chronicling his rise, the newly promoted DCOP took us on his journey through the ranks.
Early Life
“I was born in Berekum in the Bono Region, then Brong Ahafo, to Comfort Yeboah, affectionately called Maame Yaa, and the late Chief Inspector Kofi Sarpong,” he said.
His family story is one of resilience. His mother had two children before her husband died in an accident. She later married Kofi Sarpong’s father, a police officer, and had two more, himself and his junior brother. “So we are four, unfortunately one is deceased, just last year, so we are three now.”
School and struggle
He started at Berekum Methodist Primary under the old ‘Sito’ system. In Form Two, he moved to Obuasi to stay with a guardian for his Form Three education, then returned to Berekum for Form Four. He later attended Berekum Senior High School where he studied General Arts and shone as an athlete, a sprinter in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay.
After O-Levels, his batch was the last to write the exams, his dream was to become a teacher because of his love for children. But financial hardship forced a detour.
“I decided to help myself by going to buy maize and started preparing kenkey to sell at lorry parks and markets in Berekum,” he recalled.
According to him, the people from Berekum know this story. “I can make all types of kenkey, Fante Kenkey, Ga Komi and others. Don’t be surprised to see Kofi Sarpong Kenkey one day.” The proceeds paid his upkeep.
For this reason, he advised the youth “Don’t see life as a smooth journey but find something prudent to do to help yourself in difficult times.”
After grinding his education to a halt due to financial challenges, he now holds a Degree in Public Administration from GIMPA, a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy and Project Management, plus other higher certificates, with more in the offing.
The Police Call
When teaching did not materialise immediately, he moved to stay with his father at Osu, Accra. In 1994, he visited former IGP Nana Owusu-Nsia at Police Headquarters, who told about ongoing police enlistment.
In his head he declined, but outwardly he accepted to try reluctantly. Later, watching TV news and seeing long queues of young people aspiring to join the Police, he was inspired to reconsider.
He went to Berekum for his certificate. Accra enlistment had closed, so he joined the Kumasi exercise. He was selected, passed the exams and went to the Koforidua Police Training School, Galloway. After passing out, he was posted to the Logistics Unit at Police Headquarters.
At Headquarters, a senior officer encouraged young constables to further their education. He took a course in Purchasing and Supply via distance learning from a UK institution. 
Upon completion, the Police administration promoted him from Constable Class One to Chief Inspector, a leap that paved the way for him to enrol at the Police Academy. He graduated as ASP, and the climb to DCOP began.
“The officer corps starts from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the cadet,” he explained. “When you graduate from the Police Academy, you are awarded ASP, and you move to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), that’s when I released album to start my music career professionally.”
From there, he rose to Superintendent of Police (SP), Chief Superintendent, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and now Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP). Next is Commissioner of Police (COP).
Music found him in Sudan
On peacekeeping duty in Sudan, officers from different nations came together to hold fellowship led by a Nigerian officer. In December that year, with top-ranked officers present, Kofi Sarpong led the service to the admiration of all.
On his return to Ghana, a Colonel, who was a Matron at 37 Military Hospital and a member of the 37 Methodist-Presbyterian Church invited him to their harvest service. He ministered, and as he stepped out of church, a man approached him with an offer to record him. He declined.
Days later, at the office, the man, Ernest Kwesi, who owned Media Excel Production sent an elderly man to pursue him. He still declined. This compelled Ernest Kwesi himself to visit him at the office. “He told me he had seen something in me.”
Just after Ernest Kwesi left,Kofi Sarpong wrote to then Director General/Welfare, Mohammed Alhassan, and Paul Tawiah Quaye the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the time. “He opened the letter and said he had been waiting all this while because he had seen me perform at police officers’ events.”
He was summoned to the IGP’s office, a call which scared him, however, it was a good news; his request was approved. Against this backdrop, he informed Ernest Kwesi who quickly visited that evening with highlife musician Akwaboah Jnr., who taught him his first song, ‘Me ko nso hw3 mu’, and they went to the studio.
A song earlier recorded in reggae by Zapp Mallet was totally transformed by Nacee, so they released both versions on the album. Nacee, he says, hugely supported promotion, as did Mark Okraku-Mantey.
He also acknowledge Oware Jnr. who also wrote songs for him.
After his maiden album’s success, police leadership congratulated him. He says he is happy to have inspired other officers to write to the Service to pursue other interests.
An autobiography, he reveals, is in the offing.
Family and food
He is married to Mrs Salomey Sarpong with three children, two boys and a girl: Nana Nketiah, Maame Afia Yeboah Sarpong and Papa Kwabena Aseda Sarpong.
His hobbies are watching athletics and being with family. His favourite foods are fufu and konkonte with groundnut soup.
On music, he teased a collaboration with a top Nigerian artiste, promising fans “hot praises” soon.
He concluded by thanking Ghanaians for their support since his promotion, and thanked the Inspector General of Police for his guidance.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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WHEN some of her pupils failed to show up at school, Mary Adotei did not always assume they were absent. Sometimes, she went looking for them.
In the communities where she taught, getting a child into the classroom could require more than preparing lessons. Mrs Adotei remembers occasions when she had to visit the homes of pupils, bathe them, prepare them and bring them to school herself.
“There were times I had to go to the homes of some of the children, bathe them and bring them to school,” she recalled.
It is a memory that captures much of her journey over the years as a teacher, a profession she entered without knowing it would become central to her identity.
Now, after years of working with children and communities, Mrs Adotei is taking lessons from the classroom into a new arena.
She is contesting the position of Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (AOB) Constituency in the Central Region, hoping to use her experience working with people to contribute to the welfare of women in the constituency.
But her story begins in the classroom.
After completing her basic and secondary education, Mrs Adotei spent 12 years working as a pupil teacher before she had the opportunity to receive professional training.
In 2006, she entered Fosu College of Education and completed her training in 2011 with a Diploma in Basic Education.
She returned to the classroom and has remained there since, teaching in different communities before moving to her current school, Catholic Boys Basic School in Breman Asikuma, in 2019.
The years have given her a front-row seat to the transformation education can bring.
Some of the children she once taught have grown into professionals, carrying the lessons they learnt in her classroom into hospitals, schools, offices and other workplaces.
Mrs Adotei said she had encountered former pupils who were now doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer.
For a teacher, she said, such moments bring a special kind of satisfaction and reinforce the reason she remains passionate about education.
Her journey, however, has not been without difficult moments.
Teaching in local communities sometimes meant dealing with circumstances that went beyond academic work. Some pupils needed encouragement, personal attention and practical help before they could even settle down to learn.
Those experiences taught her that the challenges confronting people cannot always be solved from a distance. That understanding has followed her into her political activities.
Mrs Adotei has been involved in the NDC for years and previously served as a branch treasurer. She has also supported women in her branch, including assisting some to access medical treatment and providing help to families when the need arose.
She is now making her third attempt at becoming the constituency’s Women’s Organiser.
Her motivation is linked to what she has seen around her.
Mrs Adotei wants women in the constituency to have access to skills and opportunities that can help them become more economically independent.
She believes her years as a teacher have prepared her for the work, too, because the profession has taught her to listen, communicate, understand different circumstances and work patiently with people.
For her, the transition from teacher to political organiser is therefore not a complete departure from the path she has followed.
The classroom taught her to work with individuals. Politics, she hopes, will give her the opportunity to work with a wider group of women.
If elected, Mrs Adotei intends to continue teaching while taking up her political responsibilities. She said she would organise her time to attend meetings and constituency activities without abandoning her duties to her pupils.
Away from school and politics, she is a wife and mother of two sons who are pursuing their degrees at university.
Her message to young girls is shaped by everything she has seen education do for the children she has taught.
For Mrs Adotei, education remains one of the strongest tools available to young people, especially girls seeking to build better futures.
She wants them to stay in school, pursue further education and acquire skills that will prepare them for the future.
“Nowadays, you cannot go forward without education,” she said.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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