School Children in Pakyi No. 2 in the Ashanti Region, have for some time now been lodging complaints due to the lack of furniture in their classrooms as well as the poor conditions of their school buildings. This situation, therefore, prompted officials of Umbrella for The African Child (UTAC), formally Umbrella Ghana and Akua’s Kids foundation to pay a visit to the school.
On March 4, 2021, the team from UTAC and Akua’s Kids Foundation had a meeting with the Assemblyman as well as other opinion leaders to discuss the way forward. This was followed by a tour around the community to assess the teaching and learning situation of the students, as well as interact with the kids to find out what their challenges were. The Topmost of their grief had to do with the lack of furniture and other school materials which forced them to break Covid-19 protocols.
Founder of UTAC, Samuel Mensah said “the scene that broke my heart was a young boy writing on two chairs, bending his back, all these challenges don’t make learning enjoyable but rather frustrate these children and stop them from going to school”. He continued that, ‘Apart from the lack of furniture in classrooms in these schools, one other pressing need of one of the schools we visited thus Samankyiakrom D/A Primary was the unavailability of water which in turn hinders the extensive practice of proper hygiene”.
Due to the deplorable condition witnessed, UTAC and Akua’s Kids foundation on the 5th of March, 2021 donated a brand new chair and table to Ibrahim Huzeif (7years old) from Pekyi No2 Islamic Primary School, to make learning comfortable for him. The donation also included stationeries to 100 students in Pakyi No2 Presby Primary “A”.
According to the headmistress of Pakyi No2 Presby Primary A, ‘This project came at the right time as it will lessen the burden on the parents as well as the school adding that, Government is helping by offering free education, but some parents can’t provide their wards with stationary, so these items will go a long way in helping motivate these kids to stay in school.’
SOURCE: Samuel Mensah Kwame
