A learning centre has been constructed in honour of the late Vice- President, Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur at Ohawu, a community in the Akatsi North District of the Volta Region.
The building comprises an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) unit and a library at an estimated cost of over $50,000, equivalent to GH₵272,914.47. It also has 18 computers installed in the ICT centre with over 3,200 books for the library.
Construction of the learning centre, which started in January 2019 was completed this month, and inaugurated as part of activities to mark his one year anniversary celebrations.
The former First Lady, Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur and her family, witnessed the inauguration ceremony.
Mrs Amissah-Arthur said the construction of the Amissah-Arthur Learning Centre was done in memory of her late husband, Mr Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur and to honour him.
That, she said, came after a call was made on the former Vice President to help the people of Ohawu.
Mrs Amissah-Arthur said she was driven to construct and complete the project to get children to be exposed and have same access to education as other children had to enable them to achieve their aim.
She added that the learning centre was to enhance and improve on the academic skills of the children in the community.
Mrs Amissah-Arthur mentioned that she was making the necessary arrangement with the National Service Secretariat to post staff to the centre. She appealed to the Agriculture College in the community to also post workers to the centre to help the students and ensure the smooth running of the facility.
“We are working hard to get the NSS Secretariat to post staff here to man the library and the ICT centre,” she stated.
She also mentioned that a management committee would be set up to ensure that the facility achieved its purpose.
Mrs Amissah-Arthur advised the leaders and members of the community to take ownership of the facility and maintain it.
“We entrust it to you, so take good care of the things put together and maintain your commitment,” she advised.
Opportunities for advancement
The former Communications Advisor to former President, John Dramani Mahama, and Founder of Torna Foundation, Mr Ben Dotsei Malor, noted that the establishment of the facility was to see younger ones in the Ohawu community have opportunities for advancement.
“It is my deep desire to see the younger ones in Ohawu have opportunities and facilities for advancement that I didn’t experience growing up there,” he said.
Mr Malor noted that his foundation was instituting a scholarship programme which was in the pipeline to get intelligent students out of the community to a higher learning point.
According to him, this would help raise future leaders who would sprout up from using the facility, especially the female students of the school.
“My concern is about the girls, I care about the boys but the emphasis is on the girls, I want them to emerge as engineers, nurses, pharmacists, doctors and policy makers and become great women to benefit all”, he added.
Source:www.graphic.com.gh
