Accra, Feb 19, GNA - First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo has commissioned and handed over a newly constructed library at Kumawu for the Sekyere Kumawu District and the Ghana Library Authority in the Ashanti Region.

The facility is to encourage reading among children in the catchment area.

The library, which will serve the Kumawu Anglican cluster of schools and its environs, was constructed, furnished and resourced by the Rebecca Foundation, with the support of the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Library Authority and Book Aid International.

In a speech read on behalf of the First Lady at the commissioning, she reiterated the importance of reading as one of the surest ways to acquiring quality education because it exposed children to the immense knowledge contained in books and other reading materials.

She said since assuming office in 2017, the NPP administration under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, had implemented several policies aimed at making education affordable and accessible to all Ghanaian children.

“Government has invested huge resources in implementing policies such as Free SHS, free hot meals, free textbooks, and free uniforms among others, all aimed at ensuring equal access to education, to break the vicious cycle of inequalities”, Mrs Akufo-Addo said.

However, she said the laudable policies stood the risk of bearing little fruit if the foundation of reading, was not strengthened.

The First Lady said, her Rebecca Foundation, therefore, had through its “Learning to Read, Reading to Learn” Initiative, constructed, resourced and commissioned many libraries in places around the country including Wenchi in the Bono Region, Sefwi Debiso in the Western North Region, Moree in the Central Region, Daffiama Bussie Issah in the Upper West Region, Amansaman in the Greater Accra Region and Kumawu in the Ashanti region.

She used the occasion to announce some soon-to-be-completed libraries at Bortianor in the Greater Accra Region and Dambai in the Oti Region, adding that the Rebecca Foundation would, continue to support the government’s effort to make education accessible and attractive to all young people.

Mrs Akufo-Addo also urged parents and other stakeholders to encourage their wards to patronise the reading facilities, emphasising that, literacy was how lifelong learning and a child’s ability to learn to the highest levels remained possible.

She advised the people to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols in all their daily activities, warning that the deadly disease was no respecter of persons and knew no boundaries.

Mr Philip Basoah, Member of Parliament for Kumawu, thanked the First Lady for her support and congratulated her on her immense contribution in empowering the youth through education.

Present at the commissioning were Mr Samuel Addai Agyekum, District Chief Executive for Kumawu as well as some officials of the Assembly and Traditional leaders in the area.