Wesley Girls Class of '81 to assist community

Accra, Oct 24, GNA - Wesley Girls' High School class of 1981 on Tuesday launched a 10-year Development Project aimed at helping the people of Kakumdo, the community within which the school was built in the Central Region, to grow out of their present state of deprivation through education.

With the establishment of Imani Project, the Wesley Girls class of '81 would reach out to the people of Kakumdo, a deprived community, through quality girl-child education for development.

Mrs Yaa Peprah Agyeman Amekudzi, a member of the group, who presented the 'Imani Project' at a press conference in Accra, said the group would mobilize a little over 500 million cedis for the Project. "We will be mobilizing resources to address the educational and psychosocial needs of girls of Kakumdo, by creating greater appreciation for the girl-child education; promoting family and community involvement in the education of the girl-child, mentoring the identified girls in their self-development and career choices, among others," she said.

Mrs Amekudzi said strategies such as the organization of fund-raising for the establishment of an endowment fund; focus-group discussion with community members on girl-child education; discussion with teachers, community elders and members; and consultation between selected girls and WGHS class of '81 for the identification and selection of mentors would be employed.

The expected out come of the Project, she said included a high rate of educated and empowered girls from Kakumdo, closer relationship between Wesley Girls High School and Kakumdo Community, greater appreciation of and commitment to girl-child education among community and family members and improved school enrolment and retention rates in Kakumdo among all girls.

Mrs Bettina Hewlett-Bogart, President of WGHS class of '81, said through experiences, quality education delivery was identified as the key to reducing poverty in society; ensuring growth and development and thereby becoming competitive in today's knowledge driven globalised economy.

She said "this project we are embarking on is one of a leap of faith - we have faith that provided with the necessary opportunities, the selected girls would be agents of positive change in their communities and indeed Ghana.

"We have faith that with 30 million cedis as seed money, we will be able to raise the 600 million cedis required for the implementation of this Project, the Imani - meaning faith is Swahili," Mrs Hewlett- Bogart said.

Dr Mrs Syvia Boye, an old student marking her 50th anniversary after school and chairperson for the occasion called for both local and international support for the Project.

She said what the girls were trying to achieve was to give back to the society what it got from it.

Dr Mrs Boye said the 170th anniversary, which was launched in February at Cape Coast, would be celebrated through out the year. She said an awards night cum dinner dance in line with the 170th anniversary would be held on November 4, 2006 at the Cresta Royale Hotel, Accra. 24 Oct. 06