Cultivate habit of stamp collection - Headmistress

Accra (Greater Accra), 17 March '99 -

Nana Dzewu the third, Headmistress of Saint Theresa's School on Tuesday urged children to cultivate the habit of letter writing and stamp collection. "Stamp collection leads to letter writing. By constantly writing to pen-pals, we are able to improve our writing skills, not to mention the ability to express ourselves intelligently in the English language". Nana Dzewu was speaking at a stamp exhibition aimed at rekindling the hobby and art of philately among school children in Accra. She described as unfortunate, inventions, such as video and computer games which have captured the attention of school children, therefore, eroding this important hobby. Mrs Jane Asamoah-Broni, head of Philately of the Ghana Post company, said about 40 years ago, stamp collection helped children to know more about people in other countries, their way of life, the types of animals and plants found in that country without visiting those countries. She said it is for this reason that postal administrations all over the world have decided to revive the art of stamp collection. "The programme is the first step of the stamp collectors club we want to establish, and we hope to extend it to other preparatory schools, junior and senior secondary schools." Ms Asamoah-Broni said the reason for choosing children between the ages of 8 and 12 "is because, this age group has already acquired the habit of writing", adding that they also have a sense of maturity which will enable them to appreciate the programme. Schools participating in the programme are Saint Bernadette, New Hope, Bishop Bowers and Saint Theresa's Schools all in Accra.