‘Take interest in health and education issues of women and children’

Mrs. Lordina Mahama, First Lady, has appealed to queen-mothers to take active interest and commitment in promoting issues about education and health of women and children.

She said in demonstration to commitment of the welfare of women and children, the Lordina Foundation had trusted itself to creating awareness and raising funds to address challenging health issues such as breast and cervical cancer and had awarded scholarships to female students as the Foundation’s support in the educational sector and urged queenmothers to follow suit.

Mrs. Mahama was deliverying a keynote address at the commissioning of the newly-constructed stuidents hostel for the Dormaa Presbyterian Midwifery Training School at Dormaa Ahenkro in the Dormaa Municipality.

The First Lady promised to offer support in terms of creating awareness and raising funds to provide for essential logistics and facilities which were urgently needed by the School.

She implored the students and the community to take good care of the hostel facility, in order to prolong its life span.

Mrs. Mahama thanked the Dormaa Municipal Assembly, the Dormaa Presbyterian Midwifery Training School and Nananom, for naming the hostel after her.

Mr. Eric Opoku, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, said work on the tarring of the five kilometre Antwirifo – Danyame-Nsesereso road had already started with the contractor on site with construction equipment.

“Others, including Gambia number two – Amasu – Kyeremasu road, as well as Badukrom to Badu road are also to be constructed with coal tar,” he reiterated.

Reverend Fei Hyeaman, the West Brong Presbyterian Chairman, who spoke on behalf of the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, underscored the need for state – church collaboration in providing sound and quality education for the youth.

He expressed deep concern about the upsurge of social vices such as occultism, sakawa and armed robbery among the youth, and attributed the phenomenon to lack of discipline.

Rev Hyeaman asked the government to give the church a chance again by partnering with it to provide accessible education, to nurture the youth and inculcate in them good moral values and discipline.

Mr. Gordon Asubonteng, the Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive, said the hostel facility was constructed with the Urban Development Grant with an amount of GH¢ 385, 805.10p.

He thanked the government for the numerous projects it had undertaken in the Municipality, including the construction of CHPs compound and other infrastructure development projects.

The MCE explained that the hostel facility project, which was presently completed at the ground level would be continued in future to become a three storey facility because the School was currently seriously constrained with land to put up similar facilities within its jurisdiction.

Hilda Commey, the Principal of the School, said the School had witnessed an increase in the intake of students from 32 to 335, adding that the increment culminated in facilities were overstretched and this raised concerns on the need to immediately respond by finding ways to address the situation.

She added that half of the students lived in rented apartments, and the school lacked a bus to convey students from the campus to the location where they conducted practicals.

The Principal said it was the vision of the school to train 1,000 mid -wives within five years, and expressed optimism that more assistance would be needed to increase the accommodation facilities to boost students intake.

The First Lady also presented lap tops, computers, and 25 packs of gloves to the school