School Proprietress Diagnoses Ghana ’s Health @ 50

….Prescribes clean environment to wipe out malaria

The Proprietress of the St. Declan Preparatory School in Sunyani, Madam Evelyn Adarkwa Frema, has observed that the high rate of malaria cases in Ghana can be drastically reduced if the general public is sensitized on the need to always keep their surroundings clean.

According to her, mosquitoes which are the carriers of the malaria disease, can only breed in dirty, bushy and stagnant water.

"Ghana's Golden Jubilee Celebrations would be memorable if the citizens participate in all the programmes lined up in malaria free environments", she said.

Madam Frema, one of the youngest school proprietresses in the Brong Ahafo region, said the spirit of cleanliness must be inculcated into school children at their early stages of development.

Madam Frema said this in an inter view with the New Punch after she had personally led her school children and others from the Roman Catholic Primary, Pentecost Preparatory, Seventh Day Adventist Primary and Methodist Primary schools in a massive clean up exercise in Sunyani as part of activities marking the Ghana @ 50 celebrations. The children swept the streets of the town, distiled choked gutters and cleared bushy areas around the Awuah Domase chief’s palace.

She said “it is always good to train school children on environmental and personal hygiene when they are young so that it will become part and parcel of their lives when they mature”.

The Proprietress suggested that all schools should at least organize it pupils to undertake a clean-up exercise once in a week to help reduce diseases associated with poor sanitary conditions.

She pointed out that the sustainability of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) depends largely on how the populace reacts to health issues in their localities, especially on poor environment.

She called on Assembly members, Unit Committees, Traditional leaders, Churches, NGO’s and other identifiable groups to join force with schools in their areas to ensure clean environment by assisting the schools to undertake periodic clean-up exercises.

The 30-year-old Madam Frema said she did not have the advantage to further her education to the highest level and decided that if she had the opportunity she would establish a school to enable her community to have access to quality education, saying education is the master key to social, political and economic development of every society.

She continued that her dream has been realized and now she has established a school from the Crèche to Junior Secondary Level.

The proprietress stressed the need for parents to educate their children on the importance of education which she said would motivate the children to always strive for high academic achievement.

She bemoaned the refusal of some parents to chat with their children concerning their education as well as their academic performance, adding that “this is not the best because what parents do inspire their children to either learn or refuse to learn”.

Madam Frema entreated parents to try and provide their wards with the basic needs of education to enhance teaching and learning in various schools.