Accra-Ghana, Oct. 23, GNA – The Rotary Club of Accra-Airport (RCAA) in partnership with the Street Children Empowerment Foundation (SCEF) have distributed assorted learning materials to over 100 selected school children in Accra.
The items include notebooks, exercise books, pencils and colour pencils, rulers, erasers, sharpeners, mathematical sets, and calculators with the recipients from various basic and senior high schools in different parts of Accra.
The annual event is dubbed: “Back to School” and is organised by RCAA and SCEF to equip selected children with the necessary tools and learning materials to support them in their education.
This year’s programme, which was held at the John Wesley Methodist Basic School at Jamestown, Palladium in Accra was on the theme: “Education Unites; Equipping street-connected children with the necessary tools for success.”
Madam Peace Akwei-Brock, President, Rotary Club of Accra-Airport in an address said the gesture was to create hope by assisting the children to come out of school well equipped with the necessary skills and attributes, to contribute to the development of the country.
She stated that the support was also in line with the Rotary International theme for this year “Create Hope in the World.”
The President expressed happiness over the collaboration and friendship that had existed between the RCAA and SCEF for almost a decade and assured that it would continue in good spirit in the years ahead.
Mr Paul Semeh, Founder/Executive Director of SCEF said the aimed of supporting the children with the learning materials was to remove some of the educational barriers in the free compulsory basic education.
He said: “Education in Ghana is meant to be free, but tuition is what we have free, kids need exercise books, textbooks, uniforms among others to be able to go to school and we cannot close our eyes on these things.
“We are doing the free education at the senior high school level but not at the basic level and it is time key stakeholders – government, politicians, and people who make decisions for our students future to actually take this issue seriously,” he stated.
Mr Semeh said the Ghana Education Service was doing its best, “but we need the supplies, the rulers, the mathematical sets, pens, pencils, the uniforms, and the things the kids need to be able to go to school, which are requirements.”
“So, if you look at street-connected children whose parents are not active; who are going to be the ones that would provide for them? Where is the social safety net of our country. This has been our purpose of joining the Rotarians to provide the support,” he pointed out.
He stated that the country was abound with so many talented children and that those who were picked years back from nowhere have brought fame to the nation, saying; “as a country God has given us so many gifts in our children and it is in our own interest that we nature these gifts for our benefits.”
