Ga-Dangme students reach out to people of Tamatoku

Members of the Ga-Dangme Students Association of the University of Ghana, Legon, have embarked on a two-week rural education and health outreach programme at Tamatoku in the Ada East District in the Greater Accra Region.

Themed: “Building a Better Community Through Education”, the project, according to the organisers, seeks to promote child education and create awareness of some diseases such as malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, Hepatitis B, prevention of drug abuse and teenage pregnancy.

It was also intended to reinforce the need to enrol on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The project, which was undertaken with sponsorship from the Health Promotion Department of the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Aids Commission, National Malaria Control Programme, Tuberculosis Control Department, Ghana Education Service, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Karisa Foundation and the traditional council of the area, saw the students move camp to the Tamatoku town for 14 days to share the knowledge they had acquired from school with members of the community.

Like previous years, the Legon team was joined by their mates from sister associations from the University of Cape Coast, University of Education, Winneba, and the University of Professional Studies, Accra to help make the necessary impact on the selected community.

With permission from the heads of the District Education and Health directorates, the participants assumed temporary position as teachers at the Tamatoku Presbyterian Primary and junior high schools to teach and interact with the pupils by motivating them, offering career counselling tips, advising them to eschew immorality and other negative practices that could affect their development while encouraging them to use the power of education to transform their lives.

In pursuit of the health aspect of the project, the participants were divided into smaller groups of five to visit designated areas of the community after school hours to educate the people on the causes, symptoms, effects and preventive measures of some communicable diseases.

Some of the participants also educated parents on the various methods of family planning and its importance to them and the society as a whole, while others gave out fliers, hand-outs, books, stickers, and posted posters on diseases discussed, at vantage points of the town, to augment the awareness created.

National development

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Nii Aryee Kojo Tagoe, president of the association, said the project enabled the group to contribute their quota to national development as they gave back to society the knowledge they had acquired from their various universities. 

“We believe that education is important so the parents and pupils in rural communities must be visited and reminded of the positive impact of education on their families. We also believe that as Ghanaians, we are all entitled to good healthcare delivery irrespective of where we reside, hence the need for the health aspect of the project. Also, as students, this is the only way we can give back to society”, he said.

The group crowned the 14-day voluntary community outreach with a durbar of chiefs at the Tamatoku Presby School Park which attracted high-profile personalities, including the chief and queen mother of the town, Nene Zutorvie VI, and Naana Adiki Addy I, the headmaster of the school, Mr Raymond Tetteh Ajoteye, the District Chief Executive, Mr Ahortu Nurudeen, and an assembly member of the area, Mr Noah Dogah. There were also representatives from the district health and educational directorates as well as teachers and students from the district.

Nene Zutorvie VI

Speaking at the durbar, Nene Zutorvie VI commended the organisers of the project for bringing what he described as timely development to his town. 

He seized the opportunity to appeal to government officials in the community to facilitate the completion of a community library and ICT laboratory as well as the dredging of the ‘Tama River’ for fishing and farming activities. 

The “Annual Rural Education and Health Outreach Programme”, which is the flagship programme of the association, started over a decade ago and some of the communities that have benefited include Asesewa (2008), Asutuare (2009), Agomeda (2010), Koluedor (2011), Jei-Krodua (2012), Toflokpo-Salom (2013), Kordiabe (2014)  and Opah (2015) in the Ga West District.

Over the years, various Ga-Dangme groups abroad and within the country have contributed financially towards the success of the programme.

The groups include the Ga-Dangme Council, Ga-Dangme Europe and Heritage as well as the youth wing of the council.