November 18th, 2024, Written by Mr Kobina Amoako-Atta Hudson (Sailon)
The journey to Tamale began when I woke up at 2.57am, just before my 3am alarm went off. Picked up, Dr. Theophilus Boafo-Yirenkyi (Zoroaster) at 4am and met up with Dr. Joel Boanaparte (Joe Bona) at Kotoka International Airport at 5am. The flight to Tamale landed at 718am, and Haruna, who is now our trusted reliable driver, picked us up, and we headed to Fuo.
We met up with Mr. Ibrahim, the technical manager and desk builder for Impact Next Gen at AME Zion elementary. Mr. Ibrahim and his forward team arrived in Tamale from Navrongo, where he is based on the 5th of October to build the furniture on site. We met the headmaster, the former headmistress (Rita Wepra), who was the one who made this donation happen for AME Zion and mingled with the teachers and community representatives. We were taken around the school to get a first-hand look at their facilities. Although their furniture situation is not as dire as other schools we have donated to, we realized the furniture they had is a mismatch of desks and chairs not appropriate for creche and kindergarten kids. Prior to the mismatched furniture the headmistress Rita Wepra managed to procure, the kids studied on mats on the floor, which hindered their ability to learn how to read and write without furniture.
Today's official handover ceremony went quickly. We started at 9.30 am. There was some drumming and dancing by the school kids and we officially handed over the furniture to the youth representative from the FUO NAA (The Fua Chief Palace), who then handed over the furniture to the AME Zion. We were all given smocks as an appreciation for the donation. But Joebona was bestowed the title of "MALGUANAA" (the problem solver). He was prayed upon and handed over Kola Nuts from the Fua Naa representative.
The presentation was over by 11 30am. Zoroaster, Ibrahima, Haruna, and I set off on the 6-hour drive from Tamale to Wa for our 16th desk donation on Tuesday, Nov 19th. Dr. Bonaparte returned back to Accra.
A massive thanks to all our donors, Sowgreen (Ghana) and MEDIGREEN WASTE MANAGEMENT (USA).
Presentation of desks
