By Damian Avevor
The Accra East Regional Council and Court of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, have presented 22,000 Books worth about GH¢1 million to 27 selected Schools in the Greater Accra, Western, Central Region, Upper East and West, Northern Regions of Ghana.
The Books distributed to the beneficiary Schools, were on Science, Mathematics and Social Studies as well as reference materials for Primary One to Senior High Schools.
The presentation of the Books was made at a ceremony at the St. Anthony Multipurpose Centre at Okponglo, East Legon on Monday, April 4, 2016 in conjunction with Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MAREDES), an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) of the Noble Order.
Dubbed a ‘Books Project’, Worthy Bro. Kingsford Arthur, the Accra East Regional Grand Knight said it was aimed at providing reading materials to some less endowed School.
He said the Project initiative was conceived over two years ago when the leadership of the Accra East Council and Court came into office.
He said the Order contacted an international organisation in the United States of America-Books for Africa, which is the largest shipper of donated test and library books to the African continent.
Mr. Arthur said with the aim of ending the book famine in Africa, Books for Africa, has sent well over 34 million books to 49 countries since 1988.
Worthy Bro. Arthur said the support from the charitable organisation was intended to advance the knowledge and bridge the literacy gap and create a culture of literacy by providing the tools of empowerment to the next generation of parents, teachers and leaders in Africa and Ghana.
He stated that in line with the mission of the Books For Africa, “we intend that the books go to those who need them most, particularly children who are hungry to read, learn and explore the world in ways that only books make possible.”
He said the leadership of the Noble Order expected that the Books would enlarge the world of the beneficiaries and particularly those who read them, urging Pupils and Students to make good use of the Books.
The Regional Grand Knight thanked the donors for supporting the Book Project with the free books.
Sir Kt. Derx Baffour, Executive Director of MAREDES, hoped that the donation would enhance the reading habits of the beneficiary pupils and Students since statistics indicated that there were drastic drop in the practice of reading.
He said the goodwill for which MAREDES was making the donation with the Accra East Regional Council and Court, would challenge the beneficiaries to be knowledgeable and strive for total development of their personalities.
He prayed that it would also help them “to learn to eschew greed and selfishness, and uphold high moral fibres so that they can in future offer self –sacrificing services to the community in which they live and to the country.”
The Executive Director appealed to the heads of the beneficiary Schools to ensure good custody of the Books so that the nest generation of students would have access to them.
He commended the immense role by the benefactors who had made the donation a reality, with special mention of Worthy Bro. Arthur.
The beneficiary Schools include St. Joseph R.C. Basic School, Obom; St. Francis Xavier, Kotobabi; St. Peter’s JHS, Ayikuma; Sraha Adma Basic School, Ashaley Botwe; St. Peter’s Basic School, Osu; Garrison Basic School, Burma-Camp; St. Paul’s R.C. School, Kpehe; St. Maurice Primary and JHS, La; Queen of Peace School, Madina; St. Francis of Assisi, Ashaley Botwe; and South La estates 2 JHS, La.
Others are Christ the King School, Cantonments; Mary Mother of Good Counsel, Airport West; St. Theresa School, north Kaneshie; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basic School and JHS, Nungua Barrier; Labone SHS, Burma camp Secondary Technical and St. Thomas Aquinas SHS, Cantonments.
Worthy Bro. Arthur supported by Dame Respected Lady Afua Amoo-Adare, Accra East Regional Noble Lady, made the donations to the Schools which attended the ceremony.
