State burial held for Etoynam Gorni… 14 year old SDA pupil who died serving the nation

Schoolpupils at the funeral service
The Ho township was  thrown into the state of mourning during the state burial and funeral service for the 14 year old Class Six pupil of the Seventh Day Adventist School in Ho, Etornam Gorni, which was organised by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) and the Regional Directorate of Education yesterday.

The late Etornam Gorni was among a group of selected pupils of her school rehearsing towards the 55th Independence celebration, when she collapsed and was rushed to hospital in Ho.

Try as they did the doctors could not resuscitate her, leaving the entire school and Ho community in a state of shock.

The sad event that was brought to the attention of the government through the VRCC, which decided on yesterday, Tuesday, 13th March 2012, to organise a state burial for the late Etornam Gorni.

The burial and funeral service led to the closing down of all basic schools in Ho.

The funeral and burial service for the 14 year old school girl was described as the biggest ever held funeral in the area in recent times, as there were people from all walks of life to witness the occasion. The President, John Evans Atta Mills, was represented by the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Ametefe.

The Volta Regional Police Band was in attendance, together with the Apostles Revelation Society (ARS) Church choir, where the late Etornam was baptised and fellowshipped, and put up a splendid show, with carefully selected songs that sent the classmates of the late girl, the entire student body from other schools shedding tears to say goodbye to their friend.

The girls' football team of the SDA School in Ho, where the late Etornam Gorni was a member, staged a training session just by the coffin of their friend, which threw the mourners once again into uncontrollable tears when her name was mentioned three times without response, and she was officially dismissed from the school's girls' football team.

At this point, her team mates of Etornam Gorni were totally down in tears around her coffin, and had to be assisted to join their friends who were also in tears. But the very emotional moment came when all were allowed to file past the casket containing the mortals of the late Etornam Gorni, as the school children openly burst out in tears.

In a tribute on behalf of President Atta Mills by the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Ametefe, he noted that Etornam Gorni had died a gallant death, because she died while rendering service to the nation, and stressed that even though the death of the 14 year old girl had brought sorrow to the family and friends, it should serve as a lesson to be committed to serving the nation in their best possible ways.

Mr. Ametefe said the importance the government attached to the death of Etornam Gorni led to the organisation of a state burial for the little girl, saying, 'How many of us today, could be sure that when that day comes and we are no more, would we also have this large number of people at our funeral?' He asked.

The Deputy Regional Minister said the President would have personally attended the funeral service, but he was out of the country, but had sent an undisclosed amount of money to support the family of the late Etornam Gorni, while the Member of Parliament for Ave-Avenor, Mr. Doe Adjaho also donated GH¢1,000 to the family.

The Volta Regional Director of Education, Mr. Gabriel Kploanyi, the Ho Municipal Director of Education, Mr. Emmanuel Keteku, and the General Manager of SDA Schools in the country, Elder Peter Femba, all gave tributes that urged pupils and students to be hard working like Etornam Gorni.