MoneyGram Ghana provides water for blind students

By: Musah Umar Farouq, Wa
THE PLIGHT of the over 190 students and teachers of the Wa Methodist School for the Blind who have to struggle on daily basis to get water as a result of the breakdown of the only manual water borehole for the school have been eased. This follows the provision of a new mechanized bore hole system for the school last Wednesday.

The new system, valued at GH¢16,000 was constructed by MoneyGram Ghana and its partners, following a media report which highlighted the plight of the students in accessing potable drinking water.

For more than one year, the students who are mainly visually impaired have had to contend with daily struggle of getting water for their daily chores with some of them sometimes  travelling long distances to fetch water.

The marketing executive of MoneyGram, in charge of Anglophone West Africa, Mr. Kofi Akyea said MoneyGram as an organization reckoned investments not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of the well being of the societies in which it operated.

He said the organization's policy of giving back to communities had resulted in the donation of funds in support of many life transforming projects of which the new water system for the school was no exception.

Mr. Akyea said money gram was touched by the plight of the students following a media report on Joy FM, about how visually impaired students had to go through the same hustle as their able bodied brothers and sisters to get assess to water.

He noted that the construction of the borehole would go a long way to ameliorate the sufferings of both students and teachers of the school, as well as enrich the quality of life, especially in the area of learning.

The headmaster of the school, Mr. John Akrugu expressed his gratitude to the company for the timely intervention in responding positively to the plight of the students and the school as a whole.

He said from a humble beginning the school has grown with total enrollment now standing at 199, out which 120 are boys, with the remaining 76 being girls.

Mr. Akrugu said the increasing numbers continue to mount pressure on the limited facilities of the school, especially the only manual borehole which was constructed some fifty years ago, resulting in frequent breakdowns.

He said as one of the only two schools for the blind in the country, it was important for all stakeholders including non-governmental organizations and corporate bodies to regularly come to the aid of the school.

The headmaster appealed to the government to take steps to renovate the school's assembly hall complex, which was gutted by fire last year, since the absence of the facility was hindering the students from undertaking indoor games, physical education and other social activities.

The Head Prefect of the school, Master Ebenezer Agetva on his part said the new water system was a source of great relief for both teachers and students, adding that the relief could not have come at appropriate time.

He said for many years students of the school have had to suffer due to the frequent breakdown of the only manual borehole.

Master Agetva expressed great gratitude to the entire staff of MoneyGram and its partners for coming to the aid of the school and hoped that other benevolent organizations would emulate this good example and come to the aid of the school.