Achimota School names girls' dormitory after Rev. Joyce Aryee

A newly built girls’ dormitory of the Achimota Senior High School in Accra has been named after Reverend Joyce Rosalind Aryee, the Founder of Salt and Light Ministries, a Christian parachurch organisation.

The 17th dormitory of the school, known as Rev. Joyce R. Aryee House, was in honour of the old student, for her selfless service to the nation and commitment as well as contribution to her alma mater.

At the programme, the Headmistress of the school, Mrs Beatrice T. Adom, explained that it had been a tradition of the school authorities to name dormitories after the sons and daughters of the school who had excelled in their fields of endeavour and had contributed immensely to the country.

Mrs Adom stated that in the year 2012, the school had 14 dormitories which were enough for them, but two years later the number of students increased incredibly so there was the need to get more dormitories, and they made an appeal to the government, which was granted.

Contribution
The headmistress mentioned that Rev. Aryee, who is an old student, deserved to be honoured by naming the girls’ dormitory after her because she had contributed a lot to the development of the school which included sponsoring two brilliant, needy students every academic year, donating two sets of instruments and providing materials for the school choristers.

Mrs Adom expressed appreciation to the government for providing the school with the necessary infrastructure and also to Rev. Aryee for her tremendous support to the school and service to Ghana.

Service is a privilege
Rev. Aryee thanked the school authorities for the honour done her and also extended gratitude to some old students for coming to grace the occasion.

She noted that education was a privilege and elevated one’s status as an individual; therefore, students should take their education seriously and take advantage of technology to learn hard.

“As Paul said in the Bible, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, so students should take advantages of all opportunities and do all things to pursue their dream,” she said.

She advised students of the house to strive for excellence and influence others, adding that where others see mediocrity, they should see great potential.

“I promise to make the house the best among houses not only in terms of physical appearance, but also in producing quality ladies from the house,” she said, and encouraged the students to work to achieve triple of whatever she had achieved.

Profile
Rev. Dr Aryee is the Founder of Salt and Light Ministries, a Christian parachurch organisation, and an avid promoter of Ghanaian classical and choral compositions.

Dr Aryee served as the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Mines and is an accomplished management and communication consultant as well as a professional counsellor.

Dr Aryee has dedicated over 40 years of her time to private and public sector services in Ghana.

In particular, she served as a Secretary (Minister) of Information and Education in the PNDC government as well as a non-cabinet Minister at the National Commission for Democracy.

She serves as the Chairperson of Omatek Ventures (Ghana) Limited. She is a Senior Mentor for the African Leadership Initiative and the chairperson of the Moremi Initiative for Women in Leadership for African Development (MILEAD); both are mentorship institutions for young Africans. She serves on the boards of diverse organisations, including Central University College, Finatrade Foundation, AEL Mining Services Limited, GLICO General, Engineers and Planners, Omatek Computers, The Ark Fund and MAN Ghana Limited, to mention but a few.

She was given the Second Highest State Award, the Companion of the Order of the Volta, in 2006 in recognition of her service to the nation.

She is also the recipient of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) Marketing Woman of the Year Award for 2007 and the African Leadership on Centre for Economic Development's African Female Business Leader of the Year Award for 2009.

She is the first woman to head an African Chamber of Mines and was given Honorary Doctorate by the University of Mines and Technology in recognition of her immense contributions to the growth of the mining industry.

Background
Rev. Joyce Aryee’s House has 16 rooms with between 250 and 300-bed capacity, which has a bungalow for the housemistress attached to it, as well as a spacious place for washing.

The occasion brought together teaching and non-teaching staff of the school, parents, alumni and students, to honour Rev Aryee with the sound of the trumpet.