Bawumia Marks Sallah With Psychiatric Inmates

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia decided to spend most part of Monday with the people who need special attention and care in society.

After Muslim prayers to end the 30 days of fasting and prayers at the Black Stars Square, he set out on a journey to touch souls.

Together with him were his wife, Samira, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu, National Chief Imam, Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, Deputy Minister of Energy, Mohammed Amin Anta, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Hassan Tampuli and several Muslim leaders in the country.

Psychiatric Hospital
First was his visit to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, where he donated 100 bags of rice, 50 bags of sugar and 200 cartons of assorted drinks.

He was received on arrival by Medical Director of the place, Dr Pinamang Appau, who conducted him around the facility which is in a deplorable state.

The vice president thanked Dr Appau and her team for the good work they were doing under what he himself admitted to be “very difficult circumstances.”

“I think if you visit the facilities here, you'd realise that the facilities are very inadequate; this is a place that was constructed in 1904 and definitely needs a major revamp and probably should I say a completely new facility that may be consistent with the standards of care that are required for our time in this particular 21^st century,” he observed.

After interacting with the medical director, he pledged that “we will see what government can do to make sure that the facilities here are revamped.”

“They are working under very difficult circumstances, budgetary allocations have been very meagre relative to their requests and so on,” he added.

“On a day like this, we have to remember the disadvantaged in society, the forgotten in society and we cannot forget them…but to also tell them that they are very much in our thoughts, we want to push through and pass the LI (Legislative Instrument) for the Mental Health Act which going to be very very important,” Dr Appau said.

His advice to all Ghanaians was that “any of us can fall mentally ill and so we should make sure that those who are mentally ill are well taken care of; it is our societal responsibility and we should do the best we can.”

On her part, Dr Appau thanked the vice president for remembering the patients.

She expressed hope that government would keep to its word to revamp the place whilst pushing for the passage of the LI for the Mental Health Act.

Children's Home
From there, Dr Bawumia and his team moved to the Osu Children's Home, where they made a similar donation of 50 bags of rice, 50 bags of sugar and 200 cartons of assorted drinks, putting a smile on the faces of the little ones.

He was met on arrival by the manager of the facility, Christiana Addo, who expressed profound gratitude for the donation with the hope that many more such would come their way in the future.

School for the Blind
The team then moved up the Akuapim Mountains to pay a visit to the students of the Akropong School for the Blind.

People were almost moved to tears when the school band treated their guests to good rendition of music which saw the vice president and his wife dancing as the students sang along.

They also had their fair share of the goodies; 50 bags of rice, 50 bags of sugar and 200 cartons of assorted drinks.

The headmistress of the school, Mahela Narh, was full of praise for the vice president for the donation.

 By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent