ASSOCIATION ASSISTS 4 UPPER EAST COMMUNITIES (PAGE 22, OCT 19, 2010)

THE UK branch of BONABOTO, a union of citizens of Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo, has presented 130 computers and their accessories worth £52,000 to three Senior High Schools (SHS), three resource centres and the Bolgatanga Regional Library.
The items, which included monitors, CPUs, and two printers, are to be distributed to the Bongo SHS, Zuarungu SHS and Kongo SHS.
The other beneficiaries are the Bolgatanga, Bongo and Tongo Resource Centres.
Presenting the items, a member of BONABOTO in the UK, Mr Nyeya Yen said, “In this modern era of super information highway, it is rather sad that many of the schools in the region lacked computers to compete in the information communication technology world”.
He advised the beneficiary students to make good use of the facility to improve their academic work in school.
Mr Yen, who was assisted by the Secretary of the BONABOTO UK, Mr David Atugiya Ayinne, urged the management of the schools to be mindful of the culture of maintenance to prolong the life span of the computers.
He also appealed to the government, politicians and all stakeholders in education to ensure that children in the area received quality education.
“We BONABOTO UK are conscious of the hardships that our people face. We call on our Members of Parliament (MPs) to use their common fund to support brilliant students who due to deprivation, could not attend school.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who facilitated the transportation of the items from the ports to the region, commended BONABOTO UK for the foresight and said his administration would do all it could to improve education in the area.
He urged students to eschew all acts of indiscipline and student demonstrations with their attendant destruction of school property as had been recorded in recent times in some schools in the region.
The regional minister warned that those caught for committing such crimes would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.
Mr Woyongo also spoke about steps being taken to provide adequate infrastructure to accommodate students under the new three-year SHS educational system, and called for co-operation from all and sundry.
The Bongo District Director of Education, Mr Francis Agyeere, appealed to the donors to extend their support to the basic school level as ICT education was now an examinable subject, but unfortunately, most schools in the area did not have access to computers.
He also appealed to the district assembly to ensure that all schools in the area received the necessary computer laboratories for the effective teaching and learning of ICT.
A renowned Catholic Priest and founder of BONABOTO, Monsignor Roger Aboteyuure, also commended members of the UK branch of the union for their selfless spirit and dedication to help their counterparts at home.
He explained that BONABOTO was not a tribal, religious or political organisation, but a group interested in seeking the welfare of people from the four towns—namely, Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo.
The Paramount Chief for Bongo, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, stressed that since education is key to the development of every society, the traditional authority would support every effort to improve education delivery in the district.