Old Vandals support St John’s Integrated Senior High Technical School

Story and Pix : Benjamin Xornam Glover, Navrongo

Students and staff of the St John’s Integrated Senior High Technical School in the Kassena-Nankana East District of the Upper East Region are reeling under inadequate supply of water to the school especially during long dry season. The school, which a population of 328 students including 80 hearing impaired students, depend on only one boreholes and a dug out for the supply of water. However, during the dry season, when the land is dry and there is only very little water in the dug outs, it becomes very difficult for the students to get water for bathing and other daily activities. In those difficult times, students have to fall on the neighbouring, Community Health Nurse Training School for water supply. In response to their plight, the Upper East Region branch of the Old Vandals Association, (OVA), an alumni association of the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana has presented a water storage tank and a pumping machine to help authorities store water. When installed, the facility will provide reliable water supply to the school which is a major challenge to the school Members of the association also donated ceiling fans, a television set, 90 pairs of footwear, two sets of sewing machines to the school. The items were presented by the Regional President of the OVA, Dr. Francis Asaana to the Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Germma Kazaresam at the school. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Asaana said the objective of OVA in supporting the school was to help ameliorate the hardship of the school in terms of getting access to water. He reiterated fact that OVA is a non political, non partisan association whose members have contributed in diverse contributed to support the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana and also identified and addressed issues confronting the under privileged in society. In her response, the headmistress of the school, Mrs. Germma Kazaresam said the gesture by OVA was the first of its kind by a group from within Ghana and said it will go a long way to bring comfort to the students who sometimes have to rely the nearby community health nurses training school to access water for use by the students and the kitchen department. The ceremony was witnessed by representatives of the Catholic Church, who started the school, traditional rulers, and members of OVA in the region and the entire student population of the school. -End-