The Member of Parliament representing Atwima Kwanwoma, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, has joined forces with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) to initiate the construction of a 26-unit classroom block and a 10-seater toilet facility for several carefully selected schools.
These beneficiary schools encompass Kotwi, Atwima Kokoben, and Foase D/A Primary Schools within the Atwima Kwanwoma District. In a conversation with JoyNews, the MP for the region, who also holds the position of Deputy Minister of Defence, emphasized that the collaborative effort with the LDS Church aims to provide a secure and conducive learning environment for schoolchildren.
He further elucidated that the current lack of adequate infrastructure has led to overcrowded classrooms, adversely affecting the quality of teaching and learning.
“Atwima Kwanwoma has a lot of problems and one person cannot do it alone. So, it became necessary for me to approach the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with our problems. We sat down, they listened to me and did a follow-up to the district.
“This is not the first time they have done this for us. They have done a few projects in this district, and it’s mind-boggling. One would have thought that only church members would be the ones to benefit from all this. But that wasn’t the case. I am so grateful,” he said.
On his part, the Headmaster of Kokoben D/A Basic school, Richmond Swanzy said, “Kokoben has a lot of challenges and the notable ones are the lack of classrooms, library, and toilet facilities and because of this, some students have stopped school and are attending schools elsewhere. With this intervention, we will be able to accommodate all of them.”
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Joyce Ofori, the District Director of Education for Atwima Kwanwoma, emphasized that these projects are a direct response to a request made by her directorate.
“Three to four teachers occupy dual desks and teachers couldn’t find a place to teach. So the directorate wrote to the MP to help the district.
“With the help of the Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they came to inspect the situation and realised we needed the classrooms,” she said.
Meanwhile, the project is expected to be completed in six months.