Dr. William Okyere Frimpong (left) presenting the books to Judith Avevov (right)
With minimal government aid and more residents than resources, the Pantang Rehabilitation Unit of the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital has been making a lot of efforts to make ends meet.
In an effort to assuage the situation and raise awareness about the problem, The HuD Group (Human Development Group) has donated assorted items valued at GH¢3,000 to the hospital.
The items included 130 books for a new library, living room furniture, a refrigerator and an amount of GH¢1,000 to help start a skill training centre where the residents can learn new skills to enable them contribute meaningfully to their various communities after completing the rehabilitation programme.
The HuD Group, an international Christian human development organization which was founded in Ghana 11 years ago, donated the items and money as part of a ‘lead preneurship’ programme to enable residents to contribute towards their own rehabilitation process.
The programme, named after a hybridization of the words ‘leadership’ and ‘entrepreneurship,’ uses scriptural intervention to enhance and promote rehabilitation.
Dr. William Okyere Frimpong, Country Director for The HuD, said that the focus on ‘raising leaders and entrepreneurs out of the residents’ is part of an initiative ‘to see a massive global movement of inspired, informed and invigorated people of Godly influence,’ and it allows the residents to ‘fit into the community when they get back.’
According to Judith Avevov, Managing Director of the Pantang Rehabilitation Unit, drug and alcohol addiction cause many to lose touch with society, and so a focus on building a community within the Unit’s walls is of utmost importance in giving residents the tools to reintegrate into society when they recover.
To this effect, she said the Unit would work with the donation to create a programme which would ‘work on providing incentives,’ such as recommending the residents who perform well in the programme to job opportunities outside the Centre.
‘Learning social skills,’ she said, ‘is crucial to maintaining recovery and a social life.’
This is a high priority for the Centre, as 50.1% of the residents relapse and return to the place.
This is why Ms. Avevov said the donation had come as a godsend to the Unit and the residents.
‘Once you have a programme,’ she said, ‘you have the tools.’
By Stephanie F. Miles
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