General News of Saturday, 22 December 2018
Source: Peacefmonline.com
2018-12-22
The Old Boy also inaugurated a borehole and a reservoir meant to supply water to the dormitories
In a bid to mitigate the perennial water-supply challenges on campus, the 1998 batch of Prempeh College in Kumasi has provided the school with state-of-the-art water distribution system.
The initiative formed part of major activities to mark the group’s 20th anniversary homecoming held between 7th and 9th of December, 2018. The facility wholly financed by the Amanfoo ’98 year group comprises a mechanized borehole and a 7,000 litre reservoir to supply potable water to various dormitories on campus.
It was inaugurated on Saturday, 8th December, 2018 as the major highlight of the group’s 3-day homecoming. President of Amanfoo ‘98 year group, Dr. Ernest Opoku noted the project only reaffirms the group’s commitment to contribute to the development of the College especially after donating a complete Public Address Sound System in 2016.
“We didn’t just come back home but giving back to our alma-mater towards its development. This, we deem a crucial stepping-stone to our Silver-Jubilee celebrations in 2023 expected to be marked with a much bigger project in terms of impact” he noted.
Timely Intervention
For the school authorities and the student-body, the project couldn’t have come at a better time given how erratic water supply by the Ghana Water Company Limited unduly affect academic work as well as social and general school activities. According to the Headmaster (Academics) of the College, Mr Ernest Wiafe, the challenges with water supply had reached the crisis stage, the reason the intervention is deemed timely.
“Whenever there is a problem with water from the Ghana Water Company Limited, we suffer unduly. Students have to go round looking for water here – sometimes affecting classes. So with this intervention by the 1998 year group, it has taken that burden virtually off. Four houses out of the nine are going to depend entirely on this mechanized borehole and we hope that in the near future other year groups will also come over and provide additional ones so that we can have our own internal water system without depending on Ghana Water Company Limited”
The Assistant School Prefect, Dennis Kofi Neizer on behalf of the students expressed their gratitude to the old boys and impressed on other stakeholders the need to continue supporting the school in times of need. “As you started with our sound system and now a mechanized borehole, I know that better things are coming that will help the entire college to make the school a beacon of hope and a light unto the path of other schools” he noted.
Project Planning and Execution
As part of preliminary activities towards the homecoming, executives of the group consulted the College management to among other issues ascertain the pressing development-needs of the college towards giving back to the College.
Dr. Ernest Opoku revealed water supply challenges emerged the top-most priority which the group deemed expedient to tackle by way of the water distribution project.
“We chose this particular project because water is life as they say. Some of the students were skipping classes just because there was lack of water. Others were not taking their bath at all. As a result skin infections were the order of the day in the school and so quite prudent to do this” he explained.
The financial estimates for the project were established after the requisite feasibility studies were carried out. Members of the group both within and outside Ghana subsequently made voluntary contributions to finance the project which was jointly executed by Messrs. Boapokas Company Limited and Trezihaus Limited – both of which are owned and managed by products of Prempeh College.
Historic homecoming
The 3-day homecoming held between 7th and 9th of December, 2018 was mainly to commemorate 20 years since the old boys completed the College that has produced several prominent and influential Ghanaians such as the Ex-President J.A Kufuor.
Dozens of Amanfoo ’98 old boys participated in addition to representatives from Amanfoo ’97 year-group and the ‘98 year groups of other schools like Yaa Asantewaa Girls Secondary School (YAGSS) – which is generally acknowledged as the College’s female “alliance” school. The event which turned out to be arguably the biggest homecoming in the college’s history involved a series of activities on campus over the 3-day period. This is broadly classified into official ones involving the students and/or school authorities and non-official ones by way of merry-making and networking among the old boys.