After the Sept. 4 donation of two new facilities from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, boys attending Ayirebi Senior High School in Ayirebi, Ghana, can use the toilet confident that no snakes will bite them.
The Church received a request to help remedy the learning and logistical situations at the school and agreed to build a new classroom building. The new building contains six fully equipped classrooms. Additionally, the Church built a 12-seat toilet and washroom building. The Church installed a new septic system and two 10,000-liter polytanks to provide an uninterrupted supply of clean water.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is committed to ensuring that the rising generation is provided with all necessary things that will make their lives here on earth powerful and purposeful,” said Elder Patrick Appianti-Sarpong, an Area Seventy in the Africa West Area.
With a school population of over 1,500 students, far beyond what was intended, Ayirebi Senior High School suffers with a lack of space to seat and accommodate all the students.
Laboratory spaces, originally used to teach science and technology, and outdoor pavilions intended for student dining and assemblies, have been converted to general classrooms to help accommodate the increasing number of students.
Additionally, the lack of proper toilet facilities for the boys created a bigger concern. The existing facility was an open lean-to that was frequently invaded by cobras and other pests. Rather than risking their lives and fearing snakes, many boys would use nearby bushes for toilets. This created an unsanitary environment and affected learning in general.
The construction of this donation took nine months to complete.
The school organized a handover ceremony filled with talks of gratitude, cultural dances, drumming performances and ribbon-cutting. This ceremony marked the beginning of a new, brighter chapter for the school and for the students in Ayirebi, Ghana.
William Amewuho, headmaster of the school, began the ceremony by offering words of gratitude for the Church’s efforts to improve the learning environment for the students. According to the Church’s Africa Newsroom, he noted that without the donations, the school would continue to struggle in providing a solid foundation for educational growth.
Elder Appianti-Sarpong, who represented the Church at the ceremony, addressed the people in attendance sharing his testimony of God’s love and his purpose to make a greater life tomorrow.
“In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we certainly know that all people, all human beings, male and female, are children of a loving Heavenly Father,” Elder Appianti-Sarpong said. “We certainly believe that we are all connected as sisters and brothers because we have a Father in Heaven who loves us. And because of His love for us, He wants our lives here on earth to be full of joy so we can prepare for even a greater life tomorrow.”
The Church continues to support educational initiatives all over the world and all over Ghana. In July, over 144 students in Ghana graduated from BYU-Pathway Worldwide. Likewise, on Aug. 18, the Church also donated 20 industrial sewing machines, 20 hand-powered machines and 15 irons to the Essipun Technical Institute in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana.
