De Youngster’s International School has donated food items, sanitary products, medication and equipment valued at GH¢120,000 to the Akropong School for the Blind and the Mampong Presbyterian Demonstration School for the Deaf in the Eastern Region.
The donation, made on Monday, formed part of the school’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in memory of its late founder, Mr Anthony Kwame de Youngster, to mark what would have been his birthday on October 26.
Presenting the items, the Deputy Director-General of the school, Ms Wendy de Youngster-Bastine, said the initiative was established by the founder to instil compassion, service and good character in learners.
She said the founder believed education should develop both the mind and character, while encouraging students to take responsibility for the welfare of others, particularly persons with disabilities.
“We have come here not because we think we are coming to people to give, that is not it. We have come to people whom we have much to learn from,” she noted.
Ms de Youngster-Bastine urged learners at the Akropong School for the Blind not to allow visual impairment to limit their aspirations, citing Ms Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, an alumna of the school, who became the first African woman to chair the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
She mentioned that the school had consulted the institutions on their needs and prioritised medication to support the health of the learners.
“Blindness is a condition. It is not their identity. It is not their destiny. It is certainly not a boundary against their potential,” she stressed.
The Akropong School for the Blind received rice, tomato paste, cooking oil, sugar, sanitary pads, medication, beans, maize and gari.
The Mampong Presbyterian Demonstration School for the Deaf received mosquito nets, a 1.5-horsepower immersion borehole machine, two mowers and assorted food items.
Receiving the donation on behalf of the Akropong school, the Secretary to its Donation Committee and Computing Teacher, Mr Maxwell Asante Oware, expressed appreciation for the support.
He stated that the school catered for learners from kindergarten to junior high school and operated vocational, music and rehabilitation departments.
Mr Oware appealed to corporate organisations and individuals to provide scholarships and educational opportunities to help persons with visual impairment become independent and contribute meaningfully to society.
The Assistant Headmistress of the Mampong Presbyterian Demonstration School for the Deaf, Ms Mabel Ofosu, also thanked the donor school, commending its students and staff for their continued support and expressing hope that the partnership would be sustained.
FROM ENOCK KWAME OFORI, MAMPONG-AKUAPEM
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