The Paramount Queen of Mepe in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region, Mamaga Adzo Sreku IV, has made a plea to the Volta River Authority (VRA) to consider providing a commuter bus for children residing in the new resettlement camps.
The aim is to facilitate their transportation to and from school, alleviating the stress they currently endure.
Mamaga Sreku emphasized that such a corporate responsibility from the VRA could significantly contribute to easing the trauma experienced by these children due to the floods caused by the spillage from the Akosombo Dam late last year.
During a visit by the United States Ambassador, Virginia Palmer, and a delegation from the US Embassy to Agbetikpo last Thursday, Mamaga Sreku highlighted the current challenges faced by children from the resettlement camps at Mepe-Degorme.
She mentioned that these children walk approximately two kilometres to attend school in the main town of Mepe and then walk back to the camps after classes. This exhausting situation, she noted, has been discouraging some children from attending school altogether.
Visit
During her visit to the local DA Basic School camp, the US Ambassador presented a consignment of learning materials to the children. Coincidentally, the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, also visited the same venue.
Ms. Palmer emphasised the significance of education as an essential human right and a crucial catalyst for peace and development. She expressed that her visit to the area allowed her to witness firsthand the dedication of stakeholders to the education of the children, especially in the aftermath of the unfortunate incident.
Inconvenience
Mamaga Sreku revealed that the two resettlement camps housed approximately 180 basic school children. The traditional authorities discovered that at least 20 children, predominantly from kindergarten, were not attending school due to the considerable distance they had to walk between the camps and their schools.
She further explained that the floods had severely impacted the residents, stripping them of their primary livelihoods, which included farming, fishing, and oyster picking. The once-clear river had now turned muddy, with significant weed growth on the riverbed.
ECG bills
The Mepe Paramount queen also implored the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to look into the possibility of sparing the people of Mepe and nearby communities the agony of paying electricity bills for some time until they regained their livelihoods again.
“Now, the ECG is sharing bills to the people who are now left with no source of income, and that is not fair,” Mamaga Sreku said.
She noted that for several decades, the people of the area had not been compensated for the havoc wreaked on them from the construction of the Akosombo Dam, stressing that “ now, more than ever, the people genuinely need relief from the payment of power bills for a while to enable them to recover from the hardships they were going through and get set for a new livelihood.”
More schools
Meanwhile, the minister of education has given an assurance that there were plans to build schools at every resettlement camp in areas affected by the floods as soon as possible.
“This is because we attach great importance to the education of our children,” he added.