As part of efforts to improve reading in the Ketu South Municipality, Values For Life, (VFL) Ghana, an NGO has opened the 2017 Reading Clinic Project at Avoeme Basic School in Aflao in the Volta Region.
The week-long reading session is to help school children in Aflao and its environs to improve on their reading and communication skills.
The project is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunity.
Ms Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Chief Executive Officer, VFL-Ghana speaking at the opening ceremony of the project said two years ago, she fulfilled her mother’s dream of establishing a library for the people of Aflao.
She said her late mother believed that reading makes a person stands out, so she appealed to management of the Avoeme Basic School, who agreed to host the Library Project on the School Compound.
Ms Gomashie said management of VFL-Ghana recognised that children needed to be assisted to cultivate the habit of reading, hence the project.
[ads1]She said reading was said to be a life skills, so it was important for the children to acquire it in a way of fun, hence the inclusion of poetry recitals, drumming and dancing.
She said VFL-Ghana has provided various social systems to help improve the lives of children, the youth and women.
She said the organisation was committed in grooming young leaders, who would impact the generation positively for the accelerated national development.
“We do this by embarking on arts and culture initiatives, educational support programmes, community development projects, digital innovation programmes, mentorship and training programmes, health awareness projects, livelihood empowerment projects and tourism initiatives,” she added.
The CEO said in September, VFL-Ghana would organise a skill development programme to include some of the things the organisation does culturally.
She appealed to educational authorities in the Municipality to scrap extra classes during vacation periods.
She said a child did not only need to study books but also they needed to be involved in other transformational activities.
“We need all rounded children for our community development,” she added.
She said vacation was for pupil and teachers to take a break from their routine and involve in other activities, however, in recent times, this has not been the case.
She said extra classes during the vacation period was also a routine, asking that “when will these children develop and polish their talents in music, dancing, drumming and playing football.”
The Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional area, Togbe Amenya Fiti V commended management of VFL-Ghana, especially its CEO for their efforts to promote education in the area.
He said the area had only one library in the past, which collapsed, so the establishing of a new one was welcoming news to the community.
He called on students to take advantage of the opportunity presented to make use of the books in the library.
He also called on parents to endeavour to provide the necessary logistics for their children’s educational development and make sure they educated them to the highest level.
The Paramount Chief said the area has established an educational fund to continue to support bright and brilliant students in the area.
Mr Paul Mifetu, the Circuit Supervisor, Aflao Circuit, said the project has come at the appropriate time and commended VFL-Ghana for the initiative.
On the scraping of extra classes, he said the educational directorate would consider the appeal to let the children continue to develop their talents.
