The Azumah Resources Limited, has inspired reading habits among school children in some basic schools in the Nadowli-Kaleo and Jirapa districts with the donation of assorted reading materials to the schools.
Azumah Resources Ltd, a gold exploration company in the Upper West Region, donated over 8,000 books, which comprised Mathematics, English, Science and novels to the schools, expected to benefit about 2,812 school children.
It was in partnership with an Accra-based Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Rainbow Foundation, under the company’s School Library Project.
The schools included Nadowli R/C Primary, Nanga Primary, Nadowli Junior High, Charikpong, Takpo, Ganaa and Kalsegra basic schools among others.
The children and teachers of the beneficiary schools, expressed joy after receiving the books.
Addressing school children and managements at Nadowli during a brief ceremony to hand over the books, Mr Hector Nyinaku, the Country Administration Manager of Azumah Resources Ltd, reiterated the commitment of the company to enhancing the education of children in their host districts and communities.
He explained that the book donation was part of the efforts of the company to contribute to the education of the children in their catchment area.
He said they had trained some teachers in the beneficiary schools on library management to ensure effective management and utilisation of the books.
Mr Nyinaku said reading was the core of education, saying, “As you all know, if you know how to read, then all subjects will be easy, even mathematics” hence the decision of the company to donate the books.
Mr Solomon Dery, the Senior Community Relations Officer of Azumah Resources Ltd, said, “As our interest is to look for gold, the welfare of our communities is of interest to the company particularly education.”
He stated that education was one of the key pillars of the company’s Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) and that when they start full mining they would increase their support.
Mr Martin Tang, the Deputy Director of Supervision, Nadowli-Kaleo District Education Directorate, said the interest of the directorate was to improve learning outcomes among the children and commended Azumah Resources for supporting the education sector of the district.
He acknowledged that the company had supported the sector in diverse ways including the provision of clean water and teaching and learning materials to some schools, renovation of schools and support to the District Education Directorate.
Mr Tang stressed the need for all stakeholders including teachers, students and supervisors, to play their part effectively to improve education in the district.
At the Ganaa Basic School in Jirapa, Mr Martin Yiripare, the Accounts and Finance Manager at the Jirapa Municipal Education Directorate, thanked Azumah Resources and its partners for the gesture.
He said despite the government’s efforts to provide reading materials for the schools, the available books were inadequate hence the intervention by Azumah Resources was timely.
“Your donation is going to enhance the reading skills of these little ones, it is going to enhance their critical thinking and creativity,” Mr Yiripare observed.
The representatives of the two District Education Directorates assured the benefactors of properly caring for the books and ensuring they made the expected impact on the children.
