A modern Girls’ washroom facility under construction at Nkonya Senior High School (NKOSEC) is almost complete and awaiting commissioning.
The bathroom and toilet project undertaken by two former students of the school: Barrister Richard Kojo Acheampong of the 1989-year group and his wife Joan Asare-Acheampong of the 1994-year group is almost ready for use, just five months after sod-cutting in January for the commencement of work.
The project includes a walkway from the new facility to the girls’ dormitory block for easy access.
The construction also incorporated the completion of a ten-unit washroom started some ten years ago by the school for the female dormitory.
Mr. Acheampong, a London-based lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist said the total cost of the project shot up to Three Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 300,000), twice the initial estimate of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand (GHS 150,000), due to the additional scope of works and the increasing cost of building materials and some unforeseen needs at the conception of the project.
The couple has been funding the project from proceeds of Mr. Acheampong’s recently launched memoir, titled: “Crushed But Not Destroyed,” and contributions by Madam Asare.
“No sacrifice is too much for the school which allowed us to get education to become whom we are today,” Mr. Acheampong said.
He said, “My wife and I are glad to be supporting the school at this time because that is what old students should be doing for their alma mater.”
By this gesture, the couple believes they are showing the way for other alumni of the school to lend a hand to provide some basic needs for the institution.
On her part, Mrs. Asare-Acheampong said, they decided to construct the washroom for the girls’ dormitory because of the poor state of the existing facility the girls had been using.
“For females, our WASH needs are sensitive and critical, and the existing female WASHROOM is not safe for the use by girls, so we had to intervene,” she stated.
The commissioning of the new facility has been slated for Friday, 10th May, 2024. In attendance would be the Oti Regional Director of Education, the Paramount Chiefs of the Nkonya Ahenkro and Nkonya Wurupong, Traditional Areas, as well as the chiefs and elders of Tepo, Kadjebi, and Tayi. The Akonfode cultural group from Nkonya Tayi and the Asafo drumming group from Nkonya Ntumda will perform at the ceremony.
Also to be in attendance will be the leadership of the Nkosec Old Students Association (NOSA) as well as some notable alumni of the school.
Meanwhile, Mr. Acheampong has arrived in Ghana to prepare for and participate in the commissioning of the facility.
NKOSEC is located between Kadjebi and Ntumda in the Nkonya Ahenkro Traditional area in the Biakoye District of the Oti Region. It was founded in 1964 and has produced many great individuals who have served or continue to work for Ghana in various capacities.
