The Meridian Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) at Tema in the Greater Accra Region has donated a large quantity of assorted relief items to victims of the Akosombo and Kpong dams’ spillage at Mepe in the North Tongu district of the Volta Region.
The items, valued at several thousands of Ghana Cedis, were meant not only for the church members but also all the flood victims at the various camps, including those at the St. Kizito Safe Haven, where more than five hundred (500) victims are housed.
The high-powered delegation of the Meridian Presbytery of the Church was led by its Synod Moderator, Rev. Dr. Vivian Balasu-Addo. Other members of the team were the Synod Clerk, Rev. Wilson Delali Dumasi, Presbyters Gershon Yakawonya of the Ashale Botwe Branch and Mrs. Bertha Amedoh of the North La E.P. Church, both Council Members, Presbyter Juliet Donkor, Presbytery Secretary, Catechist Alfred Kumah of the Madina E.P. Church, Mr. Emmanuel Attah, Accounts Clerk as well as the Driver, Mr. Solomon Aforley.
Joining the delegation from the South Volta Presbytery of the Church were Rev. Dr. Abraham Dovigah Akoto, Synod Moderator, Rev. Paul Quarshie Gikunu, Synod Clerk, as well as Mr. P.S.K. Akorli, Council Member and Catechist of the Avakpedome Congregation of the E.P. Church. Also present were the District Pastor of the Aveyime-Battor E.P. Church and the Presbyter, Mrs. Helen Fekpe.
The items donated on behalf of the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church included four hundred (400) bags of sachet water, more than thirty (30) cartons of bottled water, bags of rice and gari, cooking oil, plastic buckets, bowls, and plates as well as many baby cots. The others were shoes and sandals of all kinds and sizes, several bags of charcoal, dozens of mosquito nets, ladies’ bags, basic school reading materials and textbooks as well as dozens of bags of used clothing and toiletries. The rest were biscuits, blankets, and bed sheets as well as some quantities of detergents.
As part of the visit to the area, the Synod Moderator and her entourage paid a courtesy call to the traditional authorities at the palace of the Paramount Chief of the Mepe Traditional Area. They used the occasion to also donate some one hundred (100) bags of sachet water to the paramountcy. Togbe Kodzo Asada IV, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs, described the disaster as very devastating and was grateful to all and sundry, including the E.P. Church, Ghana, and the Meridian Presbytery for the gesture.
The delegation also visited the St. Kizito Senior High School Evacuation Centre not only to interact with the victims there but also to encourage them to be steadfast. According to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) officials, less than six hundred (600) flood disaster victims currently reside at the camp. Zonal Co-ordinator at the Camp, Ms. Gloria Dornutsor, was grateful to the Tema Meridian Presbytery of the E.P. Church for the gesture.
The Synod Moderator and her entourage took a tour of some of the affected areas within the Mepe Township. The tour also led them across part of the river, using a boat powered by an outboard motor to Titikope on the Adidome-Juapong road, where the delegation saw at first hand the extent of damage the spillage has caused to property, including several buildings within the Mepe enclave.
Presenting the items, Rev. Dr. Balasu-Addo said the donation was in response to the plight of the victims, explaining that the motivation by the Church to support such a good course was to do the will of God. She reminded the victims that their situation was not permanent.
‘You might have lost property, including your homes. Remember not to be worried because there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Things will work better in your favour’, Synod Moderator Balasu-Addo emphasized.
She used the occasion to appeal to other individuals, institutions, and corporate Ghana to come to the aid of the victims, saying there is more work to be done.
The Zonal NADMO Co-ordinator in charge of the St. Kizito camp, Ms. Gloria Dornutsor, who received the items on behalf of the camp members, was grateful to the E.P. Church for the kind gesture.
The Chairman of the Camp, Mr. Dusi Amanatey was grateful to the E.P. Church for the honour done them. He appealed to the Church and other organizations to assist them with dustbins to enable them to efficiently collect and dispose of their refuse. He also appealed to Ghanaians to assist victims whose buildings have collapsed to get homes where they can live after leaving the camp. Mr. Amanatey stressed the need for more food donations to the camp, lamenting that in the last two weeks, victims at the camp have not received any food items.
