Plan Ghana has inaugurated a three-classroom pre-school building at Oditrease in the Upper Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region to help children in the community receive formal education before entering kindergarten.

The facility which was put by Plan Ghana in collaboration with Mr Baba Yasuo, a Japanese philanthropist, cost GH? 129,000.

Mr Prem Shukla, Country Director of Plan Ghana in his address at the inaugural ceremony which was made available by Ms Felicia Nkrumah, Plan Ghana Communications Specialist to the Ghana News Agency on Friday said “the greatest gift you can ever give to a child is education”.

“The importance of education has even become more glaring in today’s globalized world, where the leadership of various institutions and organization is mainly composed of only the elite class in society.” He said this situation mandates all of us to invest in the education of our children and future leaders.

He said: “I believe you would agree with me, that some of the things needed to achieve this goal of producing an educated class of future generations include good learning materials, good tuition and most importantly a serene, comfortable, conducive and child friendly environment”.

According to him, Plan Ghana sees education as the broadening of the mind, and strongly believes that a good academic environment facilitates this process and makes the learning experience even more enjoyable.

Mr Shukla said: “We have noticed and admired for years, the constancy and dedication of students from this community towards their academics and attendance to school despite the deplorable condition of the old school building. “It therefore dawned on us, as an organization, whose primary goal is to ensure the development of children, that these young people deserve a better infrastructure to aid their learning process.”

He observed that the facility was put up to provide the children with the necessary comfort they need to study. The Country Director lauded Mr Yasuo for his enormous support for the project, declaring that “Mr. Yasuo Baba, you fully understand what education means to alleviating poverty”.

“Thanks to your generous donation 56 pre-school children will on a yearly basis have access to an enabling and child friendly academic environment to study,” he added. “Your kind provision will have replicating effects on thousands of children now and in the future.”

He said Mr Yasua has indeed set a good example for the whole world and we sincerely hope that helping the disadvantaged would become the common undertaking of all the different sectors of society from now on. Mr Shukla appealed to the children and management of the facility, to use the facility judiciously so that it could last for future generations to also benefit from it.

“It is our fervent hope that all the necessary maintenance measures will be put in place to sustain the facility,” he stated. Plan Ghana, a child-centred non-governmental organization, has been working in the country since 1992, helping poor children to access their rights to health, education, food security and protection.