The Executive Director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana, Mr. Joseph Kobla Wemakor has charged parents and guardians in the country to always endeavor to give their wards the necessary support, care, attention and above all ensure that their educational needs are adequately provided to motivate them to study hard for a brighter future.
"As parents and guardians, the onus lies in your hands to ensure that your children's lives get better no matter the cause if you truly want to see them enjoy a better future".
“You see, this is the more reason why you ought to give them the best of care, love, attention and always ensure that their daily needs are met to make their lives comfortable so they can concentrate on their studies and come out with flying colors.”
Mr. Wemakor was speaking on the theme: “My child’s education, my priority” at the fifth graduation ceremony of the World of Hope International School which he chaired over the weekend at Sansam- Odumase, a village located in the Amasaman District of the Greater Accra Region.
The colorful ceremony which was graced by the creme de la crème of the society, government officials and stakeholders in the education sector including parents, guardians, teachers and the general public marked the graduation of twenty (20) kindergarten and Junior High School (JHS) three scholars to Class One and Senior High School (SHS) respectively.
The highpoint of the ceremony was the presentation of certificates of merit to the young graduates but the thrill of the occasion came from a delightful line-up of choreographed Ghanaian dances and drama sketches, poetry recitals and above all the presentation of certificates and awards to some deserving students who excelled in the 2018/2019 academic year.
Delivering his keynote address on the theme: “My child’s education, my priority”, Mr. Peter Awuvey, a retired educationist observed that giving the optimal priority to children’s education is the key to guarantying them a better future and advised parents and guardians accordingly against any form of distraction that might take their attention away.
“What do you want for your child? an engineer, a pilot, a seaman, or a policeman/woman? or what exactly do you want to see them become in future? he asked, and concluded: “If only it's your priority, it can be achieved”.
He furthered: "forget about the expensive clothes, the 4-wheel drives and the nice buildings and educate your children".
"They will buy you the cars and the nice buildings, help you with business and eventually take you outside the country on fun filled vacations and you won’t regret at all”, he stressed.
On his part the Headteacher, Mr. Bright Loggoh identified transportation as a major problem the school is faced with and appealed to parents, guardians and well-meaning individuals and organizations to come to the aid of the school, help provide it with a bus that can facilitate the smooth transportation of the children to and back from school.
He also called on government to consider private schools in the allocation of resources meant for the free education policy agenda including other interventions targeted at enhancing teaching and learning in schools in the country.
The Executive Director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana, Mr. Joseph Kobla Wemakor in his closing remark took time to sensitize the gathering on their basic rights as humans including the kidnapping phenomenon and offered them tips to help foil the attempt (s) of the so-called abductors causing stir in the country recently.
He called on parents and teachers to always endeavor to advise their children against stranger danger; accepting of gifts and entertaining of strangers and insist on doing all they can to help protect the rights of their children in every circumstance.
The Proprietor of the school, Mr. Omoro Addy adding his voice to calls for children's education to be prioritized appealed to parents and guardians to always make it a point to invest in their wards not only in school but in every aspect of their lives so they can grow up to become useful to the society.
Founded in 2007, the World of Hope International (WOHI) is a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) established by a US-based philanthropist, Monica Westin with the aim of changing the world and making difference in the lives of children in areas of human rights tolerance, non-violence education and health awareness creation among others.
WOHI with much commitment and focus placed on child education established a preschool in 2007 which was registered under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and handed the responsibility to train children and inculcate in them knowledge and skills ranging from literacy, numeracy and creative arts as well as problem solving skills so as to empower them to become useful in the future.
The school is committed to advancing the cause of children's education in their community with the development of their talents, skills and imparting of knowledge at the core of its operation.