Janton, (N/R), July 4, GNA - The Presbyterian Farmers' Training and Child Development Program (PFTCDP) in collaboration with the Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC) has donated items to eleven basic schools and clinical drugs to a clinic in the Janton/Dabogshie communities in the East Gonja District.

The items include reading, writing, teaching aids and early childhood learning kits valued at 34 million cedis and library books for the Sakpalua Presbyterian Primary School Library at the cost of 25 million cedis.

Mr Eric Chimsi, Program Coordinator of the PFTCDP disclosed this when he gave a brief history of the partnership between his organisation and the CCFC at the presentation of the items at Janton and Dabogshie, two farming communities in the East Gonja District on Monday. Some of the items were 550 school uniforms for the eleven schools at 32.5 million cedis, a sponsorship package for 14 volunteer teachers to access the untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTTDBE) through distance learning at a cost of 20 million cedis. The rest were four hospital beds and their mattresses, bed sheets and partitioning boards valued at 40 million cedis, assorted items for fracture situations valued at 10 million cedis and assorted drugs at the cost of eight million cedis.

Mr Chimsi said the collaboration between the PFTCDP and CCFC started in 1999 and covered only five communities in the East Gonja District with a total enrolment of children for sponsorship at 550. Presently the Project operates in ten communities with 1,100 children in the sponsorship program.

He said there were five primary schools and six nurseries in the operational area, adding that all the 11 schools were assisted annually with teaching and learning materials, up-grading of classrooms, furniture, school uniforms and sports kits.

All the nurseries were feeding centres and the project spends an average of 25 million cedis monthly to purchase foodstuffs for their feeding to ensure optimum mental capacity and the normal growth of the children, he said.

Mr Chimsi said for three years now the project had been undertaking a malaria control program where walls and the entrances of sleeping rooms were sprayed with a residual insecticide, which retained potency for up to eight months.

Mr Chimsi said last year the project de-silted six community dams at a cost of 180 million cedis and constructed 41 rainwater harvesting tanks of 10,000 gallons capacity in five communities with funds from the CCFC.

An additional 56 rainwater harvesting tanks were constructed by the project for 200 families with funds from the Church of Baden, Germany. Mr Chimsi said the project assisted its sponsored children's parents with micro-credit loans ranging between 500,000 cedis to one million cedis to raise their income levels. He said last year the project also piloted an animal traction program in two communities with seven pairs of bullocks and other accessories to seven children sponsored children's families. 4 July 06