A self-help project, started in 2018 by the Santrokofi-Bume Development Association (SABUDA), to put up a decent residence for teachers in the area, has been completed and handed over to the Guan Education Directorate in the Oti Region.
The one-unit bungalow is to be occupied by the Headteacher of the Santrokofi-Bume Basic School, Godwin Lotus, who, like his teaching staff, commutes to school daily from Hohoe, about five kilometres away.
With the Headteacher now living with the pupils in the community, he would be able to assist parents to check the misconduct of recalcitrant wards.
The first project cost SABUDA about GH¢60,000 to complete, and it looked forward to receiving public financial and material supports to complete the second phase, estimated to cost GH¢80,000, for the other teaching staff.
Once the majority of the teachers are housed in the community, supervision of pupils would be high before, during and after teaching hours.
Again, it would cut the risk and high cost of travelling to and from Hohoe where the teachers live.
Background
Biennially, Santrokofi-Bume, through the Santrokofi-Bume Development Association, celebrates ‘Homecoming’ for its indigenes, both home and abroad, to take stock and plan developmental projects.
And so, at its fifth Homecoming Durbar on December 25, 2017, the chiefs and people of Santrokofi-Bume raised some funds to start a two-unit accommodation for teachers, as those posted to the area commuted between Hohoe and Santrokofi-Bume daily.
Nana Obibiribi Kumi III, Krontihene of the Santrokofi Traditional Area, broke the ground in June 2018 to begin the construction of the bungalow, which was scheduled to be completed in 12 months.
However, work stalled due to financial challenges, because the project was by dint of self-help by the people of Santrokofi-Bume, who, through the same means, had renovated a Gravity Water System, which generates 24,000 gallons of excess water, built a health centre, a nurses’ quarters, renovated an old school block, and constructed a Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pit (KVIP).
At the commissioning and handing over of the residence to the Headteacher last Monday, Nana Kumi III thanked the Hohoe Municipal Assembly for supporting the project with 100 bags of cement, and Dr. Heloo Adiku, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe, for supporting with an undisclosed cash.
Santrokofi-Bume has hardly depended on governments for infrastructures, but this time, Nana Kumi III, Mrs. Emefa Obro Adibo Gokah, DCE for the Guan District, Godwin Opoku Agabus, Project Manager for SABUDA, and Victus Tetteh, former Assembly Member for the area, entreated the government, cooperative organisations, and philanthropists to support SABUDA to complete the second phase of the teachers’ accommodation and a couple of other self-help projects the community had lined up to alleviate poverty in Santrokofi-Bume.
