Global Village Africa (GVA), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with the main focus on providing deprived Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Volta Region with solar energy has been inaugurated at Keta.
Under the five-year development plan, the GVA will harness solar energy to provide electricity to over 50 schools in deprived communities in the Volta Region to promote academic excellence.
The event was on the theme: “Rural Empowerment for Sustainable Development”.The project will be undertaken in partnership with USONET-ONLINE Limited a solar installation company.
GVA is a partnership platform between the organization and the old students of Keta Business College,(CORONATS) with the sole aim to improve educational challenges confronting some community based SHS.
The first beneficiary school in the region is Keta Busco who were presented with 400 kilowatt of solar power.
The President of GVA, Sitsope Wotordzor, said the project was a dream come true that would find African solutions to African problems.
According to him, the continent has enough sunlight to provide energy for everyday use in the quest to develop and urged African leaders to create an enabling and conducive environment for socio-economic development to strive.
“The African child, Mr Wortordzor, explained is the brightest child in the world but the condition created by African leaders makes it difficult for children born on the continent to attain their full potential.
He bemoaned the divide and rule tactics adopted by African leaders which kept on dividing the people thus depriving them from having a say in self-development roles.
Mr Wotardzor noted that, self-development must evolve from the people, they must voice their needs for the rulers to implement, adding “that was the only way unlimited needs of the people could be addressed”.
The Agbatadua of the Tay Agbozo stool of Dzelukope. Torgbuivi, Kumassah who spoke on the topic: “Rural empowerment for sustainable development” said the youth must be equipped with empowerment skills to enable them adapt to their environment.
According to him, rural empowerment could only succeed if the three pillars of human activity which include community involvement, partnership and holistic development are adopted to shape the lives of the beneficiaries physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and socially adding that “rural livelihoods are enhanced through effective participation of the rural communities to ensure effective use of local resources without compromising the needs of the future generations.
Torgbuivi Kumassah urged for the maintenance ofcultural elements such as dancing, marriage, language, religion, drumming, dancing, food and dressing to cement the bond between the people.
An old student, Dr Simon Harvey, said the partnership between the NGO and the Coronats would go a long way to touch the lives of many in deprived community -based SHS in the region.
A motivational speaker, Joel Kofi Degue who used the occasion to launch three books urged for a paradigm shift in the country’s educational system that would be able to produce creators, innovators, inventors and originators, who would be able to provide solutions to crucial challenges confronting the country.
BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU
