By Philip Tengzu
Duose, (UW/R), June 13, GNA – The Fidelity Bank has constructed and commissioned an ultra-modern 6-
unit classroom block for the pupils in Duose community in the Guo Electoral Area of Wa West District.
The project will save them from learning under trees and shades.
The intervention at the Duose D/A Basic School, one of the 15 schools in the country that benefited from
the bank’s “Orange Impact Initiative”, to mark its 15th anniversary, also saw the Kindergarten block of
the school renovated to give it a facelift.
The fully furnished classroom and office space with a solar system installed would accommodate basic
one to basic six.
Before the commissioning of the 6-unit facility, there was no befitting structure for the pupils from
Primary one to the Junior High School (JHS) which compelled the children to receive academic
instructions under shades and trees while two classes were sometimes combined in one “shade
classroom”.
Mr Abubakari Mubarik, the Headteacher of the Duose D/A Primary School, indicated that the
intervention would improve teaching and learning at the school because the school would not have to
close anytime it threatened to rain.
“Sometimes, you prepare yourself to come and teach or handle the children, you will come and the
environment alone will demoralise you, but giving us this project, in fact it will go a long way to help the
people of Duose and we the teachers as well in our teaching and learning”, he explained.
He said the JHS students still had no structure to accommodate them and appealed for support in that
regard.
Naa Bawa Seidu, the Chief of Duose, said the choice of a hard-to-reach community like Duose to benefit
from the intervention showed the commitment of the Bank to impact the lives of people in rural
communities.
He said the intervention by the Bank should be a challenge to the Wa West District Education
Directorate to build classrooms for the JHS to complement the work of the Bank.
The Chief appealed to the Wa West District Assembly to connect the community to the national grid to
aid in teaching and learning Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the school.
Mr Julian Kingsley Opuni, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, noted that the intervention sought to
contribute to address in the challenges confronting the educational sector in the country through
improving access with the provision of good infrastructure for the children to learn.
He explained that the Douse D/A Basic School was selected to benefit from the Orange Impact Initiative
based on the recommendation of a staff at the bank who hailed from that community, Ms Felicia Zanko.
“Fidelity is an intrinsic and integral part of every community in which we operate so everywhere we are
we will make sure we look for opportunities to ensure that we are part of the ecosystem that drives
development”
Mr Opuni entreated the community members to own the facility and maintain it for future generations
to benefit from its impact.
Mr Amatus Tug-uu, the Wa West District Director of Education, commended the Bank for the
intervention and said it had reduced the infrastructure challenge of the Duose Basic School.
He said the structure “will be a great enabler to providing quality education to the people and give them
hope of better future.”
Other stakeholders at the ceremony included the Wa West District Chief Executive and the Upper West
Regional Police Commander.
GNA