By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, Sept 28, GNA – The Daniel Ntow Obese Foundation, in collaboration with the Unity Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in Nkanfoa, has constructed a resource centre for computer literacy and religious nurturing for young people within its community.
The facility was built in honour of the late Daniel Ntow Obese for his exceptional dedication in his 32-year service to the Church, serving as caretaker of the Unity Congregation at Nkafoa for 15 years until his demise in 2021.
Named after him, the Daniel Ntow Obese Children and Youth Resource Centre, which is located adjacent to the church, has a fully equipped ultra-modern 12-seater Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory, two rooms and a room dedicated for children and youth services respectfully.
The two-storey edifice also has a 250-seater conference room, 14 washrooms among other facilities.
The Foundation has developed a free comprehensive course to train and certify children in computer programming, coding, designing, and building games, animations and stories, creative expression, and learning, among others to further its cause.
Mrs Elizabeth Obese, the Chairperson of the Foundation and the widow, speaking at the ceremony, said the foundation were motivated by God and the need to give back to society.
She said the laboratory was to empower the youth to build their competencies in ICT, which was a critical component of the 21st-century skill set required by young people.
She observed that many pupils in the Nkafoa community had never used a computer while learning ICT in school even though they had exhibited great potentials to do more things if given the opportunity.
“We want to bring ICT to the doorstep of the people. We are hopeful that whoever passes through this facility is going to be very resourceful,” she said.
“I believe that through this training, we are going to build the moral character of the young ones to stay away from all forms of vices,” she added.
She also intimated that the 250-seater conference room would be made available to all other Bible-believing churches interested in using the space.
Mrs Obese further announced a scholarship for package needy but brilliant students in the church and its surrounding communities, who wished to pursue university education, starting from the 2024/2025 academic year.
She implored young people to seek the face of God and be disciplined to have a bright future.
Parents should know their children and inculcate in them the moral character that would build them up to become responsible citizens of the nation and the church, she added.
The Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, who commissioned and dedicated the facility, urged the youth in the community to leverage on the centre’s provision, to enhance their quality of life.
“We also pray that the church will take very good care of the facility so that, it can serve people longer,” he said.
Earlier, he called on the government to take urgent steps to clamp down on the menace of sports betting in the country, saying this had become an addiction among the youth, creating bad character and destroying the future of young people.
Touching on the dangers of other addictions including drugs, alcohol, and sex, he recounted how a young promising man of God died from alcohol addiction.
He appealed to the youth to stay away from addictive behaviours, stressing that “the best way to stop addiction is to stay away from it.”
Rt. Rev. Prof. Mante further challenged churches in Ghana to establish counselling units to provide specialised services to persons suffering from addictions to complement prayers.
GNA