By Joyce Danso
Accra, Dec. 3, GNA – POS Foundation, a human rights civil society organisation, has presented items worth GH¢25,000 to two schools in Accra as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.
It also forms part of activities marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The Kaneshie Senior High Technical School and Kaneshie West 1 Basic School received dustbins, cartons of sanitary pads, toiletries and ceiling fans.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, the Executive Director of the Foundation, said the organisation had over the past 20 years championed human rights, gender-based violence advocacy, and played a key role in the Justice for All Programme in Ghana’s prisons.
He urged students to practise good personal hygiene and become hygiene ambassadors in their homes, schools and communities.
Ms Precious E. A. Klu, Project Officer in charge of Gender and Inclusion, encouraged the pupils to keep their school environments clean and to speak out against gender-based violence by reporting perpetrators.
Superintendent of Police Alice Harlley, Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Kaneshie, educated the students on cases handled by the Unit, including defilement, incest, rape and child maintenance.
She urged them to report any form of abuse to their teachers, stressing that “it is not true that you will die when you report people who abuse you.”
Mr Frank Nkansah, Ablekuma Central Municipal Chief Executive, commended POS Foundation for giving back to the community and appealed to businesses within the municipality to invest in local development.
He announced plans to institute a monthly Sanitation Day for schools within the area to promote environmental cleanliness.
Mrs Mavic Adu-Sei, Headmistress of Kaneshie West 1 Basic School, expressed gratitude for the donation, saying it had come at an opportune time.
Madam Regina Gyampomaa Oduro, Assistant Headmistress of Kaneshie Senior High Technical School, said the school was delighted to benefit from the gesture, adding: “We promise that we will not allow our bodies to be touched anyhow.”
Established in 2005, POS Foundation works in access to justice, policy reform, gender equity and women’s economic empowerment.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe