Accra, Aug 24, GNA – Mr Prince Ackuaku, a Business Development Coach, has presented some assorted items estimated at GH¢18,000 and an undisclosed amount of cash to the Children’s Ward of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, to mark his 60th birthday.
He said the donation was in response to the needs of the ward.
Among the items donated were hospital mattresses, wheelchairs, rubber washing bowls, cutlery, bags of sachet water, liquid soap, disinfectants, sanitisers, canned milk and diapers.
“This token from my friends, family members and myself is to help the ward in reducing the myriad of challenges you face here. I am thankful to all those who supported me to celebrate my birthday in this glorious manner,” Mr Ackuaku said.
Mr Ackuaku, a member of Rotary Club of Accra West, a former student of Adisadel College in Cape Coast and a former banker of Absa and CAL Banks, said the donation was a follow up on a donation the Rotary Club made some time ago to the hospital.
He explained: “We’re hard-pressed that day. I decided to source for assistance from the Rotary Club, classmates, family and friends, and the Keep Fit Club on the Spintex Road to which I belong to get this donation for the children.”
He added: “We need to pull everybody along to help the needy.”
The celebrant, who is also the Managing Director of Pinnacle Business Coaching Limited, described the donation as being in the true rotary spirit.
Mrs Francisca Ntow, a member of the Public Relations Team of the Hospital, who received Mr Ackuaku and his team, together with some staff of the Ward sang “Happy Birthday” to the celebrant and wished him more of God’s blessing.
She said: “Many people celebrate their birthdays in all manner of ways, but thinking of celebrating with these special children of ours is so heart-warming and we cannot thank you enough.”
She appealed for more help from both individuals and organisations for the care of the children.
She said there are currently 13 children in the ward, some of whom were abandoned at the gate of the hospital and a parent who was visiting her child in the ward, after some time, had stopped the visit and left the child to its fate.
“So, these children have no homes apart from the hospital. They are dependent on the nurses since they cannot talk or do anything for themselves.
“We feed them, bath them, change their diapers and everything. So we need a lot of diapers and detergents because we need to ensure that they are always neat and comfortable,” Mrs Ntow said.
Ms Selina Amankwanor, a Nurse on Duty at the Ward, who received the donation, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that after the children had been attended to initially, they ought to be sent to specialised homes.
“They are rather abandoned. Unfortunately, our society does not accept children with such challenges because of stigma,” Ms Amankwanor said.
Ms Amankwanor observed that the children were very selective in their choice of food and would refuse to eat when they were not satisfied with the food prepared by the hospital.
Another challenge, she identified, is the unavailability of prescribed drugs.
She, therefore, called for more support from individuals and organisations for the upkeep of the children.
GNA