Huni-Valley (W/R), Feb. 21, GNA – To reduce the number of female students residing in off-campus hostels, Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF), has constructed a 360-bed girls’ dormitory with four-bedroom apartments for students and teachers of Huni-Valley Senior High School in the Western Region.
The project worth US$980,000 was completed in three years by Boison Construction Limited, a local contractor based in Tarkwa.
Handing over the facility at a ceremony in Huni-Valley, Mr Joshua Mortoti, Executive Vice President and Head of Gold Fields West Africa, said in 2019, the Foundation approved the project to tackle the accommodation deficit for girls in the school.
He said 65 per cent of the student population are females, out of which 371 reside in off-campus hostels and homes while the remaining 656 are boarders on campus, adding “we believe this new facility will help to significantly improve upon the level of education.”
He noted that one of Gold Fields’ Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) targets was to increase the percentage of women on its Mines to 30 per cent by 2030 and the best way to do that was to support the training of girls at the SHS and Tertiary levels of education.
Mr Mortoti said, “through our scholarship, skills and graduate training programmes, we have made a conscious effort to include more females, to ensure they acquired employable skills and create a pipeline for possible employment.
“Since inception of the Foundation we have invested US$9.5 million in the education of our host communities in Tarkwa and Damang Mines.”
The Executive Vice President said currently 37 public schools in the communities were undergoing a four-year reading and comprehension programme, in partnership with a Canadian Non-Governmental Organisation and this was targeted at equipping students at the lower and upper primary levels to improve upon their reading and comprehension skills.
Mr Mortoti said for the past two years, the GFGF had invested in supporting a team of ten students from Huni Valley SHS to prepare for the National Science and Maths Quiz, “it is our hope that, very soon, students from our communities will also see themselves on such a huge national stage exhibiting their intellectual prowess.”
He commended Boison Construction Limited for the good work and said this was an indication of their local content strategy, which ensured that Gold Fields nurtured and supported the growth of local businesses.
Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ghana and the quiz Mistress for the National Science and Maths quiz, stressed that “If you don’t invest in yourself, nobody will be willing to invest in you, Gold Fields has shown you love by putting up this project so make good use of it.”
She said it was not enough to keep receiving when you don’t do anything for yourself, “I will not have reached this far without working hard towards my dream. I am an example so please work hard, pray, learn from others and encourage yourself because it is possible to get to where you want to be.”
“To the teachers the young ladies need more from you, when all your examples have to do with male activities, you may discourage them because they don’t see themselves in the things you are teaching. We may not think about it often, but it makes a huge difference. Teachers are amazing but you can also be a source of hinderance so let’s think about ways we can help our young ladies to succeed,” Prof Kaufmann advised.
Mr Sulemanu Koney, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and a member of the board of trustees, GFGF stated that when the request was made to the board, they did not hesitate because they knew that by providing the facility for their sisters, nieces and daughters, they would have a conducive environment to pursue their studies and excel.
He said, “It is our expectation that the objective of which we actually approved this project will be realized. It is so dear to our hearts, and we will continue to work very hard to pull our women through the academic calendar and at the professional level”
Mr Koney, however, assured Ghanaians that the board would continue to support various economic projects within the environs Gold Fields operated.
Professor Richard Kwasi Amankwah, Vice Chancellor of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, explained that they had identified Huni-Valley as one of their major stakeholders and one of their written policies was that anyone from Huni-Valley SHS with the basic qualification for university entry would gain admission into the institution.
He further said, “for Arts and business students who want to come to UMaT, we have a programme rolled out by the Ministry of Education called non-science engineering education, we give you one year to do engineering education and then we admit you the following year into our engineering programme.”
Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, Western Regional Minister, on his part appealed to the management of the school to ensure that the facility was properly maintained to serve future generations.
Mr Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni-Valley constituency and Nana Kwabena Amponsah IV, Divisional Chief of Bosomtwe, thanked Gold Fields for the beautiful edifice.
Source: Ghana News Agency
