ROTARY CLUB BUILDS LIBRARY FOR GBETSILE (PAGE 46, JUNE 9, 2010)

THE Rotary Club of Tema has handed over a library stocked with books to the Gbetsile Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) School Complex in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency to encourage pupils to cultivate the habit of reading.
The project cost GH¢26,500.
The books which included Literature, Science, Mathematics for Kindergarten up to the junior high school level were valued at GH¢10,000.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, who inaugurated the project, commended the Rotary Club of Tema for its role in promoting education at various levels.
She said Rotary had partnered the government in providing educational facilities and had helped in bringing education closer to rural communities.
Mrs Amoah-Tetteh said the provision of a library was the first step to education and a ladder to success.
She appealed to parents to show interest and build the confidence in their children. She also encouraged them to visit the library to research and make references.
Mrs Amoah-Tetteh appreciated the efforts of the school’s management team, the chief of Gbetsile and all sponsors for supporting the Rotary Club of Tema to build the library.
She affirmed the government’s determination to phase out the shift system and pupils learning under trees by providing the necessary facilities for teaching and learning.
The Member of Parliament for the area, Nii Afotey Agbo, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the Rotary Club of Tema for its efforts to uplift education at Gbetsile which is a rural community in the Tema Metropolis.
He called on the school authorities to liaise with the metropolitan Directorate of Education to employ a qualified librarian to run the library and provide adequate supervision and support to the children for the books to last longer.
The President of the Rotary Club of Tema, Mr John Bison, in an address recounted how the club solicited for support from both local and international sources to put up the library.
He commended the State Insurance Company for being the major sponsor of the project, Brothers’ Brother Foundation of the United States of America for making the intentions of the club a reality.
Mr Bisiw said the club had through its literacy programmes assisted deprived schools with quality books, organised book fairs to promote literacy among the youth and provide health amenities to communities beyond Tema.
He thanked the people, teachers and the chief of Gbetsile for the cordial relations and support and appealed to them to encourage the children to make good use of the library for their own benefit.
The chief of Gbetsile, Nii Kweku Teye, in his appreciation said the library would be put to good use.
He appealed to the Tema Metropolitan Assembly to help extend electricity to the school to enable the pupils benefit from other modern facilities.
The Tema Metropolitan Director of Education, Mr Kwesi Hutchful,on behalf of the school, later received 10 computers and a set of tennis equipment donated by the MP for the area, Nii Afotey Agbo.
He thanked the MP for the gesture and said it would give children in the rural community the opportunity to access quality reading materials to help them in their studies.
The children entertained the gathering through poetry recitals and cultural activities.