A philanthropist and citizen of Lente-Wute, a community in the Ketu South Municipality, Felix Akonta Akakpo has built and commissioned a six-unit classroom block to accommodate pupils of the community basic school, a school he established some four years ago.
The Lente-Wute community basic school was established in 2019 to address the challenges children in the community faced in their quest to have access to formal basic education.
The school began with 17 pupils under the structures of the Church of Pentecost where they were taught until land for a permanent site was acquired for the construction of modern classroom infrastructure.
The building of the facility which has now been handed over to the community was initiated and funded by the philanthropist, Felix Akonta Akakpo.
Speaking at a gathering of parents, chiefs and stakeholders during the commissioning of the facility on Wednesday, Mr. Akonta revealed that the struggles he faced during his childhood in attempts to have access to education motivated him to build the school.
He said, “I am a native of Lente-Wute community who struggled moving for long distances to school in the 90s. This singular challenge had a great toll on me and other children at that time. The distance to cover to attend school in other communities created in me a great desire to come back and help the community educate the children.”
“In pursuit of this dream, in the year 2019, I conceived the idea to start this school. The vision was to provide a community-based free and compulsory education for all children in the Lente-Wute community,” he added.
In realisation of this vision, the school which now has 500 pupils is free and made compulsory for all children of the community.
Teachers’ salaries and educational materials are all catered for by Mr. Akonta Akakpo.
The facility also comes with an office, stores, a library and a computer lab.
Mr. Akonta Akakpo believes, the facility will “help lessen the efforts of children in reaching school, increase their knowledge on health and nutrition matters and also help boost community literacy.”
Mr. Akonta also used the opportunity to appeal to the government to absorb the school and put it under the Ghana Education Service (GES).
In recognition of his heroic contributions to the development of the area, the Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional Area Torgbuiga Adzongaga Amenya Fiti V who graced the occasion conferred on him the tittle of a youth leader (Sorhefia).
This tittle was formerly held by the late Komla Afeke Dumor, who was a renowed BBC broadcaster.
Torgbuiga Fiti indicated that Mr. Felix Akonta Akakpo who had earlier built a CHPS Compound for the community is a deserving son of the land for the recognition.
Despite the commissioning of the new block, headteacher of the school, Robert Blewusi Adzigbli told journalists that the school still needs more desks and computers to facilitate effective teaching and learning.
Source: Kasapafmonline.com/102.5/Faisel Abdul-Iddrisu