The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Mawuko Girls Senior High School in Ho in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region has launched a fundraiser to solicit funds to tackle the school’s infrastructure deficit, with focus on sanitation.

Management seeks to raise about GhC95,000 to construct a 25-seater modern sanitary facility to augment the existing one to enhance sanitation in the school.

The school was established in the 1980s by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church as a day second cycle educational center for young girls.

It has developed over the last 40 years, transforming into a boarding institution, with 2,700 students currently pursuing various courses. 

2,511 of the students are housed on the premises, which has limited infrastructure, with inadequate sanitary facility being a major challenge.

Only 2 16-unit sanitary facilities are available for use by the over 2,500 boarding students.

Students have to queue at the entrance and make use of the facility in turn, a development school authorities have identified to be detrimental to academic activities. 

Speaking at the launch of the 40th-anniversary celebrations of the E.P.C Mawuko Girls SHS, the Headmistress, Ms. Ernestina Peniana said they intend to use the anniversaries to advertise the school, promote gender equality, and social inclusion “as a paradigm shift from the male dominant environment."

She also announced the construction of a 25-seater modern sanitary facility as the anniversary project to salvage the situation where students would no longer have to spend long hours in queues to use the toilet.

She, therefore, appealed to all and sundry to contribute towards the project. 

“Our anniversary project is just a 25-seater water closet facility for the girls. I know by the time we leave here, somebody is going to volunteer to do that for us within 3 months”, said Ms. Peniana.

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa expressed worry at the low rate at which young females enroll in ICT programmes in the country. 

He asserted that this could be detrimental to their future as the world is in the fourth industrial revolution which anchors on digitization.

Dr. Letsa, therefore, entreated stakeholders to tailor programmes aimed at addressing the digitalization gap to enable young females to fit into the global village and warned them against the dangers of ICT. 

“The modern female child should be made aware of the dangers involved in the use of IT tools and the internet as digitalization is a two-edged sword. It harbours within it the potential to make or mar the future of the female child if not controlled. 

Today, most of our girls, instead of exploring the educational content of ICT to improve their quality of life, take to social media for bad reasons, including the display of nudity to the world. This must end, if we should benefit wholly from digitalization”, he stressed.