Women in Broadcasting (WIB) in the Upper East Region says schools are now reaching out directly to the group for educational support as it concludes the second edition of its Back-to-School Project.
The group says the requests highlight the growing need for basic learning materials among children from disadvantaged backgrounds and have strengthened its resolve to expand the initiative to more schools.
Women in Broadcasting, in collaboration with the Happy Man Foundation and Friends of Prosper, has been distributing exercise books, pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, school bags, sandals and socks to children in selected schools across the Upper East Region.
President of Women in Broadcasting, Humul Khrusum Tahiru, said this year’s intervention was significantly bigger than the first edition, both in the range of items distributed and the support provided to children.
“We are very happy as a group to be able to embark on the second edition of our Back to School project. Our excitement is drawn from the fact that we saw so many smiles from innocent children this year,” she said.
Mrs Tahiru said one of the most striking developments during the exercise was receiving requests from schools that wanted their pupils to benefit from the initiative.
“What excites me the most is the fact that we even have some schools calling us for support, calling us to come to their school,” she noted.
She said the requests demonstrate the need to sustain and expand the project to reach more children who may struggle to acquire basic educational materials.
According to her, the initiative reflects the principle on which Women in Broadcasting was formed, bringing people together to collectively address challenges they may not be able to tackle individually.
“As a unit, you might not be able to do anything, but when you come together as a group, we can do lots of things,” Mrs Tahiru said.
She expressed hope that the Back-to-School Project would become a sustainable annual intervention and eventually reach more communities across the Upper East Region.
“I am praying that next year we are able to do this and even do it better. Maybe we can cover the entire region. Or even if we are doing the same districts we did, we should be able to cover more schools,” she said.
Mrs Tahiru acknowledged that the needs identified in beneficiary schools extend beyond the materials provided this year and appealed to individuals, businesses and organisations to support future interventions.
She expressed appreciation to the Happy Man Foundation and Friends of Prosper, whose support enabled the group to expand this year’s exercise.
“The support they lent to us is something we can never forget, because of what it has been able to let us do. We are very grateful to them,” she said.
Beyond the Back-to-School Project, Mrs Tahiru said Women in Broadcasting is planning other community interventions, including breast and cervical cancer screening and programmes addressing teenage pregnancy and other social issues.
She said the group intends to build on the second edition of the Back-to-School Project and reach more children when the initiative returns next year.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Mary Atiamah Aperika | Bolgatanga
