A pupil of the school presenting a cheque to Capt Ben Duah (rtd) Head of VAG during the ceremony
Faith Montessori School at Gbawe in Accra has continued to be the leading donor to the annual Poppy Appeal of the Veterans Administration, Ghana (VAG).
For some years now, the proprietors, teachers, students, non-teaching staff and parents have shown absolute commitment to the welfare of veterans through handsome donations, beating every institution including banks.
In a release, the public relations officer of VAG, Ex WOI Bright Segbefia, says though everyone who made a donation deserves commendation, the school stands tall for its wonderful concern and superlative altruism towards veterans and military widows.
Last year, for instance, according to Ex WOI Segbefia, the school made a donation of GH¢20,000 to the administration after participating in the Remembrance Day or Poppy Day celebration, which is held annually on 11th November at the Osu 1939-45 War Cemetery, Accra.
The Executive Director of VAG, Capt. Ben Duah (Rtd), who received the cheque at the Greater Accra VAG Regional Headquarters on behalf of the administration, thanked management, students and parents of the school, saying that if others could emulate the school, VAG would be in a position to address the myriad of problems confronting veterans and military widows.
On each Remembrance Day service at the War Cemetery, the school is heavily represented by its teachers after which they make the donations.
The school is jointly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Amoo-Gottfried. According to the release, Mrs. Emma Amoo-Gottfried said that the school was built on three principles – Godly character, academic excellence and social capital. She explained that the support from the school to VAG falls under social capital.
She emphasised that if attention was not paid to ex-service men, who paid the ultimate price for the nation’s independence, the youth would not see the need to be patriotic.
The administrator of the school, Mr. Oswald Amo-Gottfried, said he and his wife once visited the Legion Village which used to be at Opeabea near Golden Tulip Hotel and saw the veterans in a pathetic condition. He said since that day, he and his wife had resolved to set aside a percentage from their profit to support veterans, and they have been doing this with ‘handsome’ support from parents.
Mr. Amo-Gottfried asserted that veterans paid the ultimate price and the least the nation can do is to reward them and be generous to them as well. He entreated Ghanaians to develop the habit of helping one another.
Ex WOI Segbefia said VAG has many plans to enhance the life of the veterans including developing its clinic at Amasaman into a polyclinic to make healthcare more accessible in order to ease the burden on the 37 Military Hospital, but the plans have been bogged down due to lack of funds. He said other members of the public would also benefit from the facility. He, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to support the move.