The Obuasi East Municipal Assembly has donated relief items to 32 students of Christ the King Catholic Senior High School whose dormitory was destroyed in a fire, helping them get back on their feet and continue their studies.
The all-male group of students were in their classrooms for evening prep at around 8pm, barely two weeks ago, when news broke that their dormitory had been razed by fire, destroying all their belongings. Two of the students who rushed into the burning building in an attempt to salvage their belongings sustained injuries and were admitted to the Obuasi General Hospital for three days before being treated and discharged.
On Monday, August 3, the Municipal Chief Executive of Obuasi East, William Kofi Adzowu, led a delegation of assembly members to present the relief items to the affected students, many of whom were in urgent need of support.
The donation included 16 metal double beds, along with a wooden chop box and a metal trunk for each student, stocked with a school uniform, stationery, beverages, boxer shorts, singlets, a shaving stick, toothbrush and toothpaste, pomade, deodorant, a pillow and a bed sheet.
"We are here today to fulfil the promise we made to the school when the fire incident happened," Adzowu said, adding that as parents and community leaders, the assembly could not sit back without helping the affected students. He told the students the items were meant to replace what they had lost and allow them to focus fully on their studies, while urging them to follow safety rules and avoid using unauthorised electrical appliances or illegal wiring connections that could spark future fires.
He also commended the Ghana National Fire Service, saying their quick response had prevented the blaze from spreading to other dormitories and causing further damage.
Adzowu said renovation work on the damaged dormitory block had already begun and would be completed soon; in the meantime, the affected students are staying with friends in the school's other dormitories.
Receiving the items on behalf of the school, the Municipal Education Director, Kwabena Owusu Nketiah, praised the assembly for its generosity and for following through on its promise, telling the students that without the intervention, they would likely have been billed for the damage caused to the school.
Also present at the handover were Assistant Headmaster Simon Agyei-Adu, several teachers, assembly officials and the affected students. The event coincided with a separate donation from old students of the school who had learned of the fire and turned up to support their alma mater.
