Teachers and students of the danger-looming-dilapidated Atuabo Early Childhood Development Centre have been rescued by Quantum Terminals and Ghana Gas from continuously putting themselves in danger by attending classes in the deteriorated school.
Following a request by the Chiefs and people of Atuabo, Ghana Gas and Quantum Terminal, both operators within the area, have built a GHS 1.7 million 6-unit classroom with a 20-seater toilet facility for the community to prevent their continuous exposure to danger and disruption of classes whenever it rains.
Speaking to Citi News at the commissioning and handing over of the facilities, the Manager of Quantum Terminals, Innocent Eddah expressed happiness for the two institutions to help solve a critical societal need and guarantee the future of the children of Atuabo.
“We are excited that at this time of the year, we are handing over this beautiful edifice to the community. So in a way, it is also a Christmas present. As part of this cohort, we had three projects; thus, there is an 8-unit teachers’ quarters, which unfortunately, because of the more work involved, it’s not ready at this time. So we hope to commission that one in the course of next year. Quantum Terminals and Ghana Gas have invested heavily in community projects because we believe that we have to give back to the communities we operate in. This is because we are stakeholders, and the development of the communities is the development of our businesses and companies,” he said.
Innocent Eddah also highlighted Quantum’s educational support in the area over the years.
“Right from our beginnings, we have engaged in a lot of educational activities. In fact, since 2014, Quantum Terminals has been providing BECE candidates in the Atuabo circuit with feeding, mathematical sets, and transportation, and we will continue to do it for as long as it is required. Aside from that, we have adopted some of the schools like Anokyi Basic School where we did massive renovations and upgraded their facilities, provided textbooks, exercise books, as well as funded extra tuition,” he added.
The Head of Brands and Communications at Quantum Group, Samuel Bonudie, while urging the community to take care of the facility, said the project was jointly born out of their needs assessment in the community.
“We realized that there were schools for the upper primary school but there was nothing for early childhood development, and since it is important to stimulate the children at an early age towards education to ensure that they develop into better people, we thought it wise to do it and furnish it with all what is needed by students and teachers. In fact, the old structure had a lot of leakages and cracks, and these children deserve better, and once we are in a position to do that, we felt it was right to do it so we can help the children in this community grow in a very serene environment to stimulate their skills and talents to be responsible people in the future,” he emphasized.
The Ghana Gas Community Relations Manager, John Kofi Fayemi, on his part promised other projects to come to the community under the second phase of Ghana Gas-Quantum Terminals’ educational infrastructure project.
“Children are the future, and investing in their education is an investment in their future. Quantum Terminals and Ghana Gas believe this, and the result of this is what we are witnessing today. As part of the phase-two, our project managers will roll out a lot of projects in 2024, and I will urge all stakeholders to support the joint Ghana Gas-Quantum Terminals projects and have the belief that their quest for infrastructure development in Ellembelle would be met,” he said.
The Headmaster of Atuabo Early Childhood Development Centre, Timothy Yalley, the Paramount Chief of Atuabo, Awulae Amihere Panyile, and the Ellembelle District Education Director, Wilfred Adodoaji all expressed appreciation for the timely intervention by Quantum Terminals and Ghana Gas in helping to improve education in Ellembelle the area.
The source of the GHS 1.7 million amount for the projects came from a joint CSR project fund created by Quantum Terminals and Ghana Gas from the sale of LPG and Lean Gas to the final consumer.
