Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Madam Dorcas Afo-Toffey, has provided boarding materials to 1,000 needy Form One students from the constituency to enable them to begin their Senior High School education without financial difficulty.
The support, which included trunks, wooden chop boxes, mattresses, exercise books and mosquito nets, formed part of the MP’s annual scholarship initiative for brilliant but needy students entering second-cycle institutions.
The initiative, now in its sixth year, is aimed at removing financial barriers that could prevent students from taking up their admission offers, particularly where parents are unable to provide basic boarding requirements.
Madam Afo-Toffey, who is also Deputy Minister of Transport, presented the items through the Jomoro Municipal Directorate of Education at Bonyere in the Western Region.
She said her own educational journey had demonstrated the importance of providing children with access to formal education, noting that she would not have attained her current position without the opportunity given to her by her parents.
She described education as a critical tool for transforming the Jomoro area and promoting personal and national development.
The MP said the scholarship initiative would continue beyond her tenure in public office, stressing that supporting needy students remained a priority.
She further assured chiefs and residents of Jomoro that the package would be expanded next year to cover more beneficiaries.
The Jomoro Municipal Director of Education, Mrs Edith Mary Hagan, commended Madam Afo-Toffey for sustaining the programme for six consecutive years.
She said the intervention was timely because some parents were struggling to afford the materials required by their wards for admission to boarding schools.
According to her, the support was helping to remove one of the barriers that could force brilliant but needy students to remain at home despite gaining admission to second-cycle institutions.
Mrs Hagan urged the beneficiaries to use the materials responsibly and work hard to achieve good results as ambassadors of Jomoro.
She said the Education Directorate would collaborate with the MP’s office to monitor the academic performance of the 1,000 beneficiaries in their respective schools.
The Paramount Chief of the Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Kwasi Amakyi III, who chaired the ceremony, also commended the MP for sustaining what he described as a life-changing educational initiative.
He said the Traditional Council and residents were satisfied with her leadership and described the scholarship programme as a novelty in Jomoro.
Awulae Amakyi III, however, appealed for attention to the poor condition of the road from Samenye Barrier to New Town, describing it as a major development challenge for the area.
He urged Madam Afo-Toffey to use her lobbying capacity to engage the Ministry of Roads and Highways to have the road asphalted.
The Jomoro Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Emmanuel Ndako Benle, said the beneficiaries were selected from communities across the municipality.
He commended the MP for pioneering the boarding-support initiative since 2020 and sustaining it over the years.
