RAYMOND OZOJI reports
Students of Girls' High School Uga in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State have expressed profound gratitude and appreciation to the House Member representing Aguata 1 state constituency in the 8th legislature Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke for rescuing them from going to toilet in the bush.
The torrents of eulogies which came during the formal commissioning and handover ceremony of six rooms modern toilet facility built by Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke, left the students utterly relieved from years of going to nearby bushes to ease themselves whenever they were pressed not minding attendant infections from such poor sanitary conditions and unhygienic practices.
The Principal of Girls' High School Uga Dr. Mrs. Grace Umezinwa who spoke to HEADLINE NEWS about the sanitary conditions of the school prior to the provision of modern conveniences by the lawmaker, revealed that the school had existed without rest rooms for the girls since inception.
The Principal said while teachers made use of toilets in the teachers' quarters, the students were left with no other options but to use surrounding bushes as their own toilets and conveniences.
She said since four years she became the principal of Girls' High School Uga, the school had no toilets and the students messed up the bushes around while the teachers, according to her, used toilets in the teachers' quarters to ease themselves.
She said she has been appealing to people to come to the aid of the school because it isn't ideal for girls to be messing up in the bush as some of them were getting sick from open defecation.
The Principal said she reached out to Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke and the lawmaker responded swiftly by rescuing the girls from perennial open defecation through the provision of toilets with water system.
The Principal said that the students were very happy because they will henceforth enjoy a neat environment devoid of stench oozing from feaces in nearby bushes. The Principal who described the conveniences as standard, maintained that the students will no longer use the bushes as toilets and for other sanitary needs.
Meanwhile President-General of Uga community Chief Romanus Umenze equally confirmed that the school has no toilets and that the students have sufferred for too long going to the bushes to answer the call of nature.
Umenze noted that the provision of toilet facilities for Girls' High School Uga is indeed a solution to public health hazards that may arise from incessant open defecations even as he commended the lawmaker for ameliorating the situation through the provision of modern conveniences for the students.
On his part, the traditional ruler of Uga community His Royal Highness Igwe Chidi Stephen Ezenwugo ( Obi of Uga) said they told Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke that Girls' High School Uga doesn't have toilets and that the students are suffering as a result of it.
Ezenwugo said the lawmaker eventually responded to the needs of the school and built a befitting toilet facility for them which they all came to commission to mark the end of going to toilet in the bushes.
He said, " We, the Uga community and Uga Girls High School, express heartfelt gratitude for the remarkable gesture of building 6 modern toilet facilities for our school. This initiative was a direct result of your commitment to our constituency's development, Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke, after our interaction at Achina.
Your responsiveness and dedication to improving educational infrastructure in Aguata 1 are truly commendable. We appreciate your efforts and thank you for keeping your promise.
Special thanks to Prof. Chukwuma Soludo's administration for fostering an environment where development thrives. Your leadership is making a positive impact.
Thank you, Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke and Governor Soludo, for investing in the future of our students. May your good deeds continue to inspire others."
Meanwhile Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke who is the House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Education and lawmaker representing Aguata 1 state constituency in the 8th assembly, said his intervention was borne out of the need to provide proper sanitation and hygiene practices for the girl child especially students of Girls' High School Uga in his constituency.
Okpalaeke who emphasized that access to basic amenities is a right, expressed appreciation to Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for his impactful educational policies and programmes, developmental strides in Aguata Local Government Area and the state at large.
Commissioning the modern toilet facilities at Girls' High School Uga, built and donated by Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke, the Education Commissioner Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, who was represented by the Chairman Ànambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) Associate Professor Vera Nwadinobi, described the project as in tandem with the metamorphosis in the education sector under the Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo's administration.
She however urged the school management to take ownership of the new toilets and advised the students not to damage or destroy the facility to enable it serve them better especially in the long run.
Highpoint of the occasion was the formal commissioning and handover of the keys to the new toilets to the school management.
##
0 Comments