Lepers Aid Ghana constructs apartment for cured lepers
Lepers Aid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has constructed a 40-bedroom apartment for cured lepers in Nkanchina in the Kpandai District in the Volta Region at a cost of GH¢1,765,099.66.
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It also provided the beneficiaries with 41 mattresses, 10 cupboards and other items that would make staying in the facility more convenient for the lepers.
Handing over
At a ceremony to hand over the centre, the Project Coordinator of Lepers Aid Ghana, Mr Martin Tandoh, said the project was in response to an appeal made by the lepers who were receiving treatment to philanthropists to come to their aid.
He said the apartment was built as part of the organisation’s social responsibility of giving back to the society with support from the District Assemblies’ Common Fund and individuals.
Mr Tandoh commended the district assembly for supporting the centre by recruiting nurses, including national service personnel, to help reduce the incidence of leprosy in the area and said Kokofu in the Ashanti Region would host a centre soon.
He urged the authorities to take good care of the facility and ensure that it lasted longer to serve the purpose for which it was built, adding: “The building and the items were for the cured lepers and not the community.”
According to him, some of them were being compelled to resort to begging while others engaged in menial work just to make a living.
One of the lepers who was still receiving treatment, Lia Ayombel, appealed to well-meaning people to help them with food, beds and medicines.
Commendation
A member of the Lepers Aid Ghana, Mrs Esther Geh, said: “Persons with leprosy must be able to fulfil their role in society and participate on an equal basis with others. It is important to focus on the ability and not on the disability of an individual.”
According to her, addressing the challenges of persons with leprosy was essential in creating stable democracies by reducing inequalities in society.
She commended LMI Holdings, Ghana International Bank Plc, Rural Water Development Programme of the Church of Christ, Samara Company Ltd and Nana Kumakwi for their support.
The Secretary of the Cured Lepers, Father Alphonsus Dakora, also said it was important to note that disability was part of the human condition. “Even though some are born with it, one can also become a leper at any time,” he said.