First lady inaugurates secretariat for Air Wives Organisation
First Lady Lordina Mahama has inaugurated a secretariat for the Air Wives Organisation (AWO), an association of wives of personnel of the Ghana Airforce, in Accra. Mrs Mahama also used the occasion to launch a children’s library project.
Advertisement
AWO was established for the purpose of organising the wives of ariforce personnel onto a common platform to deliberate over their economic and social well-being.
The group periodically undertakes educational programmes including lectures on health, skills training and entrepreneurial development. It also caters for the needs of members and their families.
Construction works on the building began in September 2015 and was the initiative of the current Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Machael Samson-Oje, at the time when he was the Chief of Air Staff.
Government’s agenda
Addressing members of the association at a ceremony in Accra last Friday the First Lady, who is also the President of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), said the idea of grouping the wives of uniformed personnel was a step in the right direction as it complemented the agenda of the government on family life with particular focus on children.
She said if the home was strong, peaceful and well-balanced, husbands could go about their duties of ensuring security, peace and territorial integrity of the nation.
Mrs Mahama said the family unit formed the foundation of every society and thus if the family unit was unstable, society would fail. She urged members of the association to provide their homes with the necessary support and manage them well to create a more stable society.
Welfare policy
She said a Child and Family Welfare Policy that was launched in July, 2015 by the government was aimed at establishing a well-structured and co-ordinated system that promoted the well-being of children in Ghana. For this reason, she said the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection was working to ensure full implementation of the policy.
Mrs Mahama said when the policy was ready and implemented, it would ensure stronger family ties and protect and promote the welfare of children in society.
“I am informed that the association is networking with international partners and that it is currently forging ties with the North Dakota National Guard, which operates a family support system for spouses and dependents. This will be a mutually beneficial partnership if it is based on shared values and ideas.
She urged the association to have a good maintenance culture in order that the lifespan of the building would be prolonged to serve its intended purpose.
Mrs Mahama commended the association for establishing a children’s library for families of airforce personnel in particular and the Burma Camp community as a whole. She said the initiative was in tune with the objectives of the Lordina Foundation which supported children’s welfare and educational needs.
Government’s efforts
For his part, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Maxwell Nagai, said the idea to put up a secretariat was driven by the need for a better working environment for the association, since its executive members had been operating from their homes in spite of the fact that the association had been in existence for over 25 years.
Congenial environment
He said the library would be sited next to the secretariat, which is a 50-seater complex. The library would have a reception area, a manager’s office, a waiting room, two large reading rooms, washrooms and an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) room. The ICT room, he said, could be converted into a lecture room in times of need.
He commended the association for its determination to put up the secretariat which he noted would create a congenial environment for children at Burma Camp to study.
In her closing remarks, Mrs Betty Nagai, a senior patron of AWO, said the organisation aimed to create a unique opportunity for wives of airforce personnel to interact and share ideas, as well as complement the efforts of their husbands.
She said the association had undertaken a number of community assistance services and donated items to a number of institutions including the 37 Military hospital, schools and clinics.
