Pensioner renovates Pantang Psychiatric Hospital
A 60-year-old philanthropist, Mami Dufie Ofori, has renovated a section of the Assessment Centre of the Pantang Psychiatrist Hospital in the Greater Accra Region.
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The renovation works, which cost over Gh¢300,000, involved the replacement of the leaking roofs and ceilings, renovation of the wards to admit about 14 patients at a time, fixing of new beds and washrooms for staff and the inmates, and complete plumbing works, as well as the painting of the facility.
Deplorable nature
Mrs Ofori, a retired public servant, said she decided to embark on the project because she was touched by the deplorable nature of the centre of the hospital. Speaking at the ceremony to officially hand over the renovated centre to the hospital, she gave glory to God for providing the grace, blessings and resources for the project.
Values
She expressed gratitude to her family, especially her late parents, Osei Tutu and Juliana Agyeman, who nurtured and imbibed the values of love, charity, integrity and God-fearing in her.
Mrs Ofori said those values continued to propel her to share her blessings with society and decided to renovate the ward as part of her 60th birthday activity. The renovation journey, she explained, was a culmination of several factors, key among them being her cultural background, religious values, personal, work and professional experiences.
Mrs Ofori stated that she grew up in an environment of love for family, which became more profound when she began her marriage and working life, which opened up two distinct opposite Worlds — one of stark poverty and needs; and the other, of great wealth and opulence, hunger in the midst of plenty.
Commendations
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mental Health Authority, Professor Pinaman Appau, in a speech read on her behalf, commended Mrs Ofori and her family for the gesture and assured them that the authority would push for the establishment of the Mental Health Levy in order to mitigate the funding challenges impeding the transformation of the mental health system.
The Director of the hospital, Dr Frank Baning, in a speech read on his behalf, said Mrs Ofori had supported the hospital many times and was not surprised when she voluntarily decided to renovate the facility.
He urged corporate institutions, spirited individuals and philanthropists to support the hospital to offer first-class health care to the inmates, explaining that the government could not do it all alone.
It was for this reason that management decided to name a section of the ward after her parents.