Pupils of the Nyariga Doone Girls Primary School in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region are being served meals from a dilapidated kitchen, with school authorities warning of serious food safety and hygiene concerns.
The school, reportedly the only girls’ primary school in the municipality, says the kitchen has deteriorated to a point where it is no longer suitable for preparing meals for pupils.
The structure has broken doors and windows, exposed nails, cracked walls, falling pieces of wood and zinc, as well as a rough and damaged floor.
But the school cook, Rebecca Atanga, says the most worrying aspect is the ease with which stray animals and reptiles enter the facility.
“Sometimes you find stray animals, goats, snakes, frogs and even cows entering the kitchen to drink water. When you cook food under this structure, you are likely to contaminate the food and expose the children to health hazards.”
She says the situation becomes worse during the rainy season, when flies, mosquitoes and other potential disease-carrying insects invade the kitchen.
A founding member of the school, John Akarbo, says the facility is particularly concerning because the school depends on it to provide meals for pupils.
“This is a feeding school. We have a kitchen which is completely damaged and in a dilapidated state. It is no longer serving the needs of the people.”
The Nyariga Doone community has begun constructing a new kitchen to address the problem, but the project has stalled after community members managed to raise the structure only to about waist level.
The community says it has largely relied on its own limited resources to fund the construction and is now unable to complete the project.
It is therefore appealing to the government, the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly, corporate organisations, philanthropists, Friends of Prosper and other well-meaning individuals to support the completion of the facility.
The community says completing the new kitchen will provide a safer and more hygienic environment for preparing meals and help protect the health of pupils.
Source: Bolgafmonline.com| 102.7 MHz| Joseph Anaaya| Bolgatanga
