The jackets are to aid the children to cross the canal on canoes to Wiaboman in the Weija Gbawe Municipality, where their school is located.

Incident

On May 10 last year, nine schoolchildren drowned after the canoe transporting them from school capsized in the canal.

The deceased, who were aged between one-and-half and 12 years, were part of a group of 12 children who were on board the canoe when the accident happened.

The other three, including the paddler of the canoe, however, survived the disaster.

The children, who lived with their parents and guardians at Fanaa, Bortianor, were pupils of a private school at Wiaboman, behind Pambros in Weija-Gbawe.

The canal they were crossing separates Fanaa from Wiaboman. 

Unfortunate

Handing over the life jackets on behalf of management, a member of the Marketing and Communications, Corporate Affairs Department of Republic Bank, Claudia Koranteng, who led the team, described the incident as unfortunate.

She said the bank, therefore, saw it as prudent to support the assembly to extend it to the children.

"We have signed on to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and one of such is good health and the well-being of people in the community in which we serve," she said.

Route

Ms Koranteng said although the number of students who used the canal route was 25, it decided to double the jackets.

She said the donation was only the beginning and that the bank would support in any other way it could.

"So I am here on behalf of the management of Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC to present 50 life jackets to the municipal assembly for the Fanaa schoolchildren," she said.

Ms Koranteng added that the support was in line with the SDGs in reaching out to the children.

The Weija Gbawe Municipal Director of Education, Charles Odoom, who received the items on behalf of the assembly, thanked the bank for the support.

He said the assembly was happy with the support to alleviate the difficulties the children went through.