Bogoso-Prestea Mine workers make donation worth $25,000 to Appiatse Community
Workers of Bogoso Prestea Mine on Monday, January 31, 2022, provided relief items to victims of the Appiatse community, which included cash donation of US$10,000.00.
Led by the Acting General Manager of the mine, Mr. Fred Ofosu-Tenkorang, the workers explained that they decided to sacrifice a day’s worth of salary/earnings as their contribution to the relief efforts, yielding a total of US$25,000.00.
Of this amount, US$10,000.00 was placed in an Education Endowment Fund for children who had lost one or both parents or guardian in the explosion or whose parents had been incapacitated as a result of the explosion.
The remaining US$15,000.00 was spent on relief items which included television and radio sets, poly tanks, blankets, sanitary pads, towels, pillowcases, coal pots, cooking utensils, plastic chairs, and several others.
The choice of items was based on a thorough needs assessment that was carried out by the workers, cognizant of previous donations that have already come in for the explosion-affected residents of Appiatse.
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Mr. Ofosu-Tenkorang, during the presentation, said, “this is close to home because we know colleagues, friends, and business partners who reside in or have strong ties to the Appiatse community, due to its proximity to our operations. We will remain in close contact with the community, and shall be on hand with additional support, as required.”
The community, which is currently being camped temporarily at a site that was donated by FGRBPL, was grateful to the workers of the company for their personal sacrifices and support.
The leadership of the community and the Municipal Chief Executive of the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Assembly, who received the items on behalf of the community, recounted the rescue and other support that the mine provided when the incident first happened.
It will be recalled that when the explosion occurred on Thursday, January 20, FGRBPM was one of the first entities to respond, working alongside the Ghana National Fire Service, the Police, and other state agencies.
The mine deployed its rescue team to the scene, a rescue van for the transportation of the injured, a fire tender to help bring the fire under control, and temporal shelter for those displaced. Equally significant was the mine’s involvement in the construction of an alternate route when a section of the original road had been rendered completely unmotorable from the blast.
The alternate access helped immensely to convey the dead and injured to health facilities, while facilitating the resumption of traffic for commuters who were stranded on the Takoradi – Kumasi highway.
