Nii Armah Sompuno II, the Shipi of Tema, has bemoaned the show of opulence and waste of monies in organising funerals by some residents of Tema at the expense of educating their children.
Nii Sompuno, who is also the spokesperson for the Tema Traditional Council (TTC) has, therefore, advised residents, especially women to desist from such acts and support the education of their children.
He said this at the presentation of school items to Form One Senior High School (SHS) by Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, Tema East Member of Parliament, in collaboration with the Tema East Educational Foundation.
Nii Sompuno said while the Government was providing tuition-free education to children, it was the responsibility of parents to augment that by providing the needed study materials and others for their children to feel comfortable in school and learn.
“It’s worrying to see some school children in want while their parents engage in funeral activities as they have turned funeral grounds into a wealth of display spaces with some going to the extent of buying every funeral cloth even when they have no relations with the dead,” Nii Sompuno bemoaned.
The Tema Shipi stressed that such monies that were put into funeral clothes and parties popularly known as ‘gbonyo parties’ and ‘adekyaani’ (corpse party, and the day after respectively) could be channelled to support children in the community and family members to attain further education and a better future.
“Those of you who buy a lot of funeral clothes, but are not able to pay for the fees of wards should stop, it is unnecessary,” he added.
He said there were brilliant, talented, and skilful children in communities in Tema East who were unable to further their education due to financial restraints, and therefore appealed to the parents to channel their resources towards satisfying the educational needs of such children.
On the support from the MP to the students, he said it was commendable and therefore urged the students to put in their best at school to justify the aim of the project.
Source: GNA
