NJ-NPP restores hope to some needy Ghanaians; Akyem Assn. involved
by Kofi Ayim
Hawa Yakubu was not born blind, but she developed a rare condition that almost made her lose her sight in both eyes. In early December 2016, whether by fate or design, she came into contact with a five-member New Patriotic Party (NPP-NJ) delegation at Yendi Secondary Technical School in northern Ghana, where she was a student.
The delegation led by Chairman Stephen Oduro, had gone to Saboba to campaign for their party and detoured to Yendi. It was during interaction with the students that Chairman Oduro observed the plight of Ms. Yakubu. He promised her assistance from his New Jersey chapter. “I was deeply touched on hearing her story and decided we were going to help. It was not politics as usual, but pure humanitarian gesture,” Mr. Oduro told this writer. Back in NJ, funds were raised by NPP-NJ, and Ms. Yakubu was contacted through Hon. Remond Nana Damptey, the current District Chief Executive (DCE) of Birem North, who was then a member of the delegation to Saboba and the NPP-NJ Chapter organizer. She was brought down to Kumasi with her sister and spent four days of initial tests at the St. Michael’s Clinic, Jachie-Pramso, and referred to the Sight For Africa Clinic at Kokompe, Accra, where a procedure was performed to salvage the left eye. Hawa Yakubu was given prescription glasses to aid and protect her sight before she went back north after five days in Accra.
Meanwhile, two year-old Aku (real name withheld) of Otumi in the Eastern Region of Ghana would hopefully grow up a full-fledged woman after being born with ambiguous gender. When efforts by a local radio station to raise funds for surgery proved futile, her parents were directed to the offices of the newly appointed DCE of Birem North, Hon. Remond Nana Damptey for help.
He turned to his NPP- NJ patriots through Chairman Stephen Oduro and also to Akyem Association of New Jersey where Remond Damptey was a member and Mr. Stephen Oduro, the President. Separately, the two nonprofit organizations raised enough funds for Aku’s medical needs. Initial tests conducted at the St Dominic’s Clinic, Boadua, Eastern Region, revealed her gender, and she was referred to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, where surgery was performed August 3, 2017.
Parents of both Hawa Yakubu and Aku have expressed profound gratitude to their country people in New Jersey who made it possible to restore hope to their children. NPP- NJ is known for its philanthropic works.
Late 2015 to mid-2016, the twenty-five or so active members of NPP-NJ raised funds for surgery for a man from Sunyani West with scrotal lymphedema, and a woman Comfort Adwubi from Duayaw Nkwanta, to replace her limbs that she lost in a freak vehicular accident. While in opposition, NPP-NJ received some party stalwarts that included Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, Senior Minister Hon. Yaw Osafo Marfo, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing Hon. Freda Prempeh, Deputy Minister of Health Hon. Tina Mensah, Parliamentarian Hon. Kennedy Agyepong, National Nasara Coordinator Kamal-dean Abdulai, National Youth Organizer Mr. Sammy Awuku, Deputy Chief of Staff Mr. Francis Asenso, and others.
Mr. Stephen Oduro has since left for Ghana to assume the position of Managing Director at SIC Company Limited.