Ga chief takes dressmakers to North-Tongu to make free dresses for displaced pupils

Nii Adote Adaawulu I, chief of Gbese Sonmenaa in the Greater Accra Region, led a team of dressmakers to North Tongu, where they spent three days sewing dresses for pupils who were displaced as a result of the Akosombo Dam spillage-induced flooding.

The team carried sewing machines and free cloths and made bespoke clothing for the young victims of the disaster that befell them unexpectedly, rendering them homeless, and bringing their education to a standstill, among other things.

Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, expressed his utmost awe at the kind gesture, adding that the chief and his team of dressmakers “climaxed the intervention with a beautiful kids' party.” According to the lawmaker, the chief's show of love to his needy constituents underscored his long-held view that Ghanaians are among the best people in the world.

“The Chief of Gbese Sonmenaa, Nii Adote Adaawulu I sent in an army of dressmakers with their sewing machines and free fabric achool pupils bespoke tailoring. “Nii and his team spent 3 days sewing for thousands of displaced school children,” the MP wrote on his social media pages. He described the gesture as “extraordinary kindness” that will he and his constituents would never forget.

On September 15, 2023, the Volta River Authority (VRA) began releasing water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams due to a steady increase in the Akosombo reservoir's water level and inflow pattern.

Referred to as a disaster mitigation strategy, the spillage exercise began at a very low rate with little effect on the communities downstream until October 10, 2023, when six spillage gates were opened to increase the flow as the reservoir's water inflow continued to rise, and levels approached the dam's maximum capacity. The VRA had stated that the exercise was essential to safeguard the technological installations and structural integrity of the dam.

Increased leakage caused the banks of the Volta River to overflow, displacing communities along its banks. A total of nine district assemblies in the Volta and Eastern regions—the North, Central, and South Tongu District assemblies, Asuogyaman, Shai Osudoku, and Ada—experienced an overflow of the Volta River's banks due to increased spillage.

Nearly every community in the lower Volta Basin was impacted, leading to extensive power outages, flooded residences, and starvation among the displaced. Some lagoons in the Keta basin overflowed their banks due to the volume of water discharged from the dams, causing floods in certain settlements in the Anlo and Keta districts.

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