President John Mahama Friday, encouraged Ghanaians to show love to the children of the eight victims of the August 6 helicopter crash, through financial support, care and security.
This follows the government’s announcement of the creation of the Children’s Support Fund at the State Funeral in honour of the departed souls at the Black Star Square in Accra.
The Fund would cover education from primary school through to tertiary or technical training, health care, including medical insurance and specialised care as needed, and welfare support such as clothing, shelter and essential living expenses.
The President said the children should not be used as collateral damage of the tragedy; rather, a new moment to uphold a culture of collective responsibility to secure their lives must be the focus.
He spoke about Ghana’s communal living, where people took on the responsibility of raising children of their relatives who were not financially capable, paying the school fees of a domestic worker’s child, and sometimes, footing the medical bills of strangers.
He encouraged Ghanaians to extend such kind gestures to the children of the eight helicopter crash victims.
The President recalled how he took responsibility for a nine-year-old physically disabled boy, including paying the full cost of surgery and writing a poem to encourage the boy before his surgery.
“Let us also leave our eight comrades today with the promise that their children will not be alone and that they’ve got us, and we will always be there to share. We will probably walk with them into their future,” he said.
Expressing appreciation to all who mourned with the country and the bereaved families, including the diplomatic community, President Mahama said: “It is this solidarity that affirms the strength of our national and international spirit.”
The magnitude and manner through which the eight individuals died, irrespective of the investigations and technical explanations, “will never make sense to the grieving hearts,” he said.
However, the President expressed the hope that the country would come out of the tragic experience with renewed optimism to fight for a prosperous future for Ghana, encouraging citizens to move in the direction of peace within communities and families.
“I pray that this funeral will bring closure to a grieving nation and that a new dawn will break, which we can look forward to with pride as Ghanaians. And that today, we pray that this will be the beginning as the Almighty God heals our land,” he said.
Ghana lost eight individuals through a tragic military helicopter crash at Sikaman, in the Adansi Akrofuom District, while heading for the launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
The deceased were Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Defence, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology and Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator.
The others were Dr. Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman NDC, Samuel Aboagye, a former Parliamentary Candidate, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo, Flight Engineer, all of the Ghana Armed Forces.
All eight were given a state burial and laid to rest at the Military Cemetery at Tse-Addo in the La Dade-Kotopon Municipality of Accra.
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