Joseph, 8, could not hide his excitement when he made his first remote control car using simple tools such as screwdrivers, batteries, cupboards, transmitters, and controllers.
He had come to the Peniel Presby Salem Square at Teshie to dine and make merry but got attracted by the work of a team of Ghanaians in the diaspora, christened ‘Distant Relatives’, who had returned to their home countries to give back to their community during the festive season.
Joseph, a class-four pupil, dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer in future, but lacks the opportunity to nurture his inherent skills as his school does not have the requisite tools and resources to equip pupils with special interests.
‘I want to be an engineer. I like playing with toys and sometimes I get beaten for dismantling gadgets at home,’ he told the Ghana News Agency, whiles testing his car with smiles and excitement.
‘If I get my own tools, I will make more of these cars and teach my other friends at school,’ Joseph added.
Pattron, an Inform
ation Technology service company, in collaboration with Distant Relatives, organised Tech Clinic to equip children above eight years old with basic skills in hardware engineering, virtual reality, and 3D printing.
Ms Ama Asamoah, Chief Operating Officer, Pattron, said the training was intended to expose the children to the fundamentals of hardware engineering.
‘We want the children to know that you do not need fancy equipment in order to be in tech…if you have a screwdriver, you can work in tech and that is something we want to impart the kids with,’ she said.
The event, dubbed: ‘Feeding our Relatives’ is an annual community outreach initiative that aims to develop adults, youth and children in underserved communities by creating opportunities and access to resources.
On the day, hundreds of children who visited the event centre were showered with gifts, food, clothing, books, and other items.
There were also free health screening services and haircuts amid games, music performances, and fanfare.
Mr Wil
liam Kwaku Asiedu, Founder of Distant Relatives Project, said the programme aimed to empower the community and foster a sense of self-sustainability.
‘The idea is to alleviate the burden on some of the families here and give them the assistance they need. The main goal is to empower them,’ he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency