LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, partnered with the Ghana Ministries of Health and Education and the Ghana National Diabetes Association in an ongoing project to screen students in Ghana senior schools for diabetes. The event, held in Takoradi at the Fijai Secondary School on Feb. 21, 2017, marked the inauguration of the diabetes screening in the Western Region.
- Student 3
- Students
- Banner
- President
- Student
- Student 2
- Instruction
- Student 4
- Student 5
- Drummer
- Dancer
- Young Dancer
- Director
- Dancer 3
- Students 6
- Church Leader
- Screening line
- Pin prick
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
LDS Charities provided the supplies and equipment to screen the students. 1,830 students were screened in a two-hour period at the school. The partnership has already screened 110,000 students in schools located in the Central, Greater Accra and Eastern regions of Ghana.
The Regional Director for Education, Mrs. Enyonam Afi Amafuga, launched the program and thanked LDS Charities for proving to be servants of Jesus Christ by supporting health issues in Ghana. She said healthy students make a good class, and the schools are thankful for the help of LDS Charities.
This project is expected to help identify youth who show a possibility of having diabetes and assist young individuals living with the disease. They will be instructed on how to manage the disease and reduce future risk by benefiting from the Diabetes Association’s “Life for a Child” program.
Mrs. Elizabeth Denyoh, the National Chairman of the Ghana Diabetes Association, expressed concern that there is no national policy or a council that regulates a disease that affects one-sixth of the population. The screening program will raise awareness of the prevalence of diabetes among senior high age youth.
The screening teams are made up of nurses from the Ministry of Health and trained volunteers from Takoradi and Mpintsin Stakes (groups of Latter-day Saint congregations). The teams conduct free screening, education and counselling in second cycle schools in Ghana.
The headmaster of Fijai Secondary School, Mr. Joe Ocloo Nyamadi, thanked the organizers for choosing their school because it coincided with the school’s 65th anniversary celebration. He was optimistic that such programs go a long way to benefit the nation. The headmaster encouraged students to take the knowledge they gained about diabetes and share it with their families and friends.
“Diabetes has no age limit,” Mr. Nyamadi said. “Our students are blessed. Join us in a show of gratitude to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Ministry of Health for this free exercise.”
Elder Thomas Ben Davis, a local ecclesiastical leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, expressed profound gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to collaborate with the other partners to assist this noble course.