As part of activities marking International Women’s Day (IWD), female workers of a mining and drilling services company, Geodrill Limited, charged girls at Ofoase Kokoben Senior High School (SHS) in the Ashanti Region of Ghaha to take up courses in male-dominated fields, such as mining to contribute to the development of the country.

The employees of the mining firm, during the visit, interacted with the students, sharing their experiences in the field and explaining why they should consider technically-related courses.

Antoinette Ankutse of Geodrill told News Ghana in an interview that the motivation behind the visit was to “empower the girls regarding courses to be pursued at the universities. We are into mining, and we wanted to use ourselves as a case study for the girls to realize that it is possible.”

She expressed optimism that the engagement would encourage the Ofoase Kokoben SHS girls and others across the country to take a cue from the female workers of Geodrill.

“In general, females should not be pushed into secretarial and clerical work but rather directed towards the technical fields,” added Ankutse.

The students thanked the female employees of Geodrill for taking time out of their busy schedules to empower them about their future careers.

Earlier, Geodrill ran a staff consultation as part of the IWD to discuss greater community engagement to encourage women in mining, including Bernice Gbadam, Doris Danso, and Becky Elithia, the first woman to work in Geodrill, the first woman to obtain a Geodrill driving permit, and the first woman to pursue an accounting program, respectively.

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8 around the world to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Geodrill has long set out to be a leader in championing strong economic, social and governance principals that drive the company’s activity.

Increasing the percentage of women employed in the company is clear target measured in the company’s annual ESG Impact report.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, has made a case for vulnerable children in remote communities on the continent, saying they should have access to education and be given an opportunity to learn.

He said this was why the leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services pledged to invest $57 million into educational programmes during a five-year partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Last week, executives of Airtel Africa and UNICEF were in Nairobi, Kenya, for a two-day conference to discuss the implementation of the landmark partnership across 13 out of Airtel’s 14 markets.

Mr Ogunsanya acknowledged the challenges faced in implementing the partnership in some of the 13 African countries and urged the governments of the affected countries to support this important initiative.

He reflected on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education in Africa, leading to school closures, and charged the participants to continue to work closely with stakeholders, especially the governments and educational authorities, to ensure that children, especially vulnerable children in remote communities, are given the opportunity to learn.

As a leading telecommunications company in the region, Airtel Africa uses its unique insights to stand up for the children of Africa’s right to education and equality of opportunity.

The Airtel Africa chief reiterated Airtel Africa’s corporate purpose of transforming lives and pledged that the organisation would continue to champion the quest to bridge the digital divide and promote financial inclusion.

On her part, the deputy regional director of UNICEF, Ms Lieke van de Wiel, described the Airtel Africa/UNICEF partnership as an important collaboration of private and public sectors aimed at putting children at the heart of their learning and changing the narrative in education after years of loss during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She commended Airtel Africa for coming on board and encouraged the participants to seize the moment by sharing experiences and exchanging ideas and learnings on implementing the initiative.

In 2021, Airtel Africa and UNICEF signed a landmark partnership committing to provide access to quality education for more than one million children by connecting schools to the internet and providing access to zero-rated educational platforms in 13 African countries.

Airtel Africa is the first private sector company on the continent to partner with UNICEF to support programmes focused on accelerating digital learning, with access to education as one of the key goals of Airtel Africa’s sustainability strategy.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The post-mortem report regarding the student of Chrisland School, Opebi, Lagos, Miss Omodesola Adeniran, has shown that she died from electrocution and Asphyxia.

A statement issued on Thursday by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), confirmed this development.

Miss Adeniran, a 12-year student of Chrisland School, died last month during the school’s inter-house sports at the Agege Stadium.

The school claimed she collapsed at the event, probably due to an unnamed illness she suffered some days before the competition, denying the allegation of negligence against it.

But the Commissioner of Justice in Lagos said the post-mortem report revealed otherwise.

Mr Onigbanjo disclosed that the autopsy conducted at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital showed that the young lady died from electrocution.

“The Office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice has received the post-mortem report dated March 1, 2023, issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, in respect of Whitney Omodesola Adeniran, who was until her demise, a student of Chrisland School, Opebi.

“The post-mortem report revealed the cause of death to be Asphyxia and electrocution.

“The Directorate of Public Prosecutions has been instructed to issue Legal Advice on the matter immediately.

“We use this medium to commiserate with Whitney’s family, even as we reassure Lagosians that anybody found culpable would immediately be charged to court,” the statement said.

After the incident, the Lagos State government shut down Chrisland School, which is not new to controversy.

Business Post reports that the remains of the deceased were buried on Thursday.