Teachers in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta region have adopted the wearing of traditional Ghanaian and African clothing on the last Friday of every month.

The novelty is to promote the wearing of native Ghanaian wears and strengthen collective bonds through culture and tradition.

The initiative was introduced in 2022, by Ms Janet Valerie Datsa, the Hohoe Municipal Director of Education, to blend culture and education as both were mutually exclusive.

Aside from the culture, it also fosters unity among teachers from diverse backgrounds and ethnicity, and teachers in the Municipality, have never disappointed in helping the initiative grow.

The last Friday in the month, various school premises in the Municipality are always washed with beautiful styles of African prints and native wears, with workers at the education office also not left out of the healthy culture showcase.

Mr Samuel Kaletsi, a teacher at the St. Francis College of Education Demonstration Primary School, could not hide his joy at the initiative.

“First of all, let me thank Madam Valerie- I mean our Municipal Director for her singular efforts in promoting cultural awareness and unity among the teaching class. This initiative has really helped in giving meaning to the true spirit of Africanism.

“In fact, our learners (pupils/students) are also benefiting from it as they are becoming enlightened on the cultural uniqueness of their beloved country, Ghana,” he said.

Some other teachers, who took turns to share their joy with our team, hailed the proponent of the initiative for her genuine efforts in helping strengthen ties, as they observed, teachers in the municipality come from various parts of the country, and reckoned that the idea would go a long way in fostering unity and national cohesion.

The proponent of the idea, Madam Valerie Janet Datsa herself did not have much to say.

“Well, I am so humbled by all of the praises being showered on me by my colleagues. I really don’t have much to say but I am happy that just in less than two years since this idea came up, it has gotten this far. I am really humbled,” Madam Datsa said.

She expressed hope that the initiative would be adopted by other education directorates in the region and other parts of the country “so as to continue to showcase our rich culture, traditions and heritage to the rest of the world.”

Source: Ghana News Agency