By Jones Anlimah
Kpedze Senior High School in the Ho West District of the Volta Region has received a brand-new kitchen equipped with improved institutional cookstoves. The facility, provided by the Energy Commission as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), serves as a reward for the school’s victory in the 2022 Renewable Energy Challenge.
The new kitchen is designed to significantly reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions, replacing the inefficient biomass cookhouses previously used by the school.
This eco-friendly kitchen is expected to revolutionise cooking at Kpedze SHS, drastically reducing fuel consumption and cutting emissions. The project will benefit the school community by improving cooking conditions, enhancing energy efficiency, and reducing the school’s environmental impact.
The Headmistress of Kpedze Senior High School, Ernestina Peniana Akosua, expressed gratitude and excitement about the project. She also outlined some of the challenges the school is currently facing and called for assistance. “The school urgently needs an 18-unit classroom block to accommodate students for effective teaching and learning,” she said.
Madam Akosua added, “The existing school buildings are in dire need of urgent renovation to provide a safe and conducive learning environment for our students and teachers. There are times when we are unable to attend educational programmes due to a lack of transportation.”
The Volta Regional Director of Education, Francis Yaw Agbemadi, emphasised the important role that renewable energy and environmental sustainability play in the country’s educational sector. He expressed hope that the new kitchen would serve as a model for other institutions to explore energy-efficient solutions.
The Paramount Chief of Kpedze Traditional Area, Togbega Atsridom V, expressed hope that the new kitchen would not only reduce fuel costs but also provide a cleaner and healthier environment for the students and staff.
He commended the Energy Commission and praised the school for its hard work in achieving this national honor. “Diseases associated with indoor air pollution will be a thing of the past, and visits to hospitals will be greatly reduced. This will allow our mothers, sisters, and daughters to be more productive at work,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Ing. Oscar Amonoo-Neizer, congratulated the school and emphasised the importance of the Renewable Energy Challenge in promoting innovation and awareness among young Ghanaians. “I hope the school will never return to the three-stone open fire cooking method,” he said.
He added, “I would also like to encourage the headmistress to use this facility for practical learning, allowing students to improve their technical skills. I’m told that some of the students participated in the construction of the facility, and I am very pleased with that.”
Kpedze SHS’s journey from competing in the Renewable Energy Challenge to receiving this transformative new kitchen serves as an inspiration for other schools in the country to embrace sustainable energy solutions.
