Eight children loss their lives while attempting to cross the volta lake to school on Tuesday January 24.
The children drowned while being ferried across the volta lake from one island to another, a common practice in that part of the Sene East district of the bono east region.
The deceased were among twenty children traveling from Atigagorme to school at Wayokope when the disaster occurred.
According to the Sene East district education officer, Agyemang Napare, the Wayokope basic school serves four other island communities including Atigagorme.
Children in these other communities travel by boat daily to and from school without any form of protection apparatus.
Some of these children in their bid to acquire education at all cost would ferry themselves without adults supervision; the education officer lamented.
Those at Atigagorme were said to have a volunteer who ferry them daily together including some teachers who reside in the community.
However, on their way to school as usual Tuesday morning, their boat capsized, throwing all twenty children into the lake.
The volunteer boat operator reportedly managed frantically to rescue twelve of the children but his effort was not enough to save the less fortunate eight who unfortunately passed.
The lady teacher from Kumasi, who usually use the same boat with the children escaped the disaster by virtue of the fact that she was attending a workshop at the Sene Esat district capital, Kejeji. Agyemang Napare, stressed.
The district chief executive officer for Sene East, has meanwhile visited the community with his technical team to assess the situation and offer some moral and psychological support to the deceased families and the survivors.
The Sene East district has five complete islands in that part of the volta lake, with the only educational infrastructure located at Wayokope for the benefit of all the dwellers on the various islands.
By: Peter Quao Adattor
