Toward the establishment of a Prempeh Asthma Foundation
June 14, 2004
Class of '67, Senior Kwaku Danso, who writes the JFK's Opinion column on this website, and
who has already contributed to the
school magazine (The Stool) publication
fund, has an even better contribution.
When contacted about donating to the school magazine publication, he said "not only can you count me in for The Stool fund,
I have another pet project that I'd like you to put on the Web for
Amanfo to read and help, and specially to forward to the Headmaster for
me. Why should anybody die of preventable ailment that affects over 20
million Americans and they live?!!"
MEDICINAL DELIVERY SYSTEM AT PREMPEH - ASTHMA FOUNDATION AT PREMPEH
I have been thinking of donating some money for Prempeh to have an
upgraded dispensary or small clinic where basic prescription medicines
can be made available on a need basis to those who cannot afford it. It
can be sold to those who can afford it to keep supplies ongoing. Many
people are afraid to admit they have human frailties in public, but that
is for those who do not know their real worth. It has been haunting me
for years how I used to have to take half a day off to go to Okomfo
Anokye Hospital for a simple 3 day supply of Asthma medicine. This was
in the 1960s and Okomfo Anokye Hospital was as clean and lovely looking
as any Kaiser Hospital here in California. If anybody knows of Asthma,
it is not a condition that should demand waiting half a day, walking two
miles total back and forth, to get a simple lousy medicine. I used to
miss classes for this. I hope the dispensary is still open, and an
improvement in the delivery of such medicines by now. However, one
cannot count on it, and moreover it takes money to do anything.
So I am ready to put forth some seed money to start a foundation to help
young Amanfo who may need Asthma medicine (first priority), as well as
other drugs and medicines, that can be stored at the dispensary so sick
students can get help immediately, and those who cannot afford can even
get it free.
Please have the Headmaster contact me as below for further arrangements.
All Amanfo in the US and overseas who want to help in this effort should
come in and send me an email.
Thanks and keep up the good work of keeping Amanfo in touch.
Cheers,
Kwaku A. Danso (Danso JFK)
Kwaku A. Danso (alias Danso JFK of Ramseyer House, Prempeh College, 1960-67)) currently lives in Fremont, California (part of Silicon Valley), USA. He has been an Engineer and Manager for about eight major American and International corporations, including Texas Instruments, Honeywell, Intel, Siemens, and Osram Optoelectronic Semiconductor, spreading over 20 years. He has also been an entrepreneur, utilizing his versatile business acumen to set up both a mortgage finance company and an Engineering Consulting company.
Before winning an International Scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley in 1968, he taught Physics and Science at Kumasi Academy for one year after 6th Form. At the University of California, he and his best friend, the late Dr. Kwame Ankra (Pearson House) jointly won the 1971 Bechtel Engineering Award. He graduated in 1971 with a BS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), and continued to post graduate studies, obtaining his MS, and then M. ENG. (1975) in Materials Science and Engineering, with a Minor in Business.
Kwaku is married with a son and daughter, both in College. He loves to write, just as he did at Prempeh in the 1960s. He is a social and community leader, political and social commentator, and has contributed several articles to magazines such as West Africa, Ghana Drum, African Monthly, and many Ghanaian papers. He has been a Business Columnist in the Ghanaian News of Toronto Canada, and Ghanaweb on the Internet.
He may be reached at K.Danso@comcast.net Tel. 510-573-0602 (Home), 510-440-8383 (office) or Fax 510-573-0603.
I have been thinking of donating some money for Prempeh to have an
upgraded dispensary or small clinic where basic prescription medicines
can be made available on a need basis to those who cannot afford it. It
can be sold to those who can afford it to keep supplies ongoing. Many
people are afraid to admit they have human frailties in public, but that
is for those who do not know their real worth. It has been haunting me
for years how I used to have to take half a day off to go to Okomfo
Anokye Hospital for a simple 3 day supply of Asthma medicine. This was
in the 1960s and Okomfo Anokye Hospital was as clean and lovely looking
as any Kaiser Hospital here in California. If anybody knows of Asthma,
it is not a condition that should demand waiting half a day, walking two
miles total back and forth, to get a simple lousy medicine. I used to
miss classes for this. I hope the dispensary is still open, and an
improvement in the delivery of such medicines by now. However, one
cannot count on it, and moreover it takes money to do anything.