PhD candidate and the National Union for Ghanaian Students (NUGS) Chapter President, Wuhan-China, Sampson Opoku has expressed profoundly the gratitude of himself and his collegues to both the government of Ghana and the ambassador of Ghana to China, H.E Edward Boateng for their efforts that kept them safe in what was the epicenter of the coronavirus, Wuhan.
Speaking as member on a virtual panel discussion organized by Global Media Alliance Broadcasting Company (GMABC), with two of their broadcasting platforms e.TV Ghana and Happy FM themed “COVID-19: Dealing with the challenges, he recounnted the kind of support they received from the the ambassador,the Foreign Ministry and the government in general.
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“The communication and level of engagement we received on a regular basis from the embassy is something we can never forget. They were always in contact with us to make sure nothing bad happened to Ghanaians. God being so good, not a single Ghanaian died in Wuhan thanks to the efforts of our embassy and governmemt,” he stated.
According to Sampson the level of cooperation between the Ghanaian embassy, students and other stakeholders was top notch. “People from other embassies wanted to know the strategies ours had put in place because our suport system was noticed as a remarkable one.”
Telling Happy98.9FM’s Happy Morning Show host, Samuel Eshun about the reaction of other nationals when they received relief items sent by the Ghanaian government, he said, “Other nationals were quite surprised when the government sent in food items and money to Ghanaian students in China.” This seems others were not sure Ghana was capable of that much love and the act changed the perception of many regarding the country.
The President on NUGS, Wuhan-China who was appreciative of the counselling provided by the government on how to deal with stress and the pandemic said “Though it was a virtual activity via WeChat, it was very effective.The mission did well and supported us a lot. When we asked for a psychologist, the government didn’t look down on us. We were provided with one. We appreciate Dr. Ama Edwin for her time and dedication towards us. Her work is greatly appreciated.
He also appreciated his colleagues for their patience and time during their trying times.
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Sampson also took the opportunity to apologize to all media houses in Ghana for seeming aggressive and not forthcoming in interviews when the outbreak was at its peak in Wuhan.
The dialogue saw other first hand witnesses to the COVID-19 outbreak share their stories and knowledge on how Ghana can replicate some of China’s strategies in combating the virus. Constituting the panel were H.E Edward Boateng, Ghana’s Ambassador to China, Dr. Percy Akuetteh, Hepatobillary surgery PhD student and Chairman of Ghanain Association Wenzhou, China, Dr. Ama Edwin, a Physician Clinical Psychologist and Biothicist, UGMC, Mr. Abu Osuman, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Ghana Beijing China, Mr. Sampson Opoku, PhD Candidate and NUGS Chapter President, Wuhan-China and Miss Gloria Akpabla, Women’s Commissioner, NUGS China.
By: Joel Sanco