To strengthen relations between the people of Ghana and Israel, H. E. Ami Mehl on Wednesday, 20 June 2018, paid a working visit to L & A Academy basic school in Gbewa, Accra.
This was at the request of the Director of the school, Mr. Japhet Aryiku - a firm believer in and friend of the State of Israel. The occasion was used to educate the children about Israel, the Jewish people, and their culture.
Addressing the students, teachers, management and some participating parents of the school, Ambassador Mehl gave a brief history of Israel-Ghana relations since Ghana’s Independence and how cooperation between the two states is enabling Israelis bring to Ghana high tech innovative solutions. “…in 2011 Israel reopened its embassy here and Israel started to work more and more in cooperation with Ghana in many fields. One of those very important areas is that Israel put lots of attention on early childhood education which ended last year.”
H. E. Ami Mehl explained that there are about 300 Israelis working in Ghana to bring “the most innovative products of Israel. Israel is a small country, but a super power in technology, innovation, water, cyber security and agriculture. And those Israelis bring here the most advanced technologies.”
He added that “Israel is great because of creativity and innovation and this is because Israel is a giant in Research and Development. There is no other country in the world that invests so much money in research and development than Israel.”
Ambassador Mehl also encouraged the students not to give up in their academic pursuits and strive for excellence with hard work. “Your future is in your hands, remember that, work hard, study hard, don’t give up, there will be a lot of obstacles, each and every one of you is good in something, it not enough to be good, you have to be excellent, and if you want to be excellent in whatever you are doing you have to work hard, study hard and never give up no matter the circumstances,” Ambassador Mehl added.
In his welcome address, the Headmaster of the school, Mr. Stephen Donkor expressed gratitude to H. E. Ami Mehl for honoring their invitation and indicated that, the school hopes to build a relationship with Israel through the Embassy. This will see the creation of the Star of David Friendship Club for the students to learn about Israel, the Jewish people and their culture.
He also gave Ambassador Mehl a tour of the school to inspect some of the facilities such as the library and computer lab which are being sponsored by Jewish Americans.