The GSPD-Offinso branch was established in 1988 as a branch of the national GSPD
and has gradually but continuously expanded its facilities.
Over the course of the last twenty years, the school has trained over 1,000 youth
within and around the Municipalty in Batik, Tie and Dye, Dressmaking, Tailoring, Shoemaking,
Carpentry, Leatherworks, Livestock and Crop farming.
Since its inception, the GSPD has made considerable impact on the community it serves:
- Establishment of two centres with the infrastructure to host over 180 resident students, offer vocational training and therapy
- Medical treatment in the form of orthopedic surgery provided to over 1,200 people
- Training and empowerment of over 1,000 disabled to live independently and act as breadwinners for their families
In spite of these successes, the GSPD still has many ambitions and faces many challenges.
For the next 2-3 years, the GSPD has set four priorities:
- Further reduce the dependence on ad-hoc financial support for the core schooling activities. This
includes improving farm yields to be used as food for the resident students and sustainable income generation.
This is particularly important given recent increases in food prices.
- Guarantee availability of funds to cover medical expenses of the resident students and
registered members of the society. This concerns mostly orthopedic surgery and
customised prosthetics.
- Expand the current physiotherapy department to serve as a well-equiped regional centre
with a continuity in visiting physiotherapists who can transfer their expertise to local
practitioners.
- Establish on-site formal classroom eductation to provide formal education to the students,
in particular the minors.