Once again you are all welcome. “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.” ~ (Psalms 66: 16-20)

It was just like yesterday, when we launched our anniversary cloth and here we are again today. This illustrates perfectly that time flies; so every moment is important, you have to seize the moment and make use of it with tenacity because time is our greatest resource.

Before I continue, I would like to express my gratitude to the entire body of this great institution, with the proverb “a fat fowl is known by its feathers”. Also, thanks to the teachers, the managements — Mr. Noah Cudjoe and others, the clergy — Rev. Ben Mensah and other pastors, the PTA executives — Mr. Emmanuel Oddai and the educational officers like Mrs. Charity Doe–Amarl and her colleagues, who have been the backbone of the firm decisions that we make.

A decade ago, Great Future Stars Academy opened her doors to the public with the vision of giving quality education. Today we are filled with mixed feelings; the past decade has been characterized by moments of ups and downs. Together, we have made it possible that we can gather here and celebrate our “decade of excellence; a promising future”.

Great Future Stars, in a way, is an expression of my love of education for children. The school started with only four (4) pupils and two (2) teachers, right here under my roof. Yes, this was my very home and I still feel it as I stand. It was predicted from the onset that we may not stand the test of time, following the various challenges in the educational sector. Fortunately this prediction was wrong. It wasn’t I who proved them wrong, certainly not I; but my Creator — by this we have identified ourselves with our motto “With Christ You Can Make It”.

We have always been seen to be a small sized school, but nevertheless, it is not what others say that matters but our thoughts. While offering quality education, fifty (50) pupils are on scholarship, of which some are needy but intelligent, while others are on ad hoc.

Let me assure all our parents and visitors that Great Future Stars Academy is the place to be. We earned the place we are today; it wasn’t handed to us on a silver platter. Therefore excellence is our habit, not an act.

Not forgetting, I say a big thank you to our critics and their criticisms. Your very criticism provided us with much strength that took us to the height we are today. I therefore encourage you to please keep it coming.

Much more than anything, Great Future Stars upholds honesty, discipline, leadership, diligence, empathy, and above all integrity, which is the core value of academic excellence — because success without integrity is failure.

If I have learnt anything in this life, it is the power of faith and courage. I therefore encourage you to take bold steps towards your dreams, without any fear of failure. Know that life is not fair and you will fail very often. Therefore I implore you to take risks, step up in tough times, never ever give up, but respect everyone you encounter in life — not because of who they are or what they have, but because time and circumstance are powerful forces of nature.

I charge you to do all things with courage, a positive mindset, and the Lord God being your helper — all will certainly end well. Thank you.