We funded our evacuation – Ghanaian students in Ukraine

President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS)-Ukraine, Philip Ansah has said that, the Ghanaian student body individually funded the evacuation from war-hit Ukraine to neighboring countries for safety.

According to Ansah, the student body presented a budget to the consulate but they know it take time for a such budget to approved and knowing the nature of the situation in Ukraine and how fast it is escalating they have no option to fund it by themselves.

“We didn’t have time-based on how things where escalating so we took matters into our own hands and advised the students even if they don’t have money they should borrow for transportation,” he told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show on Happy FM and e.TV Ghana.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who addressed a government press conference in Accra on Sunday (27 February), said the government with the assistance of some European countries bordering Ukraine has evacuated a number of Ghanaians to safe zones with several others being processed for evacuation.

She said “as at 12:00 hrs GMT today (27 February), information gathered was that about 460 students have left Ukraine en route to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Czech Republic. The students will be received by officials of our diplomatic missions, honorary consuls and officials of the Ghana students’ associations.”

Botchwey said out of the number, 24 have already arrived in Bucharest, Romanian and are being assisted by Ghanaian officials on the ground with plane tickets to Accra while 48 are being processed at a holding area with another 60 going through border formalities.

She also disclosed that an additional 38 Ghanaians have been aided to cross the Ukrainian border into Poland and will be processed to come to Ghana indicating that another batch of 85 of Ghanaians are being assisted by the Ghanaian Embassy in Moscow to cross into Russia for onward evacuation.

She said the government has also put in place the necessary package to facilitate transportation, accommodation, feeding and medical support to ease any burden on Ghanaians who are being evacuated to safety.