Beneficiaries
of Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) in the Bolgatanga Municipality of Upper East
Region have donated assorted items worth ghc1, 000 to Mama Laadi Children’s
Home in Yorogo.
The
items include gallons of cooking oil, cans of soft drinks, toiletries, bathing
soap, bags of rice and washing powder.
The
donation was in line with the celebration of the 1-year anniversary of the pro
poor policy introduced by government.
Presenting
the items to the orphanage on behalf of beneficiaries, Bolgatanga Municipal
Coordinator of NABCO, Johnson Agolmah explained that it was the interest of
beneficiaries of NABCO in the Municipality to assist the vulnerable in society
especially needy children.
“We
are celebrating our 1-year anniversary so the trainees in the Bolga Municipal
decided that we give something small back to the society. We know it is not
easy for Mama Laadi’s Home. So we decided to buy some out of the little that we
have so that they can use for food the little ones for the meantime”.
Mr.
Agolmah while commending managers of the home for the initiative which is
geared towards empowering vulnerable children to be fit well into the society
called on other benevolent persons to assist the needy in society
“When
it comes to Christmas, New Year and other festive occasions people celebrate but
we should always think of how we support the support”, he admonished.
Receiving
the items on behalf of the home, Aduko Paul a caretaker, thanked the NABCO
beneficiaries for the gesture.
While
pledging to put into good use the items donated he called for support from the
public to assist the home by emulating same
As part of the activities to climax the One Year anniversary celebrations of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) at District and and Regional levels, beneficiaries in all the 15 Municipal and District assemblies of the Upper East Region, have engaged themselves in some humanitarian services to the poor and vulnerable across the Region.
Upper East Regional NABCO Coordinator, Jambeidu Khan
The beneficiaries said their gestures were aimed at giving hope to the hopeless and giving back to the society through their monthly stipends. Some of such gestures included donating to orphanages and blood donation. They also planted trees in some selected areas.
At the climax of the
Regional anniversary celebration in Bolgatanga on Monday, October 14, 2019, the
Upper East Regional NABCO Coordinator Jambeidu Khan expressed satisfaction with
the level of support shown by beneficiaries since the commencement of NABCO
till date.
President of Millar Open University, Prof. David Millar
Crediting the Akufo-Addo administration for implementing NABCO to curb unemployment rate in the country, the coordinator hinted that President Akufo-Addo will be launching the second component of the NABCO, which is learning component and its will be spearheaded and partnered by the Ghana-Indian Kofi Annan of excellence.
Representatives of the
various models of NABOC including Educate Ghana for Ghana Education Service,
Heal Ghana for the Ghana Health Service and Revenue Ghana for Ghana Revenue
Authority expressed their gratitude to the government for the initiative. They pledged to continue to cooperate with
government in making sure NABCO beneficiaries are absorbed into the mainstream
employment.
The executive Director
for Rise-Ghana Awal Ahmed Kariama, who was a speaker challenged the beneficiaries
to read more books and as well meet more people who can easily transform their
lives for.
He said, “You can be talented, but the people you meet,
the opportunities you get and the hard work you put, will determine whether
NABCO will pass through you or you will pass through NABCO.”
He encouraged the
beneficiaries to improve upon their skills to enable them excel beyond NABCO.
The guest speaker at
the anniversary celebration and President of Millar Open University, Prof.
David Millar, admonished beneficiaries to be focused and desist from been money
conscious. According to him, today’s youth do not want to sacrifice time for
learning in becoming better tomorrow.
“The youth today do not
want jobs, they want money and luxury. They don’t want work, so if you said you
are unemployed, is either you are unemployable or you don’t want to work, what
you want is just money.”
“Let me disappoint you
today, by saying the first degree isn’t a professional degree, we are only
pretending with it in this country. First degree is nonprofessional these days.
A professional degree starts with postgraduates. The first degree is to set you
up to move you into a professional level. So if you want to work internationally
first degree does not sail, because a lot of outfits do not operate them
anymore.”
He, therefore,
encouraged the beneficiaries upgrade themselves through NABCO programme in
order to meet up with the job market.
Deputy Upper East Regional
Minister, Fuseni Adongo, in his speech also congratulated NABCO beneficiaries
in the region for their cooperation since the inception of the programme as he expressed
optimism that NABCO stands to be one major public service agency that creates avenues
for the youth of Ghana to participate in governance of their country.
The District Chief
Executive of Bongo, Peter Ayinbisa, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive
Joseph Amiyure and Tempane District Chief Executive also gave their testimonies
of NABCO beneficiaries in their various districts.
During an open forum,
some beneficiaries called on the government to give NABCO programme a legal
backing and also capture beneficiaries under the Social Security and National
Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The theme for the one
year anniversary is; ‘Investing in the youth, securing our future through
opportunities for work and nation building.”
Source:
A1radioonline.com|101.1MHZ|Ghana|Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen
As Ghana joins the rest of the world to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, AfriKids Ghana, a child rights Non-Governmental Organisation based in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, has called on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education to take a critical look at the need for changing rooms for girls and gender friendly washroom in schools.
The day is marked
annually on October 11. The global team for this year’s commemoration is ‘Empowering
Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow.” Here in Ghana, the theme is; ‘Promoting Access,
Transition and Completion of Education for Girls.’
In a press
statement issued by Richard Amoah, AfriKids Ghana Strategic Approach to Girls
Education Manager (STAGE), AfriKids remains committed to advocating for girls
in Ghana, and especially the Northern Savanna Zone and this year’s theme is
central to AfriKids programs and projects.
While appealing to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education to take a critical look at the need for changing rooms for girls and gender friendly washroom in schools, AfriKids Ghana also appeals to traditional authorities, to support in educating their subjects on dangers of Gender Based Violence and other socio-cultural practices that seek to marginalize the girl child.
Below is the full statement
CELEBRATING
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL (11TH OCTOBER, 2019)
GHANA THEME:‘PROMOTING ACCESS, TRANSITION AND
COMPLETION OF EDUCATION FOR GIRLS’
Nearly 26 years ago, some 30,000 women and men from nearly 200 countries arrived in Beijing, China for the Fourth World Conference on Women, determined to recognize the rights of women and girls as human rights. The conference culminated in the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: the most comprehensive policy agenda for the empowerment of women.
On the International Day of the Girl Child with the aim of ‘empowering girls for a brighter tomorrow by
promoting access, transition and completion of education for girls’
AfriKids remains committed to advocating for girls in Ghana,
and especially the Northern Savanna Zone. This year’s theme is central to
AfriKids programs and projects.
Our experience and work with adolescent girls living in
emergency contexts aims to address their overall subordination and exposure to
violence, whilst investing in unlocking their potential, and reducing their
vulnerabilities as a marginalized group. It is important to note that the
social and economic drivers of migration, violence against girls, poverty, child
marriage, education inequality, gender-based violence, climate change,
self-esteem, and girls’ rights to enter places of worship or public spaces during
menstruation, still persist.
Government over the years through various legal instruments
have demonstrated some commitment to providing opportunities for all girls to
receive education; the Education Strategic Plan, 2010-2015, 2015-2020 and the
recent one 2018-2030, the Education Act, 778(2008), the National Youth Policy of
2010 etc. These have inured to initiatives such as Capitation grants, LEAP, Fast Tract Initiative, School Feeding,
GPASS among others. Other major global commitments such as the MDGs and the
recent SDGS all are geared towards creating opportunities for all children of
school going age including girls to access education and skills for a better
future. Though these initiatives have caused some progress in girls accessing
and progressing in education, many girls still face various barriers to access
and transition at the advanced stages of education.
Adolescent
girls are simply not allowed to enjoy their childhood and no space for
socialization. They are incessantly suffocated in avenues of realizing their
rights as girls.
Inequalities in education is a
barrier to many girls accessing and progressing from primary level of
education. Available records indicate that in the Northern Region over 65% of
girls at age 15 have not received any formal education as compared with the
national average of 21 % (GSS, 2007).
The 2010 population census of Ghana show that female participation in schooling
dropped from 34% in 2010 to 24% in 2012, while that of boys dropped marginally
from 18% to 14% within the same period (GSS, 2012). The report further
indicates that in the northern region, 59.9% of children have never been to
school, for those in school, females are more at risk of dropping out of school
at the primary level than their male counterparts.
In
the case of retentions and transition, most girls in the Northern Savana Zone
struggle to progress from primary school. According to a report by Camfed Ghana
on what works in Girls’ Education in Ghana,
it is found that whiles the average retention for girls at the primary
school is 59.6%, it was 85% at the JHS.
This suggest that when girls are able to transition to the higher levels in
schooling, they are able to complete the basic education (CAMFED, 2012). This
means it is imperative that appropriate supportive systems are made available
for girls not to only access, but progress to the highest level in order to
secure higher educational credential for that competitive knowledge for a
productive future.
In Ghana, children with disability are mostly children
who reflect evidence of marginalization and vulnerability and are generally
described as the last ‘batch’ of out-of-school children. Projections from the
2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC), indicate that about 2% of the entire
population of school going children aged between 6-14 years have some form of
disability, of which 14% are out of school. Again, this shows the
marginalisation of children with disability at the family and school levels.
It is in this vain that AfriKids over the years have
implemented several interventions in formal education and skills training to
empower children and youth especially girls to have knowledge and skills for a
better future.
AfriKids Ghana is currently partnering with World Education
Inc. to implement the Strategic Approaches to Girls Education (STAGE), with
support from DFID to provide 4,050 out of school girls (10 – 14 years) with formal school and another 1,000 (15 – 19) in
skills empowerment across 5 districts in the Northern Savanna Zone. Acknowledging that saving and empowering the
girl-child and unlocking her potential especially in the Northern Savanna Zone is
a global effort responding to the Sustainable Development Goal 4.
Girls are breaking boundaries and barriers posed by
stereotypes and exclusion, including those directed at children with
disabilities and those living in marginalized communities. As entrepreneurs,
innovators and initiators of global movements, girls are creating a world that
is relevant for them and future generations
The
progress since the Beijing Declaration is remarkable, but girls around the
world – especially those living in rural areas or humanitarian settings and
those with disabilities still need us to stand with them to achieve their full
potential. This agenda calls for a world where every girl and
woman can realize all her rights, such as to live free from violence,
to attend and complete school, to choose when and whom she
marries, and to earn equal pay for equal work.
Girls
are resilient and have an enormous untapped potential to contribute to healthy
and peaceful communities. Today, and every day, let us do everything we can to
listen to girls and empower them with the individual abilities, social support
and the resources they need to survive, thrive and transform their communities,
even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Girls
are the largest generation in history and a vast source of ideas and solutions
for all career fields. Yet far too often, girls are not given the space and
opportunities they need to achieve their full potential. Multiple barriers
include systematic discrimination, biases and lack of training.
On
this special day of the Girl-Child, AfriKids Ghana is appealing to the MOE/GES
to take a critical look at need for changing rooms for girls and gender
friendly washroom in schools; to our traditional authorities, to support in educating
their subjects on dangers of Gender Based Violence and other socio-cultural
practices that seek to marginalize the girl child
AfriKids
equally appeal to CSOs working to empower women and girls to collaborate more
effectively in their operations and to our dear girls, we urge them to remain
assertive and supportive of each other to avoid being taken advantaged of or
abused.
We need to equip girls with transferable and lifelong skills
such as critical thinking, creativity and digital awareness.
As
we come together to celebrate our progress, AfriKids and its development
partners would wish to ask.
The state to recommit herself to the
promotion of the welfare of girls
Traditional leaders to do away with
all forms of social and cultural barriers that impede the progress of the girl child.
Civil society organizations to provide
adequate and targeted support towards the promotion of the welfare and
empowerment of girls in both the formal and non-formal sectors of life.
Parents should also take active responsibility
to support and empower their girls in both formal and non-formal education for
a better future.
In
summary, we urge all to work assiduously to reinforce girls’ rights to a safe
childhood, to decide for themselves, to decide on their education and skills
path or simply, their right to the future they want.
Thank you, God bless our homeland, Ghana and make our national Great and strong!!!
Richard Amoah, AfriKids Ghana Strategic Approach to Girls Education Manager (STAGE)
As part of measures to ensure the practice of gender equality in the country, the Police Public Safety Training School in Pwalugu community in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region recruited high number of female police officers this year than males.
The school on Monday 30 September passed out 173 recruits which comprised 120 females and 53 males to be integrated into the main stream police force.
Per the ethics of the Police Public Safety School and Ghana Police Service, the new police officers have undergone six months intensive training programmes and are ready to be integrated into the main stream police force.
Speaking at the passing out ceremony, Commissioner of Police, Mr. Alex Amponsah Asiamah, admonished the recruits to be hard working and dedicated to their duties in the Service to combat crime and other anti-social activities.
“Once it is established that you are performing a lawful duty and doing so professionally, you can be rest assured of the Police Administration’s support and commendation.”
Mr. Asiamah noted that the Ghana Police Service is undergoing a transformation with the agenda to become a world class police service that is capable of delivering planned, democratic and peaceful service to meet international standards.
“The Police Service is focusing on enhancing the maintenance of law and order, to protect life and properties through community policing and to bring the personnel of the service closer to the civilians society.”
He however encouraged the recruits to distinguish themselves with exceptional performance in order for them to receive rewards for such performance in their line of duty.
Frank Fuseini Adongo, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, who also double as Member of Parliament for Zebila constituency entreated the new police officers to contribute immensely to the growth of the country’s economy through embracing peace and stability in their various communities.
173 recruited police officers pledged their services to Ghana and promised to be in good behavior in accordance with the laws of the country as well as the laws of the Ghana Police Service.
The Police Public Safety Training School was established and commissioned in 2004 with the purpose of training Police recruits in the region.
Journalists in the country have been urged to be guided by the ethics of the profession in order not to jeopardize the peaceful atmosphere the country currently enjoys.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who gave this admonishment observed that journalists for the past had helped in shaping the country’s democracy however some media reports in one way or the other have dented the image of the country to the investor community.
The minister made these observations during the launch of a maiden awards ceremony of the Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) held in Bolgatanga.
“There are journalists who write things on the internet about their country, about their economy without deep care of its consequences on the global state or the global investor community. There are people who write about their own regions in a manner that even if some investor is thinking about coming into your region, will not necessarily encourage that person that he wants to bring an investor here”.
Mr. Nkrumah entreated journalists to always crosscheck information before putting it out on the public domain.
Upper East Regional Chairman of GJA, Eric Amoh said the purpose of organizing the awards for practitioners in the region is in recognition to the strives journalists go through in projecting the region and the country as a whole.
“For us in the Upper East Region, we have done so well and we may not be praised from the outside. Because of that, we praise ourselves. Most of us have done so much good works for years and I think that, it is time we get recognized and rewarded”, he said.
The maiden awards ceremony is under the theme ‘sustaining the peace in Upper East Region: role of the media’.
In all, 11 awards are available for grasp by members and non-members of the GJA working in the Upper East Region.
The Director of Edu Herbal Clinic in the Bolgatanga Municipality of Upper East Region, Amolaa Joseph Ayambila, has donated learning materials worth hundreds of Ghana cedis to some basic school pupils in the Ayuusi-Yine Primary School in the Kalbeo community and Adabase Junior High School in Bolgatanga Municipality.
Mr. Ayambila donated the educational materials to mark his birthday.
The Donated items include exercise books and pens.
The gesture, according to Mr. Amolaa is his personal contribution towards improving the standard of education in the municipality and the country at large.
Rather than depending solely on the government’s support, Mr. Amolaa called on individuals and other benevolent organizations to contribute in diverse ways for the enhancement of education in the Bolgatanga municipality.
Receiving the items on behalf of the pupils, the
headmistress of the beneficiary schools, Rolanda Awariba and, Wayo Ajara
thanked the director for the gesture.
Edu Herbal Clinic was established in Bolgatanga in 2018.
The Herbal facility over the period continues to offer
excellent herbal services to people of the Upper East Region.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Upper East Region has
commenced a four-day polio vaccination exercise across the Region.
Addressing a press briefing in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Director of the GHS, Dr. Winfred Ofosu, announced that the exercise aims to vaccinate children under 5 years of age.
Dr. Winfred Ofosu, Upper East Regional Director of the GHS
Dr. Ofosu recalled that “On 23th August 2019, the Ministry
of Health, Ghana, reported a confirmed case of vaccine derived polio virus type
2 (cVDPV2) in a two-year-old child from Andonyama (a sub-district in Chereponi,
Northern Region) who developed acute flaccid paralysis on the 23rd July 2019.”
Dr Ofosu said it was the first case of cVDPV reported in
Ghana in July 2019; adding that a cVDPV was confirmed in an environmental
sample collected in June 2019 from the Tamale Metropolis in Northern Ghana.
He said an additional cVDPV2 positive environmental sample
was collected from Accra District, in the Greater Accra Region on 13th August
2019.
According to Dr. Ofosu, “These positive environmental
samples and the case of cVDPV appear to be linked to the strain of vaccine
derived poliovirus that emerged in Jigwa State Nigeria, which subsequently spread
to other parts of Nigeria.”
Giving details of the Vaccination exercise, he said the
first round in the Region would begin on Wednesday, 25th and end on Saturday,
28th September 2019, while the second round would commerce from October 16th to
19th 2019.
To ensure that no child within the age range was left out, Dr
Ofosu said some 1400 Community Health Volunteers would move from house to
house, schools and markets places to vaccinate children.
He explained that “Every child will be given two drops of
the polio vaccine. Caregivers who are not visited at home can also go to the
nearest health facility to get their children vaccinated.”
He said the GHS had over the years conducted several polio
vaccination exercises which have ensured a reduction in the number of polio
cases in the Region.
Dr. Ofosu gave the assurance that the vaccine was safe, and
encouraged caregivers to make their children available for the exercise.
As part of its Cooperate Social Responsibilities, Accra Brewery Limited, producers of Beta Malt has sponsored two athletes to pursue tertiary education after they excelled in the just ended National Sports Festival Competition hosted at the Bolgatanga Senior High School in the Upper East Region.
The athletes, Foster Ametsi and Grace Obour from the Ashanti region received Ghc15,000.00 each as best performing athletes.
Winners
The National Sports Festival Competition brought together different categories of sports disciplines from the ten traditional regions of Ghana to compete for medals.
Ms. Ewurafua Addo-Atuah
Addressing the media, Head of Marketing at Accra Brewery, Ms. Ewurafua Addo-Atuah, observed the significance of sports and said sports remains the important discipline that can help the human body develop mentally and physically well.
She said ” As the company accepted to be the ultimate sponsor of the Inter-Schools and Colleges Athletics Competition, we have been rewarding top performing athletes with packs of Beta Malt drinks and branded souvenirs.”
She noted that the proper and better way to inspire the athletes to go all the way up in their various competitions was with the push of Beta Malt.
The Brands Manager of Beta Malt, Mrs. Portia Offei Asare, urged the athletes to strive for success as one day some of them will become ambassadors for the company and the country in general.
The Upper East Regional Director of Education, Augustine Ayirezang, also encouraged the athletes to be determined as well as focused on their education which he said is key to success.
He congratulated the athletes for excelling in their disciplines.
At the end of the competition, Central Region emerged the winner with 50 points, Ashanti Region placed second with 55 points whiles the host region, Upper East Region had third with 69 points.
Meanwhile the organizers of the programme announced that the 32nd Edition will be hosted in the Western Region in year 2021.
