SIXTY GIRLS ATTEND CAMPS ON EMPOWERMENT

PARTICIPANTS DISPLAYING THEIR CERTIFICATES

MORE than 90 per cent of children in the country attend school but in the deprived communities, most of them, especially the young girls, do not complete their schooling.

They are either not allowed to continue or prevented from pursuing higher education due to the perception that the kitchen is the final place for women.

In some communities, girls are married off as early as age 16 or sent out to trade in order to fend for themselves and their families, rendering them incapable of pursuing higher education.

It is with this background that Actionaid Ghana, as part of its Greater Accra Regional Development Programme and in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service organised the 11th annual Regional Girls Camp in Accra.

The camp was organised on the theme; “Empowering Girls Through Education: Assuring Future”.

It brought together 60 young girls from 23 deprived communities within the Ga East, Ga West and Ga South districts who were trained and mentored on how to achieve greatness through education.

THE GIRLS LISTERNING TO WORD OF ADVICE FROM THEIR MENTORS

The girls were also given training in batik, tie-die, liquid soap-making, popcorn preparation, table etiquette and personal hygiene, how to boost their self-confidence, take control of their sexual lives, and the need to achieve greater heights in the society.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the acting Programme Manager of Actionaid Ghana, Mrs Sandra Ameyaw Amankwaa, called on Ghanaians to change the perception of placing women in the kitchen and rather give them the chance to contribute their quota to the society.

“Just like Dr James Kwegyir Aggrey said, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate the whole nation,” she said.

She added that it was important for parents to invest in the education of their female children in order to ensure gender equity in the home.

Mrs Amankwaa urged the girls to share their camp experiences with their colleagues and put all that they had learnt into practice.

She thanked the organisation for its support over the years and called on individuals and organisations to provide funds to support the project in order to be able to increase the number of participants every year.

TAKING DIGNITRIES THROUGH THE PROCESS OF MAKING SOAP

The Deputy Country Director and Head of Programmes of Actionaid Ghana, Mr Sannie Yakubu, explained that similar camps were ongoing in the districts that the organisation was represented. He added that the organisation had the core mandate of ensuring that girls studied in a free environment, adding that the factors that hindered the quality education of young girls could be identified.

He revealed that since the inception of the camp 11 years ago, more than 2,000 young girls had been trained and mentored on how to make good use of their education, adding that the right to education was not negotiable since it is a right.

He urged the participants to share the knowledge and experiences they had gained at the camp with their communities and others and promote innovative and cost-effective programmes there.

Mr Yakubu also called on Ghanaians to appreciate the value of the girl-child and provide support for their education.

Speaking on behalf of the Headmistress of the Accra Girls Secondary School, the Senior House Mistress of the school, Mrs Rejoice Akordor, thanked the participants for exhibiting good behaviour during their stay in the camp.

She also lauded Actionaid Ghana, for putting together the initiative of providing young girls an opportunity to learn beyond the classroom and be equipped with resources to achieve higher in society.

 Participants at the closing ceremony thrilled the audience with music, poems, and an exhibition of their artwork. They were also presented with certificates for participation in the camp meeting.

LINCOLN SCHOOL SUPPORT NEEDY STUDENTS

Lincoln School Supports Needy Students

The National Honour Society (NHS) of the Lincoln Community School has presented a cheque for GHC 2,400 to the National Partnership for Childrens Trust (NPCT) as its contribution towards supporting needy and brilliant children in the country.

It is also geared towards helping students to achieve excellence in leadership, service and character which takes on a service oriented nature, with its major project being the funding of scholarships for bright and commendable candidates.

The President of NHS, Madam Maria Grazia Guma said 12 students would be awarded scholarship this year to enable them to pursue academic excellence.

“ It gives us great pleasure to contribute to the future of the deprived in society as they thrive to achieve their dreams,” she said.

She thanked the school’s Parent-Teacher Organisation (PTO) for its immense support towards raising funds to support the needy in society.

She explained that  members of the school’s NHS had held several fundraising activities throughout the year.

The fundraising activities include breakfast sales and joint ventures with the PTO.

The purpose is to support needy students who could not have made it to secondary school due to financial difficulties.

The Teacher Sponsor of the NHS, Madam Mary Margret Page was optimistic that the presentation would go a long way to help such children in the various communities .

Madam Judith S. Sawyer, Trustee for the NPCT, who received the cheque on behalf of the beneficiary students thanked the NHS for its support and pledged to use the money for its intended purpose.

ATTACKER OF ITALIAN TOURIST ARRESTED

A Twenty-four-year old taxi driver, Fuseini Mumuni Gariba, is in the grip of the Accra Regional Police for allegedly being part of a group that robbed three Italian tourists, resulting in the death of one.

The suspect was arrested at Oblogo, near Weija, following the retrieval of his mobile phone from the crime scene.

Upon his interrogation, Fuseini Mumuni Gariba confessed to the robbery and mentioned his accomplices as Baba Ayitey and two others whose names he could not recall.

According to the story as it was narrated to the media by the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, the victims, Donnini Lorenzo, aged 52, Rossono Lungi, aged 48, and Poaloa Badalass, the deceased, aged 49, are Italian tourists and business persons who are in the country looking for business partners.

He said they arrived in the country on April 16, 2012 to look for distributors for their products and were initially residing at Ashaiman until June 17, 2012 when they relocated to their present residence at Teshie-Malik.

He said on June 18, 2012, about 12 midnight, the victims and a Ghanaian female friend, Angela Addic, arrived at the entrance of their house from Osu in their VW Passat saloon car No GT 6997-10 being driven by Donnini Lorenzo.

According to DCOP Timbilla, while at the entrance, three armed men who had laid ambush suddenly attacked them and made away with their bag containing travelling documents, three mobile phones, a laptop, and cash of GH¢695.00 and 1000 euros.

The robbers also opened the boot of the vehicle and took away some groceries.

One of the robbers shot Poala Badalass, who was seated in the front passenger’s seat, in the head, injuring her severely and she was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, where she passed away on June 19 about 5:00 p.m.

The robbers, in their haste to leave, left a Nokia C2 mobile phone which was retrieved and traced to the suspect, Fuseini Gariba Mumuni.
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AMA RENAMES HIGH STREET, MILLINUEM CITY SCHOOL AFTER MILLS

Members of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, have at an emergency meeting, passed a resolution to rename the new Millennium City School at the Salvation Army Cluster of Schools in Accra and the Accra High Street after the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

Accordingly, the Salvation Army Cluster of School would now be known as President Evans Atta Mills Educational Centre of Excellence whilst the Accra High Street would henceforth be called the Evans Atta Mills High Street.

Speaking at the meeting, the Mayor of Accra, Mr Alfred Vanderpuije, said the resolution was in recognition of the late President’s immeasurable contribution to the improvement of social and economic infrastructural facilities within the Accra metropolis.

He reminded the Assembly members of the late President’s commitment to providing easy access and promotion quality education both at the first and second cycle schools.

“We need to remember his desire to improve upon the quality of teaching and learning for students to enhance their academic and social achievements”, Mr Vanderpuije said.

Additionally, the late President had expectation for high standards and his anticipation for the right thing to be done at all times, which resulted in his immense support for the AMA to abolish and eradicate the shift system.

The Accra Mayor also recalled what he described as President Mills' tireless effort at removing managerial, financial and structural challenges confronting education, the construction of roads and drains, upgrading of communities and the general development of the Accra metropolis”, he added.

Mr Vanderpuije, meanwhile, has urged members of the Assembly to always be guided by the principles of the late President and provide infrastructural development to their various communities.

The Presiding Member of the meeting, Mr Desmond Nii Addo Binney, explained that the renaming of the school and street was in accordance with provisions of the Local Government Act.

Some members of the assembly were optimistic that the renaming of the school and street, would go a long way to keep the memory of the late President alive in the minds of Ghanaians.

GCB EMBRAKS ON TRANSFORMATION DRIVE

Ghana Commercial Bank  (GCB) will continue with its transformation programme  to help reposition  itself as one of the  leading banks in Africa, the Managing Director, Mr Simon Dornoo, has said.

The transformation programme, which began in 2010, is a major change programme which involves  the review of the bank’s  governance structures, processes, systems  and infrastructure, with the view to provide the best  products and services to its customers and other stakeholders.

Key initiatives in the transformation programme include alternate service points, automated teller machines (ATMs) and SMS banking, Internet banking, 24 hour personal loans, governance issues and branch upgrade and rebranding.

Speaking with the media in Accra, Mr Dornoo said  alternate service points  would cover the provision of more ATMs, enhancing the Internet  banking service at both corporate and individual levels, the introduction of international debit cards and the  automation of  personal loan  process.

“Given the enhancement in ATM services and the alternate sources of service, we will have less people in the banking halls and attend to loan requests which have peaked because of its automated process,” he explained.

Additionally, the bank would increase its ATM acrosss the country to 223  by June this year to enhance delivery  in its systems and service to its clients.

The SMS banking would also allow customer to receive  alerts on their phones as  soon as transactions hit their account, saying “these are aimed at  making banking easier for customers” adding that by the end of February, about  133,011 customers had signed on to the SMS banking service.

Mr Dornoo said the Internet banking  would ensure the convenience of checking balances, transfers of funds across accounts, facilitating salary payments and accounts monitoring.

He said the introduction of the  24 hour  personal loan had enabled the bank to satisfy its customers tremendously and promptly in loan facilitation, saying “ In fact, a salaried worker can obtain a loan from GCB within 24 hours. The actual application process takes less than 15 minutes and the funds are made available in the customer’s account within 24 hours”.

He disclosed that the bank would be refurbishing 25 more branches this year, whilst considering the rebranding of the bank and the launch of Point of Sale network to complement existing channels.

“We will have Visa cards accepted on GCB ATMs to be followed by issuing of Visa debit cards. This will add to improving our customer service and put the bank firmly ahead of competition in terms of the variety of electronic products and services in the market,” he explained.

YOUTH FOR MAHAMA LAUCHED

A youth group, dubbed “Youth for Mahama (YFM)”, has been launched with the aim of ensuring that President John Dramani Mahama wins the December elections.

The group which has representation in all ten regions in the country would also serve as a rallying point of all youth groups nationwide interested in ensuring the success of the National Democratic Congress.

Speaking at the launch in Accra, the Chief Spokesperson of the group, Mr Selorm Amevour, recounted that the Late President Mills’s incorruptible and selfless leadership was dedicated to the interest of the underprivileged.

He said it was important for the youth to claim their rightful positions in national governance by doing all that they could to elect a leader who would be responsible and accountable to the youth.

Also, the highest tribute that the youth could pay to the memory of the Late President Mills was to stand up to the challenge of social progress and economic development.

This, he, said could be done through selfless public spirited activity in defence of the gains of the 2008 electoral revolt and to advance the goals of social and economic democracy.

Mr Amevour added that President Mahamah had contributed immensely to youth related activities and has also supported and facilitated several projects.

“The projects include the rice sector support programme which was initiated to support rice farmers increase their yields, the cotton support project, the national mango support project, the SADA afforestation project, the sheanut factory project at Buipe, among others”, he explained.

He called on the youth to remain committed to a common goal of having a President who is willing to work with the youth for progress.

He also urged them to avoid being used by any political party or politician to cause anarchy, confusion or mayhem in the upcoming elections.

“Let us all use our energy to work and ensure that we elect a leader who has a track record of seeking our interest”, he urged.

HUNDREDS MOURN WITH ACCRA MAYOR, ALFRED VANDERPUIJE

Hundreds of Ghanaians from all walks of life – clergy, laymen, politicians, security services among others, today thronged the auditorium of the Garrison Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, Burma Camp, to pay their last respects to the wife of the Accra Mayor, the late Mrs Giftie Naa Adei Vanderpuiji.

The main auditorium was filled to capacity and the mourners respectfully paid their condolences to the Accra Mayor, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije and the entire family during the burial service.

The late Mrs Giftie Naa Adei Vanderpuiji, passed away at the Korle- Bu Teaching Hospital on June 29, 2012 after a short illness.

At the pre-burial service, tonnes of tributes poured in from friends, families and sympathisers describing her as a loving mother, daughter, wife, friend and a servant of God.

Among the dignitaries present at the ceremony were some Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, various heads of security agencies including the Armed Forces and the Police Service, and some members of the diplomatic corps.

Others included some members of the Council of State , the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) delegation to South Carolina in the United States (US), friends from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of Columbia in South Carolina, friends, familes and sympathisers.

In his tribute, Mr Vanderpuije recalled with wistfulness, his coming into contact with his late wife and the love, care and support she rendered him throughout their 30 years of marriage.

He said, her ability to spread love and joy amongst friends and family helped form a stronger bond among the family.

Mr Vanderpuije described her devotion and the attention with which she nurtured their two daughters as exceptional and prayed for her safe passage to external life.

The Children, Mildred and Alfreda Vanderpuije, in their tribute, recounted in grief, the tireless effort of their late mother to instil in them, both moral and traditional values, to help shape their attitudes and way of life.

They described her as a counsellor who was committed to their well-being and also forthright in disciplining them.

Family, friends and sympathisers described her passing as a great loss and prayed for the fortitude to keep her legacy alive.

She was later laid to rest at the Osu Cemetery in Accra.