UN URGES INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN ADOLESCENTS...

October 11, 2015:  Ghana has an unprecedented opportunity to focus on the power of the adolescent girl to drive progress and transformation if increased investments are made to address poverty and gender inequality, which are the key drivers of vulnerability among adolescents particularly, adolescent girls. This is the key message from UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP, as the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, under the theme the Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.

 

According to the three UN agencies, the policy environment in Ghana is favorable to adolescents and young people in general, taking into account the strong emphasis on reducing inequity that runs through all social sector policies and strategies. However, the benefits of economic development have been unevenly distributed and significant disparities remain that hold harsh consequences for the nation’s adolescents and young people.

 

Poverty is often the driving force behind harmful customary practices such as child marriage and other negative coping strategies like transactional sex. It also leads to the early withdrawal of adolescent girls from school resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty-driven reproduction, hunger and undernutrition.

 

Babatunde Ahonsi, UNFPA Representative in Ghana believes that investing in adolescents and young people has proven value for addressing poverty alleviation and gender equality, promoting social justice and building inclusive societies. Safe and supportive families, schools, and positive supportive peers are also crucial in helping young people reach their full potential and attain the healthiest and most productive transition to adulthood. He urged all stakeholders to help Ghana take advantage of its current demographic dividend window of opportunity by prioritizing investments in adolescent girls’ education, health and economic empowerment.

 

“If we ensure that adolescent girls today have access to good nutrition and education, delay marriages and pregnancies, then by 2030, more girls will reach their full potential and Ghana will be closer to the UN’s Zero Hunger goal which aims at eliminating hunger in our lifetime,” said Mutinta Chimuka, WFP Representative and Country Director in Ghana.  “We need additional interventions which address the nutrient needs of the adolescent girl in order to ensure that she is not driven into survival sex and resultant unwanted pregnancy or if she becomes pregnant now or when she is older, she and her child will be healthier. With good nutrition, we can begin to break the cycle of hunger and poverty, one girl at a time.”

Girls born in 2000 when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted have reached adolescence today, and the generation of girls born this year will be adolescents in 2030 when the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will expire. This year presents an opportune time to reflect on the importance of social, economic, and political investment in adolescent girls, as fundamental to breaking the intergenerational cycle of hunger, poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination, in order to achieve equitable and sustainable development outcomes. The future of the country rests on the capacity of this generation of 10 to 24 year olds to utilize opportunities and services across all sectors.

 

“As a group, adolescent girls can be a formidable force to create a better world with the right investments, support and interventions, adolescent girls have the power and potential to transform families, communities, nations and the world; Ghana stands to lose future leaders and innovators of tomorrow if any of these adolescents are left out due to disparities” said Susan Ngongi, UNICEF Representative. 

source: Press Release

  

LIVE HUMBLY ACT BOLDLY, A PSYCHOLOGIST TELLS WOMEN.

     

Cup of Conversation...breakfast time.

    Apparently no one will raise an eyebrow to the news that men are more addicted to porn however, out of curiosity and the desire to please their sex partners,  women are increasingly being attracted to pornography--but the danger is, these women end up becoming addicts.

 A clinical Psychologist and  a behavioral health consultant Dr.Jennifer Mitchell, PsyD made this revelation at this months edition of Cup Of Conversation at the Crossroads Church, Seguin-Tx.
Explaining further, she said studies have shown that watching pornography causes certain hormones like Dopamine and Oxytocin in the body to be released, and oxytocin which is also known as the "love hormone "  is the kind of hormones which promote maternal bonding in breastfeeding moms and their babies so in effect,  one becomes more and more attracted or addicted to pornography without even knowing. Adding that due to that bonding effect, most cases , people do not find the same satisfaction in their partners no matter how good they  try to  apply what they watch in their  relationship and women suffer at the end because they are forced to focus on their sexuality rather than being sensual.

Speaking as the quest speaker on the topic Pornography and Women, Dr Mitchell admonished women to be more in-tune with themselves and strive to develop who they truly are other than being objectified and not having to say no.

She also expressed worry about the rate at which  women are increasingly being objectified and pointed out how  TV commercials portray women in almost every product- even  children ads are not spared. She also called on parents to be mindful of how they compliments their children . Adding that using certain compliments like " ...oh! look how hot, sexy or beautiful you look in that" they rather draw the kids attention to what they are wearing rather who they are, that according to her, some how may contribute to sexually objectifying the child.
Dr.Jennifer Mitchell ,  said although society from ages have shown women as object, the truth is women's true identity is in Jesus, because from the cradle to the grave women were there and God knows the worth of women. She said even though the cultural practice during Jesus time like it is in most cultures today, often condemned and relegated women to the background, Jesus always saw women beyond their sexuality. Buttressing this point, she made reference to the book of Luke in the bible and how Jesus offered full discipleship to women and hoe He treated women without condemnation " women can also receive God's grace and forgiveness"   therefore women do not have to choose or forced to be sex objects but rather LIVE HUMBLY,ACT BOLDLY

 The Meeting brought together more than two dozens of women not only to intaracts but to also worship and acquire more knowlegde. Oh! and as usual, there were plenty to eat and drink ...Yea! it is called CUP OF CONVERSATION.

A JUDGE AND LAWYER SENTENCED ON BRIBERY CHARGES.

   Kens5.com Staff, KENS 5        A former  Texas state district judge and an attorney were both sentenced to prison Wednesday as part of a federal corruption probe inside the Bexar County Courthouse. Angus McGinty, who resigned his position in 144th District judge in 2014, was sentenced to two years in prison. Attorney Al Acevedo was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
McGinty was indicted on 2014 on charges of conspiracy to commit federal bribery, one count of bribery, one count of extortion and 12 counts of honest services wire fraud. The indictment alleged that McGinty solicited and accepted bribes from San Antonio lawyer Alberto Acevedo Jr. over a nine-month period in 2013.
McGinty resigned on Feb. 14, 2014, a month before Acevedo plead guilty to bribery. In his plea, Acevedo admitted he engaged in corruption by influencing McGinty with things of value.
The presiding  judge offered McGinty some time to spend with his family and serve his prison sentence after Christmas but McGinty didn't take it. He said he just wants to get his sentence over with. He said it's about moving forward now with his family. "What we're enduring is nothing compared to what other families have endured. We'll be fine," said McGinty.McGinty thanked the people who supported him in the last year and a half. He also, thanked the judge who sentenced him and the remarks he made in federal court.

CHARLESTON CHURCH MASSACRE, VICTORY FOR CHRISTIANS.

a scene at Charleston's Emanuel AME church after the shooting

      On Thursday morning, America wake up to witness another gruesome gun violence. A 21 year old man had walked into a church in Charleston-South Carolina, sat in an evening bible sturdy class for about an hour then later open fire on them killing 9 people in cold blood. 3 men and 6 women ages between 25 and 82.
The reason for this crime was not far fetched because he made his mission clear to the people that he was there to kill Black people. So right from the onset we knew this was a hate crime but one thing that was not clear was , what motivated him to commit such barbaric act and why that particular church?
Answers to these question was not readily available until 14 hours later when he was arrested and in his own confession to the police admitted to the murder and said he did that to ' spark a racial war" so it was easy to add that he chose the Emanuel AME church because it is one of the oldest African -American church with great historic heritage .
After this confession he was tagged as the ' face of evil" on social media. On a second thought one could not agree less to this description because who on earth does not want peace of mind except the devil,right???
However in the wake of all the pain, hurt,anger, trauma and provocation caused by his action, one thing stood up tall and that is FORGIVENESS. It resonate with all the survivors and their relatives as well.
Apart from the out pouring  of love from sympathizers to the victims, their families and the people of Charleston,it is amazing to see and hear almost all the grieving families talk about Forgiveness.
Speaking for the  first time to her son's killer in court a very emotional Felicia Sanders, one of the survivors who played dead and laid on top of her granddaughter to save her and watched her 25 year old son, Tywanza Sanders shot multiple times did something remarkable. She said " ...every fiber in me hurts but I forgive you and pray to God to have mercy on your soul". 
Believe it or not, their Courage , kind heart and act of forgiveness have indeed calmed nerves down and drastically reduced the level of outrage that may have resulted in serious retaliation. And this act of kindness shown by these people in my opinion is not just professed in vacuum. It takes the power of the Gospel and through the grace of  our Lord Jesus Christ to be able to smile at the storm in a very difficult moment such as this. It is only in Christ Jesus that we are able to forgive and  also find forgiveness. This proves the beauty of Christianity.
Surely " the word of God is tested and tried" and the greatest of all virtues is Love: that one may even show love to his enemies.
We all know that if this terrible provocation had happen in other religion, hell would have broken loose.
It is easy to revenge and retaliate for a justifiable course such as this,  but hey, if the victims and those directly affected are calling for peace and forgiveness, why will anyone further cast the first stone or cry more than the bereaved. Sparking any kind of war, be it racial, ethnic, religious, political or what so ever, is evil. Peace is relative so lets all try to pursue peace where it may be found and make the world a better place.
May God who through his power has given these families the grace to forgive, heal their broken hearts and grant them comfort and grant the departed eternal life for the repose soul of their departed.

TREATING THE FIRE/ FLOOD VICTIMS AS PIECE OF TRASH...#THISMUSTSTOP.

         

As I write this piece of article about the Goil  filling station fire explosion, I do not intend to talk about what caused it or who caused it. Enough has been said already. I just want to draw our attention to a very sickening observation made in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Although this is not the first time this is happening,yet it was shocking to see it happening in the full glare of authorities.
As reported earlier, the people who died in the fire were believed to be stranded passengers, drivers and pedestrians who were either stacked in traffic or had gone to seek shelter at the filling station from the heavy down pour on that fateful day.

Tragically they met their untimely death. Responding to the distress calls, Ghana Fire Service and the Police according to reports swiftly rushed to help quench the fire and to also rescue victims
To show support and sympathy, many leaders from across the country including the President have visited the scene and in describing those who died,  this phrase ' Burnt Beyond Recognition "  was on the lips of almost  all of them.

Undoubtedly,to the ordinary person, the victims were burnt beyond recognition however, one would have thought that with all these big bosses from the various security agencies at the scene, at least some forensic effort would be made to identify if not all some of the victims to console their families. That was not done. They rather chose the "Normal" and easiest way like we see  every day in such cases to just draw a conclusion that non could be recognise and to further bruise the wounds of their families, dumped them like piece of trash.

 I could not believe my eyes to see how the deceased persons were being parked and virtually thrown onto each other in a pick-up truck like some wasted animals in the presence of the police and worse of it all, a minister of State, Mahama Ayariga was captured in a TV interview pathetically pointing the cameras to the pick-up truck that was loading those  who died at the scene.

And the police who was suppose to guard the scene as a crime scene just stood by and allowed people including the media who out of curiosity and lack of respect for human dignity took pictures of the dead bodies  and carelessly shared it on all the media platforms without any thoughts of bluring the gory images. Where did we go so wrong that simple common sense seems to have eluded us.

As people, we do lots of many things wrong and makes them appear normal. It is simple absurd and so unprofessional to treat people like that.  Every person, whether dead or alive deserves to be treated with some respect and dignity. Most often when we try to correct the way we carelessly do things by comparing it to the developed country , others are quick to argue that Ghana is not America or Europe and that we are not there yet.The question is, when?? after 58 years of managing our own affairs.
 Meanwhile it will interest you to know that some of this state officials and so-called experts demand their salaries in Dollars and want to be paid with same standards as their International colleagues.
What more then  will be the game-changer for Ghana. This tragedy did not happened in any where remote other than Circle, right at the center of the capital city, Accra, where all the headquarters of these state institutions and security agencies are located.

Today, #Ghanamourns and we hope this will never happen again. However, the raining season will end and as usual politics will take the better part of all the promises, assurances and the directives forgetting that over 150 precious lives perished in this tragedy and that we owe their souls the obligation to do the right things. Lets all have some respect for ourselves and make the system work.
Doing things the wrong way dose not make them Normal.
In solidarity to the families and the memory of the victims I join my colleagues in Citifm in saying #thismuststop.

NEVER UDNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A WOMAN.#Dumsormuststop.

Yvonne Nelson in a selfie at the vigil

The much awaited and talked about vigil against the deteriorating power crisis in Ghana came off today with thousands of people in attendance.
What started as a mere complain by actress
Yvonne Nelson and Lydia Forson on social media became history in the streets of Accra as people from all walks of life joined in the march to show their frustrations against Government's failure in solving the energy crisis which Ghanaians have been enduring for the past three years.
Yvonne Nelson and her colleagues pulled it off to the admiration of many. It is the first time the country has seen this kind of organised protest devoid of political colours. Participants were seen in national colours and the national flag signifying a sense of one common goal in the spirit of national interest. Although some people from the ruling party believe the vigil is motivated by the opposition, the turn-out shows Ghanaians are very tired of the worsening situation.

protesters holding placards in the march

To the organisers I say Ayekoo. You have successfully executed your civic right by peacefully  adding your voice to this troubling national issue " dumsor" .
Today, those who stood up against you and called you all kinds of names  have come to believe in your noble course and they are not only saying dumsor must stop but rather they
 say " indeed dumsor must stop now" to quote from Alhaji Halidu Haruna, a member of the communication team for the ruling party.

Never underestimate the power of a woman because whenever the power comes to play, history is made. This vigil is no way a solution to the problem however it is a strong statements to the President and his team that if indeed they have an answer to this problem, then they must act fast before the 2016 election. From an objective perspective, one may see this as the voice of the floating voter who all he needs from Government is a stable economy.
For party sycophants, they will keep on defending the indefensible, this Dumsor is seriously crippling the economy  and making lives very uncomfortable.

BOYCOTT AFRICAN UNION DAY FOR THE ATTACKS IN S A.

25th of May is slated for the annual commemoration of African Union Day. It is a day the whole of the African continent reflect on and also remember the founding principles behinde the organisation of Afican Unity.For most coutries this day is observed as statutory holiday. Although over the years many have criticised and questioned the relevence of this day, in our present times, I can not agree less with those critics. The time has come to boycott the celebration, if not to quash it altogether.

One of the major role of the Union at the time of it formation was to fight for the liberation of Africans from foreign oppression particulally to rally support for the freedom of Black South Africans who were suffering from segregation under the Aparthied regime.
So if today , South Africans have resolved to killing their fellow foriegn Affrican nationals who fought and sheltered them in those trying times, then i beg to differ but say there is no need for A U Day.

Over the last few days, what we have witnessed in the streets of South Africa is unspeakable and to think that this is not the first time in the history of the country that innocent migrants have come under this gruesome attack all in the name of xenophobia, without any serious action taking against SA from the AU, then I ask why do we have to waste precious time commemorating it.
Ever since reports of these attacks floaded the media, it got me thinking and each time I sat to write, I held on. It is unbelievable that humans will do this to their own kind, wherther black or white.
In the past, when this attacks took place, very little was said about it due to the fact that many of us did not see the actual events like we are doing today, thanks to social media and the availability of tecnology. Every right thinking member of society can not comprehened what is going on.
The total outrage and public out-cry from other African countries call for proper action and response from A.U. And when I say " response" I am not talking about the issuing of statements.
I have already seen a publication of such statements from the chairperson of A U, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma saying "...the commission has appaeled for dialogue in and amongst communities to address the challenges and find peaceful solution..."

'Peaceful"! yes we all wants peace but madam chairperson, what happens to justice. Justice for those who died in the past and those dying now under the same circumstances.

I hear ECOWAS has also issued a statements signed by the Chairman, President John Mahama of Ghana '... we welcome the statement of our brother Jacob Zuma and his assurances of a peaceful resolution, but we request for an urgent national action plan backed by a behavioral changed campaing..."
If people espercially innocent children die in this shameful and barbaric way and all we do as people given power and placed in authority to act, also join in the many voices to cry for help, then who will really defend us?

Mr chairman! this is not the first time it is happening, so behavioral changed?? this Xenophobia or what ever it is causing these killings are in clear violation of the foudamental principles of ECOWAS which is to foster cordial economic activities among member states of which South Africa is part of. So when the people are resenting fellow Africans for not any other reason but just beacuse they are accused of conducting business and working hard, then we expect more from ECOWAS than this.

Enough of speaches, talks,pageantry meetings and signing of treaties that ends up on lazy desks. We want to see more action from these Organisations to serve as a deterent measure and for the world to also take us serious.
Africa in recents times has seen a lot of bloodshed. From the activities of BOKO-Haram in Nigeria, Al-Shabab in Kenya and now to this Xenophobia in South Africa not to talk of the deadly Ebola which is still hovering oround our necks.The continent has too many problems to deal with so lets not pretend, those given power must act.

In the days of colonialism, African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela and several others did their best to buy us the freedom we have now. Today, our generation and those to come are looking at the leadership for the kind of legacy they will leave behind. We need not to fail them so untill a deterent measure is spelt out claerly to our fellows in South Africa and the perpetrators, this Year's A U day must be boycott.

CONNECTIONS INDIVIDUAL FAMILY SERVICES EDUCATES PARENTS ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT.

CONNECTIONS INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILY SERVICES, a Non profit organisation is organising a-four-week serminar to sensitized parents, guardians, forster parents, grandparents and care-givers on child care development at the Early-Bird Appartment complex in seguin Texas.

Speaking at opening session this week,the host, Sheila Dawn Walsh CPC-intern said the serminar is as apart of activities marking this years Child Abuse Awarness Month which is commemorated in the month of April.
In the highlight of the programme line-up fo the week, she noted that participants will be taking throuhg different techniques and stratagies that will help increase sucess and cooperations among families.

This week's session focused on the different and important milestones of children development during different stages of life with emphasis on the ages between birth to age 11. Sheila pointed out the need for parents to develop a sense of trust in children at early stage of their lives (infancy to 18 month) by providing reliability care and affection.

During the discussions a concerned parent raised the question on the different between spanking and an abuse. Addressing the issue, Sheila said abuse is when the intended punishment results in bruises and as long as care givers do so without bruises, spanking is no offense.

BILL COSBY 'LEGEND UNDER FIRE'

Bill Cosby "Legend Under Fire" , i wonder how all these unfolding rape accusations and allegations will end. More than 14 women so far and still counting claiming he druged and sexually assulted them and he still says NO COMMENT. Although i feel its past time he comes out with his side of the story,if for nothing at all for the sake of his funs and all those who belive in him as a legend.
For how long is he going to be quite? Time will tell