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JoyNews Room (22-10-23) || Akosombo Dam spillage: 20-year-old SHS graduate offers free lessons for displaced children
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00:00 Hello, welcome to Joy Newsroom coming to you live from our studios at Coco Mlemle
00:04 DSTV Channel 421, GoTV Channel 125 and around the globe at myjoyonline.com
00:11 My name is Carlos Kaloni. Coming up, food and drugs authorities suspend
00:17 operations of four sashi water producing companies in South Tongue District after
00:23 the authority identified contamination by microorganisms.
00:30 A 20-year-old SHS graduate filling the gap for displaced school children in
00:36 Mfeh, one of the flooded communities in the North Tongue District. We tell you
00:41 about her identity as she offers free lessons to some of the children at one
00:47 of the safe havens. Meanwhile, education think-tank Eduwatch Africa is calling on
00:54 government to provide virtual learning interventions for school children
00:58 affected by the floods so they are not left behind their academics.
01:04 And in business, consumers advise to insist on quality of goods and services
01:12 while shopping. We have details plus the latest in world news. Stay tuned.
01:20 [Music]
01:32 Thank you so much for joining us here on Joy Newsroom. Now, the Food and Drugs
01:37 Authority, FDA, has moved swiftly to suspend the operations of four sashi water
01:42 producing companies in the South Tongue District of the Volta region. Now, this
01:46 was after the authority identified as samples collected from these companies
01:51 contain microorganisms making the water not safe for human consumption. Now, the
01:56 exercise was part of measures to ensure public safety taken into consideration
02:00 flooding incident along the lower Volta following the spillage of the Akosombo
02:05 town. Now, the Volta region director of FDA, Gordon Akrogo, was in charge of the team
02:10 that carried out the exercise. So, FDA, together with Environmental Health, Ghana
02:17 Health Service, came on the ground to ensure that all these facilities are
02:22 visited. So far, we've visited a number of facilities and the samples were picked the
02:28 last three days ago and then unfortunately, three, four of the
02:33 facilities have been affected with water having microbiological issues. They had
02:40 been a growth in the samples we picked and therefore those facilities need to
02:44 fix them and then before we allow them to be coming to the market. There are
02:50 facilities registered by FDA but we think that certain systems are not
02:56 working. That probably has made the bacteria to grow and then the growth can
03:02 have effects on consumers when they take it. So, all those waters that they
03:07 produce within that time frame has been detained for safe disposal. The facility
03:13 has been suspended for us to help them fix the issues before they come back
03:19 into the market. Some really have a system where they pick the water. There's
03:24 a submerged pump in the water where they pick and process which at the end, they
03:32 give them safe water and quality water. Others probably have their own borehole
03:37 where they have dug and because now the aquifers is very rich of water because
03:42 there's submersion of water, there's possible seepage of water from the dam
03:47 or from elsewhere into their boreholes and that has also probably might have
03:52 caused it but we expected that they should have a system that will really
03:57 sterilize the bacteria, kill the bacteria or terminate the activity of those
04:02 bacteria which said that it will not affect the consumption of that water.
04:06 Unfortunately, all those people we checked had problems with a bit of
04:10 systems and on which we have advised them to fix it and then we'll come back
04:15 by Monday and pick samples and test before we can give them permission to
04:20 continue production. As part of the regional district emergency response, I
04:25 think NADMO are commandeering water from outside the district to serve people,
04:32 distribute to people. This is one of the measures they have to solve for people
04:35 from drinking from the valley. So and also we are doing public education to
04:41 educate people at this time that you avoid to drink water from the stream. So
04:46 these are things that we are putting to a better thing that the district and
04:49 other philanthropists are putting system in place serving water.
04:54 On this afternoon, Gertrude Nuchukpi, a 20 year old senior high school graduate who
05:00 has been displaced by the Akosombo Dam spillage is dedicating her time at
05:05 one of the camps to offer free lessons to children who have also been displaced
05:09 due to the flooding in the North Tongue district of the Volta region. Now, Gertrude
05:13 provides free lessons for the children three times a day as she believes it's
05:18 her own initiative to ensure the children make the most of their time
05:22 during this challenging circumstances and continue their academic progress.
05:26 There's more in the following report.
05:30 What can the eyes do? It can see. What can the ears do? It can hear.
05:45 At the St Kizito camp in the North Tongue district of the Volta region, Gertrude, a 20 year old
05:51 graduate of Akachi Secondary Technical School, dedicates more than six hours a
05:57 day to providing free lessons for these displaced children. The academic calendar
06:02 has been disrupted for thousands of such children but Gertrude is determined to
06:07 ensure that they use their time at the safe havens wisely to maintain their
06:13 academic progress. Just being home without going to school due to the flood,
06:18 their classrooms not open for them to go to school. So two days ago I was just
06:25 sitting under the tree. They were playing, hurting themselves so I just decided to
06:30 get a board and a few days then teach them a little. Due to their difference in
06:38 classes, I'm just doing something general for them like part of the body. They all
06:43 have a general idea about it so it's okay so far. Since we all know that it's best
06:49 for kids to learn in the morning since they'll get things more clearly so
06:56 when it's morning I allow them to eat then we gather around do a few starters
07:02 then I teach them. When it's about two hours later they go for breaks then we
07:07 come back again then we do other subjects as well. You also give them
07:12 homeworks. Yes. Tell us how they are picking these lessons from you. Well it's
07:19 going good. What is the biggest challenge teaching kids you've
07:24 never met anywhere and now getting to know them and all that. How difficult is
07:31 this thing that you're doing? I must say it's really difficult because some I
07:38 have to take my time and know how they are, their individual characters and
07:45 things. So in a class to see some play tell them to behave since you are new to
07:52 them so they find it hard to adapt to you. And concentration appears to be low
07:59 because you know it's an open place and all people are moving and all that. How are
08:03 you trying to control that? Well when a class is going on for a while and I see they
08:10 have divided attention I bring in some rhymes to bring their mind back to the
08:15 lesson. Do you want to become a full-time teacher? Not really. So what's the
08:23 motivation? I mean what you're doing is really good. I mean what's that
08:27 motivating factor that is pushing you to help these kids? Okay I once taught in a
08:33 private school so that's where I had the basic training to do this. What would you
08:42 want to say to the government looking at these kids they are here they are not
08:47 going to school because of the flood situation and you have decided to
08:52 volunteer yourself to teach them. What would you want to say to the authority
08:57 with regards to their condition and what can be done so that their education
09:01 will not be truncated? Well I appeal to the government to make it possible if
09:08 it will for the water to reduce so that they can have access to their
09:14 classrooms and you know teaching without writing is difficult so if they can get
09:22 us some books some exercise books and a few textbooks it should be okay and then
09:27 we don't have lights over here so during night time it's very difficult to see
09:34 things some thieves roaming around so it's difficult for the kids so I just
09:41 hope and pray that the government will come to our aid. Her selflessness has
09:48 caught the attention of Samuel Okwujeto Oblakwa, a member of parliament for
09:52 the North Tong constituency who described their action as highly inspiring.
09:57 Remarkable, really touching and it tells you the spirit of the Ghanaian, very
10:05 resilient and despite the challenges she's displaced she's here with her
10:10 mother she tells me that she's not even a trained teacher but she has taught in
10:14 a private primary school before and she thought that instead of just whiling
10:18 away time in the camp why not you know take the kids who have had the academic
10:24 work disrupted through some lessons and her own initiative I didn't know about
10:28 it the district director of education does not know about it but this this this
10:33 is such a touching story very inspiring and I want to commend Gertrude for this.
10:40 I have a surprise package for her which we are not going to disclose but we are
10:46 so proud of her and God richly bless you this this is a spirit and this is what
10:51 we want to see we want to see more of this.
10:54 There are hundreds of children across the eight affected districts whose
10:59 academic calendar have been disrupted by the floodwaters. Gertrude firmly believes
11:05 that her efforts at the camp will help these children stay academically on track.
11:11 Reporting from Kizito campus here my name is Carlos Kaloni for JOYNEWS.
11:18 Now we're from the story deployed virtual learning interventions to
11:23 district affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage and adopt an education in
11:28 emergency plan that is the call by the African Education Watch to the
11:31 government in a statement issued today the education think-tank is calling on
11:35 the Ministry of Education to support the Ghana Education Service and the Center
11:40 for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, CENLOS, to deploy pre-recorded
11:45 learning content used during the COVID-19 school closure on media networks
11:49 and energy-efficient mobile learning devices in the affected areas. For
11:54 details on this particular story I have been joined on the telephone by the
11:58 senior program officer at Africa Education Watch, Divine Pair. Hello Divine,
12:04 so do we know the number of children that have been affected so far per your
12:10 research in these communities? All right thank you Carlos and let me start with
12:16 conveying our sympathy to the affected family and then also assure them of our
12:22 support and what we are also putting ourselves together to visit the community
12:28 and do some intervention as far as education is concerned. When it comes to
12:33 the number of students that are affected we do not have the numbers but we know
12:38 that the situation has disrupted education in three main districts, i.e.
12:43 North Town, South Town and then through East. Other surrounding districts are likely to be
12:50 affected in the coming days as the spillage continues. So for these three
12:55 particular districts education is totally disrupted and nothing is
12:59 ongoing. That's actually from our statement that there's a need for some
13:04 level of intervention because to keep education running during crisis is also
13:10 part of humanitarian services or support that actually needed to be given. So the
13:16 Ghana Education Service with the support of the Ministry of Education and we are
13:21 calling on them to assess the situation to see the impact and how they can
13:26 support each other to keep education running in the district and we have for
13:32 in the interim called the Ministry of Education to support the Ghana Education
13:37 Service and then sent to us to deploy pre-recorded learning content. They were
13:41 used during the COVID period so it's not anything new that they are going to start
13:44 over again. There are community radio so private radio stations around that are
13:50 still broadcasting. We could give them to them for them to be using and then also
13:54 the district assembler can also closely work with the education directories
13:59 whereby they can identify shifts here just for students to gather and practice and
14:04 participate in virtual learning under this particular time. All right we know many of
14:10 the schools have now become the center for holding these flood victims and this
14:16 is not the first time the Africa Education Watch is actually making such
14:20 a call to have this plan in place just in case we have an emergency on our hand.
14:25 If this is not done what impact or what level of impact is it going to have on
14:30 education especially at a basic level? Yes you are right that this is not a
14:36 first time we are calling for education in crisis to be ongoing. During a COVID
14:42 crisis we made a similar call and then also asked the Ministry of Education to
14:49 adopt and operationalize education in emergency plan. We actually need that. A
14:54 lot of countries have that plan in place such that when there is a crisis in any
14:59 of their jurisdiction they can trigger that particular plan so that education
15:03 will not be unduly affected. Sadly since 2020 to this that we made a call little
15:11 progress has been made in materializing that particular education in emergency
15:16 plan and you would have realized in our statement again that we are urging the
15:21 Ministry of Education to ensure that this particular plan is in place and
15:26 operationalized such that when we get to instances like this that plan can
15:31 provide a form of guidance for teachers and other education stakeholders as to how to
15:36 continue education because in times of crisis students actually need to get
15:41 education and their education need not to be disrupted. Any learning loss that occurs
15:46 can actually affect the progress we've made over the years in terms of
15:50 student learning. That's why there are some semblance of learning needs to be going on. It may not need to be 8 o'clock
15:56 a.m. coming to school and closing at 3 p.m. nor the usual calendar. No, it can be just about a few
16:02 hours of learning especially in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
16:06 All right so Divine, finally before I let you go we are learning that the Ministry
16:10 of Education will be visiting affected areas on Tuesday to assess the situation.
16:16 From where you sit as an expert, where should their focus be when they visit
16:21 these communities? Yes, we mentioned that three communities have been badly
16:27 affected already and there are other communities that are likely to be
16:31 affected. They need to assess the impact of the areas that students can gather for
16:39 learning. They need to understand that schools that are not yet affected what
16:44 are plans that they need to put in place for both teachers and learners.
16:49 They actually need that and then also make readily available the learning
16:53 materials that students can also be using at home. That's very important. But
16:58 beyond the Ghana Education Service what they will do, we are also seeing
17:03 interventions by Corporate Ghana and we commend them for that. One area we are
17:09 not seeing donation coming from is in the area of learning materials which
17:14 Corporate Ghana also that as part of the intervention the food supplies, the
17:18 medicine supplies that they are doing, they include learning materials so that
17:23 when the learners are at home they can also be used. As I mentioned, we are also
17:29 mobilizing ourselves in that regard to help the students in this particular trying time.
17:34 Thank you so much. Divine Kwe is the Senior Program Officer at Africa
17:38 Education Watch. He's been sharing details with us with how the spillage of
17:43 the Akosombo Dam is actually impacting education across those communities.
17:49 But still on the Akosombo Dam spillage, Benedicta Atigodo, a 35-year-old
17:54 single mother of three who has been displaced by floodwaters in Mepe in the
17:58 north-town district of the Volta Region fears she could soon become a street
18:02 person after the floodwaters recede. Now, Benedicta is a professional headdresser
18:07 not only lost her personal belongings to the flood but also a hairdressing salon,
18:12 a family's main source of sustenance. Now, her current circumstances are exceedingly
18:17 challenging and providing for her children without a stable income is an
18:21 immense struggle at the camp she now lives. Now, her greatest concern lies in the
18:26 prospect of rebuilding her life once the floods subside. There's more in the
18:32 following report. This is the meal for four people, she herself and three of her
18:44 kids. Clearly, this cannot suffice but according to her it's the only option
18:54 and this is the only meal for the entire day. There was no breakfast. This is going
19:00 to serve as breakfast, lunch and dinner. This food is for myself and my three
19:09 children. It is not enough but we are managing it because I do not have any
19:15 support from anyone. How has this flood situation affected you?
19:21 I am a headdresser. I have no money to pay for my children's education. I have no money to pay for my children's education.
19:34 She's basically saying that everything is gone. The things we see here are the
19:41 very few items she could salvage and these are the items she's using to take
19:47 care of the three kids that she has. She is a professional hairdresser but
19:52 everything is gone. They share relief items at this camp but sometimes we queue
20:00 without getting any. We like Bangkok so whenever I have some funds I bike
20:07 to Pasavadu to prepare for the family. This is where we sleep. These people
20:19 helped us with some mats and that's what we sleep on now. I keep asking myself how
20:29 do I raise money to buy all hairdressing equipment to bounce back? Where I am now,
20:35 if I fall sick, money to go to the hospital is an issue because we are
20:41 extremely poor. I come from a poor home. This is Benedicta's family. Her firstborn
20:49 is here. The second born is here and this is the third. She's a single mother who
20:56 has been displaced by this flood situation here in Mepe. Taking care of
21:01 these kids has become Benedicta's biggest challenge. Her fear is where to
21:09 move these kids to because she has lost everything including where she sleeps.
21:16 The first one is 13 years. My second child is 8 and the last one is a little over
21:24 two years. I worry a lot about their future. I'm even considering giving the elderly one to
21:32 stay with someone. Benedicta and her three kids sleep in this tent for now
21:39 and her house has been destroyed in the flood waters. She's just calling for
21:51 assistance. I need help from anyone watching me now because I have no one to
21:58 rely on. I survive through my own efforts. My salon is gone. My rented room is also
22:07 flooded. So if the soldiers dismantle this tent, I have no place to go to. She's
22:15 just calling on authorities and benevolent organizations to extend a
22:20 helping hand to her. Carlos Kaloni, JOYNEWS.
22:30 Away from the Akosombo Dam spillage, Chancellor of the University of Cape
22:39 Coast, Dr. Say Sam Jonas says, "It's a tragedy that virtues such as integrity,
22:44 honesty, prioritizing national interests above self, among others which are needed
22:50 in overdose in generous present circumstances are missing in the
22:54 curriculum of African students at all levels." Now speaking at the 13th Kwame
22:59 Nkrumah Memorial Lecture at the University of Cape Coast, he said, "There
23:02 are important lessons from Kwame Nkrumah's life that are desperately
23:06 needed to undo the deep damage in the management of African resources."
23:13 Brilliant, inspiring, sobering, important lessons in leadership, priority of
23:25 national interest above self, honesty, integrity, trust,
23:35 lessons in how religiosity has affected development. These are all important
23:45 lessons which clearly are needed in overdose in our present circumstances
23:52 in Ghana and of course on the continent. It is, listening to the professor, it's a
24:02 tragedy that these important lessons are not part of the everyday curriculum of
24:09 African students at all levels. It was quite shocking to hear that indeed
24:18 Nkrumah's books, which as you recall, were bent at the University of Ghana when
24:26 it was when we, Nkrumah was overthrown, an event which was done under the supervision
24:33 of the American ambassador at the time, who happened to be African-American, that
24:39 these books are not actually even available on our campuses, let alone
24:45 taught as courses. It is a tragedy. It is never too late. I hope and pray that
24:52 anybody in influential position who has heard this fantastic lecture, I would
25:00 hear what would also be said tomorrow. We know that Sankofa, there's nothing wrong
25:07 with that. We've made mistakes. The important lessons in this man's
25:11 leadership journey, which desperately are needed if we are to, as it were, undo the
25:20 immense deep damage that we all know we have done in the management of our
25:27 continent's resources.
25:30 Now let's shift attention to some road safety stories where the principal
25:35 manager of planning and programs of the National Road Safety Authority, Henry
25:39 Esumene, has disclosed that speeding contributed to 60% of all road
25:44 collisions in the country. It also contributed to the severity of the crash
25:48 and injuries. Now speaking at a stakeholder engagement on the
25:52 implementation of traffic technology, which is Traffic Tech in the Upper West
25:56 Region, he said, "We have feared that the implementation of the automated system
26:00 will reduce carnage on the roads." Join News' Upper West Regional Correspondent
26:05 Rafik Salam was there and this report contains distressing videos which, if you are
26:10 discretion is advised.
26:12 Traffic Tech Ghana is an automated system developed by the
26:16 Ghana Police Service to enforce road traffic laws and regulations to improve
26:21 road safety in Ghana. The system uses cameras and sensors to automatically
26:26 take a picture and/or video of vehicles that flood road traffic laws and
26:31 regulations such as speeding and jumping of red lights. Before its implementation,
26:36 various stakeholder engagements have been held across the country to sensitize
26:41 the public on the need to implement it in order to reduce traffic infractions.
26:45 The stakeholder engagement in the Upper West Region is therefore the third to be held
26:50 in the country. The project is a collaboration between the Ghana Police
26:54 Service, National Road Safety Authority, Department of Vehicles and Licensing
26:59 Authority, National Insurance Commission and other stakeholders. Director in
27:04 charge of education, research and training at the Motor Traffic Transport
27:08 Department of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent Alexander Kweku-
27:13 Obeng, says the ball rolling on the essence of the implementation of the
27:17 traffic automated systems.
27:19 If you have a vehicle, driver, train, issued with a license by DVLA, the maximum speed in town
27:25 should not be more than 50. At certain places in town like in the CBD,
27:31 where you're approaching traffic lights, where schools are, among others, you cannot move
27:36 above 30. And so, first it is to check this behavior. Two, it will check our behaviors
27:48 when we are approaching hazardous places like junctions, crossroad, T-junctions
27:54 and all that where there are traffic lights and people, we are supposed to stop at
27:59 amber and red and people are crashed running through amber and red as if they are
28:06 chasing who, don't know, and vehicles are crashing preventably. Acting Director
28:12 General of the National Road Safety Authority, Engineer David Ossoff-Odonten
28:16 noted that considering the sea of road crashes in the country, the best option
28:21 for now to reduce them is the automated system which will have minimal human
28:25 control. Just this year, I'm sure the full statistics will be given to you, we have
28:32 recorded 9,300 crashes as of end of August this year and a number of deaths,
28:43 about 1,400 of our compatriots, Guineans, have been buried, dead and gone. It is not
28:52 weapons that kill them on the road, the vehicles, that human being sit behind the
28:59 steering wheel and they drive. They're speeding, some of them as if they want to
29:06 fly. If you hit the highway and you observe, you can see clearly what I'm
29:13 talking about. Jumping of red lights and so many other infractions, some of them
29:19 minor, minor, minor, but they kill. Principal Manager of Planning and Programs of the
29:24 National Road Safety Authority, Henry Asumane, disclosed that speeding
29:28 contributes to 60% of all road collisions in the country.
29:35 As you approach here, your speed should be reducing because you are
29:41 getting into an intersection and although it is green, as you pass here,
29:45 you should reduce your speed. When you reduce your speed, because it's an
29:50 intersection, there are a lot of activities there. It will help you to be
29:53 able to avoid certain things. Did we all see that? Yes, the motor rider shouldn't
30:00 have crossed the vehicle, but if the vehicle was going below the 30
30:04 kilometer speed limit, he could have avoided this motorcycle. Now he hit the
30:09 motorcycle and ended up hitting other people around here. These are some of the
30:14 causes of the speeds. Let's look at this one too. This is around Mima during one of
30:20 their festive occasions. You see, this is as a result of speeding. He lost control.
30:29 Then let's look at this one. You see that the vehicles have stopped for the pedestrians to cross,
30:35 but because the track was still speeding, he couldn't stop in time.
30:41 Our Power Regional Commander of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Prince Gabriel Wabu,
30:47 posited that with the implementation of the traffic technology in Ghana, persons
30:51 who infringe on traffic laws will not have people to intercede on their behalf,
30:56 as was done in the past. Now, it is not the human being who will stop you, the road
31:03 user, you, the motorist, you, the bike user, whoever is committing any crime on the
31:12 road. It is the camera that will capture you, and once the camera captures you, no human
31:18 being is going to talk to you. It will come on your phone, or it will be in your
31:24 letterbox, for you to go and pay.
31:28 Reporting for OJ News, Rafiq Salaam.
31:38 Now, moving on in a world where the pursuit of excellence and community service often take a backseat,
31:44 the remarkable journey of girls from St. Monica Senior High School in the Ashanti region
31:49 is a testament to the transformative power of education and mentorship.
31:53 The journey began with the I Made It program, a comprehensive initiative designed by
31:58 Smile for Child Ghana to nurture the holistic development of these young girls.
32:02 Now, among its core components, character-building sessions were held weekly, instilling values
32:08 such as reliability, resilience, resourcefulness, and responsibility, fostering a culture of
32:14 excellence in behavior. Another crucial element in their development was acquiring general
32:19 knowledge, which entailed reading assignments during breaks and subsequent periodic tests.
32:25 Through this period, the girls expanded their horizon, which every page they turned.
32:30 Mahmoudbog Mohamed Nouradin has more in the following report.
32:36 Vanessa, Lydia, Sandra, Georgina, Emanuela, and Regina have defied all odds to become true
32:46 community service champions. What truly sets these students apart is their strong sense of
32:52 community service instilled by the I Made It program. Since 2021, they have been actively
32:59 involved in a plastic waste recycling project within their school. Collecting plastic waste
33:06 on the school premises and packaging it weekly for sale to recycle companies, these young
33:12 champions have not only contributed to environmental conservation but also learned valuable
33:18 lessons in responsibility and teamwork.
33:21 Sandra, 17, reflects on how the program helped them undertake community service. She
33:28 emphasizes that the program not only honed their community skills but also helped them
33:33 discover and develop their unique talents.
33:36 Through this program, we got to know the community skills. Yes, we developed a lot of
33:41 talent from it. It has helped me so much. We also gained some lessons through our
33:46 facilitators. They taught us how to be responsible, how to be refined as girls, how to be
33:51 resilient, and also how to be, do anything that we want to do. They have nurtured us, they
33:58 have encouraged us. So as we are living here, we are also going out there to help the
34:02 others.
34:03 For Sandra, the program transformed her from a child individual to someone who can
34:07 confidently interact with others, understand their challenges, and provide assistance.
34:13 Through Smile for Child Ghana, I've been able to know how to speak to people. I remember
34:18 when I came here as a first-year student, I wasn't mingling with people. I was the
34:24 reserved type, always in my class. Even speaking to my mistresses was difficult for me.
34:30 But through the training that I gained from Smile for Child Ghana, I've been able to
34:34 come out, speak to people, and also learn how to help others. Since I was a reserved
34:40 type, I wasn't giving much attention to people. But now I'm the outing type. I speak
34:45 to people, I help them, I ask for their well-being.
34:48 Smile for Child Ghana, I Made It program, has really made us feel at home always.
34:52 Vanessa, who is 18 years old, shares Sandra's enthusiasm. She believes the program made
34:58 her courageous and outstanding. Despite the challenges and demands of the program, Vanessa
35:05 describes the results as nothing short of amazing.
35:09 Smile for Child Ghana has made the girls more courageous and outstanding. A few of them
35:14 were, they didn't communicate with the outside world, but right now everyone is smiling.
35:21 They're all happy and they're able to appreciate what they've done for them. And to me personally,
35:26 Smile for Child Ghana has helped me a lot. I didn't stay with my parents, but through
35:31 Smile for Child Ghana, right now I'm with my parents happily. And they provide my car,
35:35 my transportation fare, sometimes my provisions that I find difficult to find, and my tuition
35:42 fees sometimes.
35:43 These two remarkable students are not alone in their sentiments. Their colleagues share
35:48 similar feelings of enthusiasm and excitement, a testament to the transformative power of
35:55 mentorship and community service.
35:57 Patience Laue, one of the facilitators at St. Monica Senior High School, highlights
36:03 the program's reformative impact on the girls, despite the challenges they faced.
36:08 She acknowledges that grooming, forming, and nurturing young individuals is no easy
36:14 task, but the dedication of these students has been truly remarkable.
36:19 This program has been very educative and in fact it has been very good. It has helped
36:25 nurture, form, and train these young girls. But then I also have to admit that it has
36:30 been very challenging. You know, grooming, forming girls, nurturing girls, it's not
36:36 so easy sometimes. Getting them all together to perform a task, to do something, to do
36:42 an assignment, it was not easy. But then through it all, they have made it. Just as our slogan
36:49 says, "Smile, I made it."
36:52 Patience expresses her wish for the program to continue and support more brilliant, yet
36:58 needy girls. The journey of Vanessa, Sandra, Lydia, Georgina, Emanuela, and Regina is a
37:05 shining example of how education, mentorship, and community...
37:08 You're still watching Join Newsroom with me, Carlos Kaloli. Now, moving on, as part
37:15 of efforts aimed at promoting hand-washing among school-going children, the Tichima
37:20 Municipal School Health Education Program Unit of the Ghana Education Service has,
37:24 together with the Ghana Health Service, held an educative program with selected schools
37:29 in the Sansama community. Now, the initiative is aimed at creating awareness on the benefit
37:35 of hand-washing and encourage hygiene and reduce infections among children.
37:40 Anas Sabit has more in the following report.
37:42 The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated unprecedented, significant, and sustained
37:50 infection prevention and control measures to reduce the risk of exposure and prevent
37:55 transmission. Aggressive hand-washing with soap and running water was among the various
38:01 prevention protocols adopted to mitigate the spread of the pandemic. This hand-washing
38:07 protocol held experts say reduces the transmission of microorganisms, increases patient safety,
38:13 and decreases healthcare-associated infections. Sadly, however, rigorous hand-washing, as
38:20 seen in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, is slowly fading away, a situation that exposes
38:26 many to several health risks. Tichima Municipal School Health Education Program Coordinator
38:32 Mary Wuntuma, who as part of the Global Hand-Washing Day, instituting measures capable of sensitizing
38:37 school children within the Sansama community on the need to adopt hand-washing with soap
38:42 and running water as a way of life.
38:44 After COVID, it looks as if we have reduced the hand-washing. And you agree with me, when
38:51 COVID came, a lot of diseases, especially diarrhea in Ghana, chlorella, you never heard
38:58 of it. And it was just because of proper hand-washing. That is why we decided to come to Sansama,
39:05 so that we will educate the children how to wash their hands properly. And as they go
39:09 back and their parents who come from the farm, they will also then give them the information
39:16 of how to wash their hands properly and all the time.
39:21 She was quick to however admonish corporate institutions to reintroduce Veronica Barkers
39:25 at their premises and make hand-washing part of their respective protocols.
39:30 So I think that in our banks and other institutions, we should be able to bring back Veronica Barkers.
39:37 So let's, our institutions should keep on encouraging people to wash their hands by
39:46 providing soap, water, and then tissue for all customers who come around to wash their
39:53 hands. So we all live healthy.
39:55 Chief of the area, Nana Afuna Yebua, who acted as the chairman of the location, promised
40:02 to serve as an ambassador for hand-washing and is hopeful that the act, if adopted, would
40:07 help minimize infections across the area.
40:10 We are going to campaign. In fact, from here, we are going to the parish to campaign to
40:15 the people, to the communities.
40:16 Yom Kippur, Apurva, whatever it is, we are now going to inculcate it into our system
40:23 so that whenever we meet, people will know the essence of washing hands, of cleaning
40:26 hands. So when that is done, definitely we are going to reduce disease and germs in our
40:32 society. So we are going to do that.
40:34 We will make sure that that is done in our various parishes and homes so that people
40:38 will adopt that.
40:40 Assemblyman for Sansama Electoral Area, Nuhu Abdurazak, also emphasized that the move fits
40:45 into his sanitation project and noted that enough education will be carried out to help
40:51 sensitize the population.
40:52 Being a stakeholder of this community, I'm going to take it right away from you. Already
40:59 I started doing something, and this one to us also come to join. That means it is going
41:04 to be a process, not an event. And that is to say that right from here, any occasion
41:09 where I will have the chance, I will be educating the people the continuous way of washing hands
41:17 before eating. And that is why, you know, if you want to speak to God, you speak to
41:21 the children. We've just started with the children.
41:23 This year's Global Handwashing Day was marked under the theme, "Clean hands are within
41:29 reach."
41:29 Alasabet, joy news.
41:32 We took a break. We'll return with business. Stay with us.
41:39 [Music]
41:41 Welcome back. In business, consumers urge to be critical on quality items as a yield
41:49 tied approach. Now, consumers have been urged to look out for substandard food items and
41:55 reject them on the shelves to avoid health complications. This advice follows a question
42:00 from the African Development Bank over a massive aflatoxin infection in many grains on the
42:05 market.
42:06 Now, reacting to the concerns of quality foods, the Dean of the School of Agriculture at the
42:10 University of Ghana, Professor Irene Ejei, said consumers must make a conscious effort
42:16 to insist on quality, especially on food items.
42:19 That is about training, but it's also about sensitization. We have to sensitize the people
42:28 we call value chain actors. And they are researchers, they are policy makers, they are
42:35 farmers, they are traders, they are processors, and they are consumers. Sometimes we leave
42:42 out some of the actors, especially consumers. You see, we drive the market. So if consumers
42:48 are thinking health, and they are thinking quality, then they will ask for it. And that
42:56 is where we call it the supply response. That is what we want to bring to the table, that
43:02 it is not only one group of people called farmers that we should always be shouting
43:07 at, produce quality, produce quality. If you produce, you put it on the shelf and I don't
43:12 buy, you ask why. The next time you put quality and I buy, that is when you continue to produce
43:20 quality. So for me, as the Dean of the School of Agriculture, I have been part of this project
43:26 because I want to hammer the issue of quality, especially driven by consumers.
43:31 And Finance Minister Kenneth Retta has announced government has increased financial support
43:40 for some of its social intervention programs. The move is part of efforts to lessen the
43:45 impact of IMA program correction and fiscal consolidation on Ghanaians. And the Finance
43:50 Minister has been giving more details on the approach the government has been adopting
43:55 to cushion a lot of Ghanaians.
43:58 We are really looking at the You Start program to see how we can inject much more resources
44:06 into that to enable a sense of activity and options as to appropriate skills for people
44:17 and access to finance at cost, at prices that make sense. So that we are looking to do.
44:25 We've been able to maintain petrol prices within a certain ambit and pray that the war
44:33 in Israel and all of that, that does not get destabilized. So it's a constant thought as
44:41 to how to trickle down to the plumber. And I think it will take a bit of time. But we
44:51 are moving in the right direction. We should have hope that we've done it before and we
44:56 can and will do it again.
44:59 Any projections that you've given to us? Because if you gauge the pulse of the market,
45:05 people are like things are difficult and all the rest. Are there any projections, not dates,
45:10 but even when the policy rate goes down, there's a lag period. If these things just continue
45:16 stabilizing and trending down, in the next six months or eight months, that effect will
45:23 be felt because the concern is that things are still hard.
45:29 Acknowledge. Acknowledge and very difficult. But we are going to come up with a growth
45:35 plan with the budget which will be read sometime in the middle of November, which will give
45:43 us indications and hope that we will be able to ensure that all of us are inclusively taken
45:56 care of in the future.
45:58 Even when you look at what we are doing with the fund, you can see that with the LEAP program,
46:07 we have indexed it to make sure that we protect against inflation and we are also increasing
46:13 the number of people that may be eligible to it to make sure that no one is really left
46:20 behind.
46:21 Schools' feeding rates are being increased and affirmative action is something that we
46:27 are also going to be really focused on. So within embedding the program itself is really
46:35 a good faith effort to make sure that we have a landing zone that is good for all.
46:43 But in the end, what do you do of the 23 to the 35? What do you do to the entrepreneur?
46:50 What do you do to the SMEs? And that's where we'll be finding various packages for them.
47:00 Kirlin Business Mining firm Pestio's Mining Ghana Limited says it is committed to building
47:07 a legacy that creates enduring social values for the communities it operates in through
47:12 sustainable mining practices and development. According to the company, after 11 years of
47:17 operation it is ready to expand its frontiers and infrastructure to create the necessary
47:22 opportunities for both the company and the communities.
47:25 There's more in the following report.
47:27 The mining company says its approach aligns with its overarching vision to prioritize
47:32 the well-being of local communities, promote socio-economic development and uphold environmental
47:38 sustainability.
47:39 General Manager of Pestio's Mining Ghana Limited, Daniel Ejameinsa says, by emphasizing
47:45 the creation of long-term social values, Pestio's Mining Ghana Limited seeks to build a mutually
47:50 beneficial relationship with the communities fostering a positive and sustainable impact
47:56 on the local populace.
47:57 As far back as 2012, PMGL received approval from the Minerals Commission for the designation
48:05 of three new mining areas, namely Fetish Mining Area, Eswaja North Mining Area and Eswaja
48:14 South Mining Area, all covering a total of 1,040 hectares of its Ayamfre mining lease
48:22 area.
48:23 As a mine, we are committed to building a legacy that creates enduring social values
48:29 for our communities, coming out of our commitment to sustainable mining practices and development.
48:36 After being in active operations over the past 11 years, it has now become necessary
48:43 to develop an additional pit and its associated infrastructure to sustain the operation and
48:49 extend the life of mine.
48:54 In pursuit of this objective, PMGL, in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 Act
49:00 703, applied to the Minerals Commission of Ghana.
49:03 [Ghanaian]
49:26 I am happy to announce that after subjecting the application of the mine to its due diligence
49:33 and processes, the Minerals Commission has granted a new mining lease for the Edikan
49:38 mine at Nkoso, covering a total of 289.63 hectares out of the Nanankok mining lease
49:46 for Edikan.
49:47 Denswa Kwontihine, Dr. Udi Amonu Ntri Chumberima, called on the company to report any issues
49:54 they have with the communities, so the company and the community can both live at peace.
49:59 Persos Mining Ghana Limited says its commitment to sustainable development underscores its
50:04 recognition of the vital role played by responsible mining practices in fostering holistic growth
50:10 and progress within the localities it operates.
50:22 [Music]
50:34 [Music]
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