Day: October 12, 2023

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) joined mourners from all walks of life Wednesday to condole with former President John Agyekum Kufuor, and his family, at the one-week observance of the passing of his wife, Theresa Kufuor, a former First Lady. The delegation was led by Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the GJA President, some national executives of the Association and senior media practitioners. On behalf of the GJA, Mr Dwumfour expressed his condolences to the former President and the bereaved family, and pledged the Association’s support to him in their difficult time. In an interaction with the media, thereafter, Mr Dwumfour lauded former President Kufuor for his role in expanding the frontiers of media freedom in Ghana. During his tenure (2001-2009), the Criminal Libel Law was repealed, Government funding to the public media saw significant improvement, while the GJA was given a property, which houses its present secretariat. Mrs Theresa Kufuor, will be given a state burial on Thursday, November 16, 2023. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, who announced this, said the former First Lady had paid her dues to the nation, therefore, the nation would accord her all the necessary respects. Mrs Kufuor, who was affectionately called Mother Theresa during her tenure as First Lady, died on Sunday, October 1, 2023. She was 87. The retired nurse and midwife, was born on October 25, 1935. As a First Lady, was very warm and kept a low profile, staying away from the political arena. In 2007, she advocated policy changes in the Government’s White Paper on Educational Reforms towards the implementation of UNESCO’s Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme for kindergarten children. Mrs Kufuor established the Mother and Child Community Development Foundation (MCCDF), a non-governmental organisation, operating in Ghana and Canada. It supports work in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. She began her basic education at the Catholic Convent, OLA, at Keta in the Volta Region of Ghana. She later went to London, where she was enrolled as a Registered General Nurse, in the Southern Hospital Group of Nursing, Edinburgh, Scotland. After further study at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford and Paddington General Hospital, London, she qualified as a State Certified Midwife with a Certificate in Premature Nursing. She met Kufuor at a Republic Day Anniversary Dance in London in 1961. They got married in 1962. They have five children and eight grand children. A devout Catholic, she was awarded the Papal Award Dame of St Gregory the Great for her commitment to the plight of poor children and their families.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Hawa Salifu, the Girls Education Officer of the Effia Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA), has called on parents to increase surveillance on the girl child to curb the surge in teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and other socially vices. She lamented that incidences of such bad behaviours had become high. ‘Though, we have been saying a lot, educating them about the bad effects of drugs and of premarital sex, they still do it, Parents should therefore make conscious effort to observe the girl child.’ Madam Salifu told the Ghana News Agency when the Department of Children together with the Ghana Education Service (GES) Girl Child Coordinator of EKMA organized a community sensitization programme for selected schools within EKMA at Anaji in the Western Region, to mark the International Day of the Girl Child This year’s theme is ‘Invest in Girls Rights, Our leadership, Our Well-Being.’ She said when parents take the pain to carefully monitor their children particularly the girlchild, it was likely that strange attitudes would be identified, and the child counselled to shape their development. Madam Salifu said: ‘Monitor your child’s behaviour so that if there’s any little change, you can see it and offer constructive advice in the quest to grow good citizens for the development of this country.’ She also expressed worry about the use of phones and the internet which exposed children to a lot of information without explanation… ‘They see tonnes of activities and they also want do the same without knowing the consequences, so I urge all parents to monitor the use of their children’s phones,’ she said. Mrs Faustina Yorke Awortwe, the Western Regional Director of the Department of Children encouraged the children to exercise their rights in a responsible manner. Ms Josephine Roman, the Western Regional Coordinator of Girl Child Education entreated parents to spend both time and financial resources on their children. She said investing in the girl child was the greatest investment any parents could make to change social narratives concerning boys and girls. Ms Roman said investment in the education of the Girl Child was key to empowering them for a better future. The school children were later taken through digital tools and how to use the internet safely, preparation before and after menstruations, breast cancer awareness and general health care.

Source: Ghana News Agency