Scale-up Women’s Annual Cultural ‘DINOMA’ Festival

The Organizers of the Zuarungu-Moshie Women’s Annual Cultural Festival dubbed DINOMA Festival, have been challenged to scale-up the celebration of the festival to cover more communities in the country.

Honorable Matilda Adombiri, Chairperson of this year’s Festival, observed the essence of sustainable development efforts at the community level, and called for active inclusion of women in development programme.

The festival, an annual celebration aimed at empowering women through the promotion of culture, food security and food sovereignty, was started by Mr. Samual Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of Caritas Ghana in 2005, for the women at Zuarungu-Moshie in the Upper East Region.

The festival, which Mr. Akologo single-handedly funded over the years, is to create a platform for women to celebrate their efforts at promoting community development.

The annual event also provided space for the women in the community to articulate their views, challenges, needs and to make advocacy demands to public duty-bearers for attention. So far, the festival serves as a means of raising awareness of cultural sustainability of traditional food, through the showcasing of some local dishes and how they are prepared.

Hon. Adombiri, who underscored the essence of food security in the Country and in line with the attainment of the SDGs Goals, stated the relevance of the platform for women to advance their economic development, education and unity in the rural areas.

She called for the involvement of young women in the festival in order to learn about these local dishes and how they are prepared.

To make the Festival lively, she suggested the programme be turned into an annual home coming food show, which would be more competitive and held between young and the elderly women in the communities.

“The venue for the programme could also be alternated among communities around Zuarungu and its environs,” she noted.

She however appealed to Corporate organizations and well-meaning people to support the programme to motivate the participants to ensure their full participation in attaining the SDGs through their efforts to ensure food security and development at the community level.

Hon. Adombiri observed that the continuous organization of the festival was good, since it would serve as learning platform for young ladies and the younger generation to learn the different recipes of the local foods and how to prepare them.

Among some of the diet prepared at the festival included Gingilima la bito, Waha, Suma, Gaare, Tikolgo, Tigella, Kinkama gela, Kunkono, Konkogre, and Suma, Zonliga.

In an address, Mr. Akologo, expressed the need to harvest the water from the community stream into a dam for purposes of all-year agricultural production.

He hinted that his family friends in the Netherlands – the Jacobsons, have shown a lot of interest in the Zuarungu-Moshie Dam project and stated that technical feasibility surveys have been completed.

He assured that work would soon begin once the drawing and costing for the necessary resources for the project are mobilized, but expressed the hope that the NPP Government’s policy direction of building dams in communities, would respond timely and to support the Zuarungu-Moshie’s efforts for a dam.

The programme which is held on the first Saturday in January every year, brought together politicians from the Upper East Region, the traditional and opinions leaders in the Zuarungu Traditional area.  

The platform which also supports the socialization of the participants, offers the community an opportunity to address development issues in the area, which was echoed in the theme of the festival: Promoting Sustainable Development Goals at the community level; ensuring that women are not left behind.

Speakers, including the Chief of Zuarungu-Moshie – Naba Adobire and the President of the Community Women’s Association – Madam Azurema Anongtebsim, touch on the need for infrastructure development in the areas of education, community development as well as the need to promote unity.   

Insincere Affair

Political parties do not always serve our collective interest.
Political activities are not necessarily partisan.
Political leadership is supposed to be responsible for our well-being.
But today we know that political actions do always serves our interest.
We know that dancing the political dance in a democratic jamboree does help us all.
We know that the public cannot always question the powers that be.  
We know that most political questions are not always answered.
Politicians do not always represent our collective interest. 
Sometimes, I am lost for words when I watch our words and conduct. 
We need to rethink our political actions and the political system as a people. 
Afrika deserves better, we deserve the best in all.

NCHS trains Pharmacist on minilab

Flashback: Ms. Patinora Manye(R) leading the practicals 

The National Catholic Health Service has organised a five-day training four Pharmacist and Pharmacy technicians on the Minilab protocols to ensure that patients at the various NHCHS health facilities in the country were served with good medication.

To achieve this, participants were taken through the four Minilab of testing procedures, including Visual detection; Disintegration; Colour Reaction Test, and the Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC), to test and detect counterfeit medicines.

This was part of the NCHS efforts to pursue the fight against counterfeit medicines in the health systems.

The trainees, drawn from the St. John of God Clinic at Amrahia in the Accra Archdiocese; St. Joseph Hospital at Effiduase, Koforidua; Sacred Heart Hospital at Abor and the Catholic Hospital at Anfoega in the Keta-Akatsi and Ho Dioceses respectively, commended the NCHS for taking them through the training exercise.

A practical section of the Conference

They observed that the training was an eye opener to them and would help them in their work at their various facilities and to ensure that quality medicines were served patients.

They also appealed to DIFEAM and other partners to provide them with the minilab kits to help them put what they have learnt a lot in practice, would now take critical look at drugs and to ensure that counterfeit ones were prevented from reaching the patients.  

The main facilitator for the programme, Ms. Pattinora Manyi, Pharmacy Technician from the Central Pharmacy of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, expressed satisfaction at the active interest of the trainees throughout the training session.

She expressed optimism that they would become ambassador to fight the counterfeit medicines in the country.

As part of the training, Mr. Frederick Sowah, the other Co-facilitator for the workshop, stated that the participants tested 10 different drugs, in the categories of Anti-Malaria, Anti-Asthmatic, Antibiotic, Antidiabetics and Analgesics (painkillers).

The Minilab project

The Minilab project was conceived and funded by German Institute for Medical Mission (DIFAEM) and its partners to train and equip health personnel to complement efforts of government to counter the influx of counterfeit drugs into the health system.

The Project which is part of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN), is the Pharmaceutical arm of world Council of Churches in health delivery, which has passion to fight counterfeit medicines from circulation within the health system.

DIFAEM and EPN established the “Minilab Network” to provide a platform for equipped and trained organizations to share information, experiences and provide peer support to each other to enhance best practice.

In November 2016, DIFAEM and EPN in conjunction with NCHS organized the First West African Regional Minilab Workshop at Aburi, at which participant among other points resolved to prioritise on sampling and testing for Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), as well as Embark on working visits to each other network member.

Flashback: The Participants at the November 2016 Conference

St. Joseph Hospital honours Staf

Rev. Fr. Br. John Opong presenting the award to one of the
longest serving Doctors at the Hospital.

The St. Joseph Hospital at Effiduase in the Koforidua Diocese has honoured 45 members of staff, in recognition of their hard work over the years.

The awards were conferred on the staff at a brief thanksgiving ceremony at the Hospital.

Among the awardees were four staffs, due for retirement, who were presented with certificates and some prizes.

Rev. Msgr. Twum-Barimah, Vicar General of the Koforidua Diocese and the main celebrant at a Mass preceding the presentation of awards, urged the staff to emulate the good works of the awardees to make the hospital the best.

He commended the awardees for their good works, noting that whatever one did in his or her work God sees it, and entreated all to be diligent in their work.        

Preaching the homily at the Mass, Rev. Fr. Richmond Sintim, Chaplain of the Hospital, called on the staff to get on board and effectively play their roles to ensure quality healthcare delivery at the facility.

Fr. Sintim congratulating an awardee

“Let’s work to sustain the growth of the hospital,” he appealed, and charged the staff to stop living on the past glory but work for the progress of the facility.

He urged the staff to give off their best and let their presence be felt through the work they do at the hospital. “Let’s salvage the sinking image of the hospital and fill part of anything that happens here” he added.  

Rev. Br. Bartholomew presenting the
awards to a staff.

Rev. Bro. Bartholomew Camara, Provincial Superior of the St. Augustine Province of the hospitaller Brothers of the St John of God Congregation, expressed appreciation to the awardees for the tireless service they rendered at the facility over the years.

He noted that the feat the awardees chalked hinged on the pillars of team work, perseverance, self-disciplined and a determination to make a difference with their work.

Stating the family spirit that exist and defines the work at the hospital, Bro. Bartholomew stressed the need to begin the new year on the note of reconciliation.

He commended the Hospital Management for holding the fort and successfully steering the affairs of the facility.

Mr. Valentine Bruku handing over the
certificate to a staff

Bro. Bartholomew announced the confirmation of Mr. Valentine Bruku, as the substantive Director of the St. Joseph Hospital and called on the staff to work together to sustain the good works of the facility.

Madam Rosemary Ayivor, on behalf of the awardees thanked the organizers and the management of the hospital for honoring them. She appealed that the awards would be sustained.

Among dignitaries present at the facility included Mr. Victus Kpesese, Executive Secretary of Health in the Koforidua Diocese; Rev. Fr. Bro. John Opong, Chairman of the Management Advisory Board.     

   

‘Exhibit honesty in your work’

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle

The Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, has urged Ghanaians to be more honest in the discharge of their duties to enable the growth of the country.

He entreated citizens to eschew laziness and negative attitudes that was hampering high productivity in the country.

“It is incumbent on Ghanaians to change their attitudes and demonstrate the spirit of hard work and humility in their work” to ensure the country got the necessary development it ought to get.

The Archbishop gave this brief New Year message, after commissioning the Clinic “Holy Bakhita” for the City of God at Old Fadama, Accra, and charged Ghanaians to support projects that would alleviate the plights of the poor and needy in the country.

He stressed the point that Ghanaians have a great responsibility to work hard, exhibit honesty and humility in all their endeavours, especially at a time the country voted for a new President.

City of God gets Clinic

Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, has commissioned the Clinic “Holy Bakhita” for the City of God at Old Fadama, Accra, and entreated Catholics and well-meaning Ghanaians to support the project.

The facility which was donated by Amici Della Clinica in Venice and Gocce D’Amore Universal, Italy, was at a cost of GH ¢25,000.00, which aims at bringing healthcare provision to the doorsteps of inhabitants of Old Fadama.

The Archbishop, who commended the benefactors for their commitment, also urged stakeholders and donors to support the project with little drops of their love to sustain it.

“You don’t need to have much in order to give, but learn to share the little you have” he explained, adding that through their little support, the lives of many people in the area particularly children would be touch.

The Archbishop elucidated that the Catholic Church in establishing the City of God project, wants to change the so called ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ name given the area, adding that God’s children reside here.

The Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, who encouraged Medics to support the project, pledged to assist the clinic with some medical equipment.

She advised residents to take care of the facility and regularly clean their environment to avoid contracting diseases.

Rev. Fr. Subash Chittilappilly, MC, Administrator of the City of God Project, expressed gratitude to Amici Della Clinica for the completion of the project, and appealed for a team of Volunteer Medics to run and sustain the project.

“There is need for more volunteer doctors and nurses” he indicated, and added that he was in talks with other stakeholders to ensure the effective running of the Infirmary.      

The Pupils of the School under the project also witnessed the inauguration of the Clinic, amidst signing and poem recital which centred on the need to keep clean environments. 

The Second Lady Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur; Msgr. Renato Kucic, Secretary to the Apostolic Nuncio; Friar Stefano Cavalli, President of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies in Venice, Italy, Dame Mrs. Cicila Koffie, President of DOMOD Ltd., were among dignitaries who graced the occasion.

Others were Mr. Claudio Turina, a benefactor of the project and author of the City of God book; Very Rev. Adrew Campbell, Pastor of the Christ the King Church, Cantonments and some Religious.      

Background

The City of God project, a baby of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra is an effort to evangelise the people living in the area and its surrounding, as well as bring relief to the suffering. It is committed to train the unemployed and empower both young and old to acquire some basic skills or to read and work arithmetic among others.

With the addition of the Clinic, the City of God Project has expanded from offering training and basic education to adults and children, to offering health care to the people in the area.