Lepers cry for help from gov’t and society

By Helena Selby (helena_selby@yahoo.com)

To recover fully from a disease or illness is the desire of all persons. It is always wished that whenever one recovers from a disease, there is the surety that one comes back to his or her normal self. However, the situation is not always so. Leprosy is one of the diseases feared by mankind. In the past people with such diseases were looked down upon, maltreated, and even banished, since it is a communicable disease. This was so, because they had no cure for it until 1940. In Ghana, the situation has not changed much, due to the disease’s communicability there is a special home for infected people. Their helplessness make them dependent on government and society to live, at least, decent lives, however they do not always get the needed help.
What is leprosy?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), leprosy is a painful condition, which although curable, can leave victims deformed and crippled, if left untreated for long. Leprosy does not cause flesh to rot and fingers and toes to drop off. In the past, limbs that have been damaged, because the person cannot feel pain, have sometimes had to be amputated. Now that the disease can be detected early, the need to amputate is rare. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases. It is a chronic infectious disease that attacks the nervous system, particularly the nerves of the hands, feet and face. Sufferers feel no pain in these areas, and are thus likely to injure themselves without realising it.There is no vaccine, generally available, to specifically prevent leprosy. It is considered likely that leprosy is spread from person to person, in respiratory droplets, or in cases of children under one year of age, via the placenta. Leprosy is not highly infectious. People at risk, are generally in close and frequent contact with leprosy patients, or living in countries where the disease is more common. The incubation period is thought to range from nine months to 20 years.
Characteristics
Its main characteristics include sensory nerve damage, that is when the sensory nerves are damaged, they cannot register pain. This leaves the extremities of the hands and feet vulnerable to burns and injuries that can result in the loss of fingers, toes, hands and feet. When the eye is affected, it can lead to blindness, particularly if the person does not know how to prevent injury due to dust or other irritants. Additionally, when the motor nerves are involved, various forms of paralysis can occur, such as ‘dropped foot’, ‘dropped wrist’, ‘clawed hand’, or Lagophthalmos. With autonomic nerve damages, it can cause hair loss, and can affect the ability to sweat, leaving the skin dry and cracked and exposed to secondary infection. Leprosy is common in parts of tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, Central and South America, some Pacific countries, and in parts of the USA. In Australia, leprosy is now rare. With the introduction of multi-drug therapy, in the early 1980s, the disease is now curable.
Lepers in Ghana
Ghana is a democratic nation; every one has the right to be him or herself, only if is not against the laws of the land. The physically challenged have rights, just like normal people do, however, it is very sad that lepers, due to their disability and how dangerous the disease is, lose some of the rights they have. The disability of these lepers makes them very vulnerable in society. They have no choice, than to depend mostly on charity. Though Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) sometimes help them, the government also provides a subsidy for their daily upkeep. This subsidy was always provided until the past three years. According to a report by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the lepers have not received their daily subsidies since December 2006, after the government announced an increase in their subsidy from 12Gp to 60Gp.
The institutions is not able to provide fully medication and food for the over 12,000 inmates, due to lack of funds. “The government provided the money for a short time, but we have not received any funds from them, since December 2006,” said Senior Prefect Madam Gladys Adobea during a visit to the leprosarium.
According to her, the government, till date, had not given them any subsidy for their survival. She said not long ago, some group of people, claiming to be working for the government, came for their names to be submitted to the government in order to start the payment of the subsidy. Meanwhile, they make good use of the land during the rainy season, by cultivating foodstuffs.
The foodstuff cultivated is shared among themselves for consumption, and the rest sold for income. Moreover, they are also grateful that in spite of government and their families not helping them, NGOs have been supporting them through enormous donations.
Stories of some lepers
Madam Adobea, 77 and from Akwapim, narrating her plight, said that she had been in the leprosarium for about 50 years. She was affected by the disease when she was 27 years old, she recollected that she was the only one with the disease in her family; she was then taken to Accra for treatment by her grandmother. As far as she could remember, the leprosarium was built by the colonial masters, but has been maintained by past governments.
She stated that the leprosarium, which has about 33 inmates, has its entire medical bill on the government. With the recent emergence of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), they take their card with them whenever they visit the hospital. According to her, they would love to go back home, since they are always welcomed by the older ones. However, they don’t have the desire to, since the younger ones see them to be rather strange, so treat them with indifference.
For Madam Adjoa Ayaw, 79 also from Akwapim Amanokrom, has been at the leprosarium for almost 58 years. According to her, she was infected when she was only 6 years old, and as far as she could remember, she was the first and only one with that disease in the family. She does not know her roots, since her grandmother who sent her to the leprosarium, died early. She was fortunate to have children, who have given them grandchildren. These grandchildren go and help her with her chores after school. According to her, the children help her a lot in her daily upkeep apart from that the leprosarium is engaged in the soap-making and mat-weaving vocation. She mentioned that, at first there was an extreme dislike by people in purchasing what had been made by them, so they were not getting markets for their products. However, the situation has changed a little, as people try to buy their products to give them a source of income.
Coincidentally, both Madam Adjoa Ayaw and Madam Gladys Adobea made reference to the immense help Father Campbell, Head of leprosarium in Ghana had given them. According to both of them, he always speaks on their behalf, and even seeks help for them. He takes them to church occasionally at Tema Community 2. Father Campbell visits them regularly, and is always of pleading with the government to start giving them back their subsidy.
Conclusion
Being a leper does not mean everything is lost. There will be a deformity, but one ought to bear in mind that they still have their God-given potentials in them. It is the duty of society, as well as the government, to give a helping hand, in order for them to exhibit what they have in them to world.

Land/property fraud: Causes and solutions

By Helena Selby
We brought nothing into this world, and it is evident that we will take nothing with us, goes a biblical saying. Man came into this world nude, with nothing to call one’s own, however destiny determines what one is supposed to attain in life. It is logical that the level of prosperity attained by some people is different from others. This, people believe can be attributed to the fact that we all cannot be in power, there is the need for some people to be greater than others, and also to be in authority, to ensure law and order in our communities. Though people understand this principle of life, the question is do all the people understand, and accept the fact that we all are different, when it comes to wealth and power acquisition.
In Ghana, and many parts of the world, the level of prosperity and wealth is mostly determined by the material property one has. Owing to this people tend to struggle over land, in order to attain rights over it, so as to be counted among the class of well to do. This compels people to engage in land or property fraud.
Land and property fraud
This crime type can be defined as obtaining land or a parcel of land, or real estate that is owned by somebody else, through deliberate deception, especially for financial gain. The issue of land and property fraud, through falsification of documents, has been on the increase of late.
Land, being one of the criteria in measuring one’s level of wealth, has been the foremost basis of conflicts in the country. This dilemma of land fraud/swindle normally exists in places of commercial activities where there is a large investment.
People, with the intention of safe guarding their property, tend to recruit, what are popularly known as landguards, who are reportedly intimidating residents of the area and especially developers.
n some cases the situation ends up very bloody, with fatal injuries, loss of properties, and in some cases loss of lives. In Ghana, places of frequent cases of land fraud include Ablekuma, Baatsona, Kokrobite, and Pokuase, all in the Greater Accra Region. Other places include Gomoa, Kasoa and some parts of Tema.
Kinds of land and property fraud
According to a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) press briefing report, some scoundrels, claiming ownership of lands in the identified areas, indulge in the practice of the sale of land to more than one person, and engage ‘landguards’ to protect their acquired interest, who resort to harassing and preventing prospective developers from working peacefully on their lawfully acquired lands.
According to Moses Amponsah, who deals in car spare parts, land dealers often sell a piece of land to more than two people, when they realise the new buyer is offering more than what they had already received from a buyer.
When this happens, to previous buyer, retrieving the money becomes a problem. At certain times also, when the seller realises that the sold out land has not been developed in a long time, they re-sell the land. This, in the long run, compels them to go into hiding.
Renting of houses to prospective tenants
Individuals, as well as groups of people sometimes go to the extent of placing advertisement on house rentals in the daily papers, and when prospective tenants respond to the adverts, they usually take them to their accomplices in the fraudulent houses rental business and dupe them.
A true story
A secretary of the Department of Co-operatives in Accra, who lives at Abossey Okai with her family, is presently a victim of property fraud. According to the secretary, (name withheld, somewhere in April, this year, she saw an advertisement in the Daily Graphic by an accommodation agent, indicating that he had a house to rent.
She, being in dire need of a place, decided to call the gentleman. He took her to Mamprobi, a suburb of Accra, and showed her the house to be rented.
After the meeting, she was directed to the alleged landlord, one Dominic Boateng, for negotiations.
At the end of negotiations, it was agreed on GH¢150 per month for two years, totalling GH¢3,600, as the rent. According to the secretary, she made a part payment of GH¢2,600 to the landlord, promising to pay the remaining within a week, and was issued receipt.
She later on went to the said house at Mamprobi, to inform the caretaker that she had paid the rent, only to be told that the house belonged to someone else, and not the said landlord, Dominic Boateng.
Ghana Police Service rescue efforts
According to a website - Id21Communicating Development Research - Ghana’s customary land laws are strongly legalised. Chieftaincy is the main institution for regulating land disputes, although this sometimes conflicts with state systems, especially in and around the urban areas.
The government aims to encourage a revival of the chiefs’ customary justice, and is piloting new Customary Land Secretariats for local land administration.
The Criminal Investigation Department noticing the ascendancy of the issue of land and property fraud has set up the Property and Fraud Unit at the CID Headquarters, to handle land dispute and other property-related crimes.
The Unit, since its inception about two and half years ago, has handled a number of cases bordering on fraudulent land transactions, forgery, altering documents, trespassing and causing unlawful damage to property.
Government’s efforts
The 26/07/2006 edition of the Statesman Newspaper, according to the then Minister for Lands, Forestry & Mines, Prof Dominic Fobih, the government’s dream to introduce a property owning democracy in Ghana, would come to naught if the title that secures ownership to immovable property, cannot be guaranteed. The country’s remarkable failure, over the years, to come up with a comprehensive, compliable, predictable and consistent land reform policy, was very much at the bottom of the chequered nature of Ghana’s development efforts.
The government with the frequent occurrence of land and property swindling, has not being sitting idle, but through the Ministry of Lands, Forestry & Mines, the government has embarked on the Land Administration Programme.
Prof. Fobih says key issues identified in the policy document, include inadequate policy and regulatory framework, weak land administration regime, both public and customary, indeterminate boundaries of customary lands, multiplicity of land disputes which have clogged the courts system, general indiscipline in land use, development and disposition. The mechanism for addressing these issues is the land administration programme. The objective, said Prof. Fobih, was to establish a self-sustaining land administration system, that is fair, efficient, transparent, cost-effective and, very importantly, a system which guaranteed security of tenure.
Government is integrating all existing public sector land departments and agencies, except the Town and Country Planning Department, into a corporate entity, under the singular umbrella of the Lands Commission. The move is aimed at facilitating easy and speedy acquisition of land title deeds.
The Lands Commission Secretariat has therefore been ordered to cease deeds registration of private and family lands, which will henceforth be done by the Land Title Registry. The Commission will seek to re-organise the Survey Department, Land Title Registry, Land Valuation Board, and the existing Lands Commission Secretariat, into one corporate entity under the Lands Commission.
Benefits of the Land Administration programme
The sector minister had the intention of helping customary land owners. According to him, these people have often relied on the courts, during land disputes, to determine their boundaries. Mostly court rulings are contested, and result in further appeals with attendant high costs, and the freezing of development on the land. The project would promote the development of local conflict resolution mechanisms.
The map of traditional land boundaries, and issuing of land titles to cover such holdings, would facilitate the resolution of boundary conflicts. The courts would be strengthened to expedite the resolution of the large number of land cases clogging the courts system.
For Land Sector Agencies, the project would benefit land sector agencies, through the streamlining of their functions, and foster the cooperative production of land administration services, if possible. They would benefit directly through capacity-building in both human and material resources.
What’s more, with Private Sector Enterprises, land acquisition for investment purposes is often fraught with uncertainty, as a result of land disputes over different interests in the same parcel of land. In their case, the project would assist in identifying the land ownership categories, and provide them with secure titles. Private sector entrepreneurs could then transact business on these lands without fear. Secure and transferable land titles would revitalise land and financial markets, particularly in urban settings.
Prof. Fobih noted that in addition, some of the project activities, in the form of cadastral mapping and surveying, would be contracted out to private firms and individuals. Capacities of those engaged in these functions, and in real estate markets, would be strengthened through training and support to their professional associations. These activities would further strengthen the role of the private sector in the economy.
Conclusion
Though the government and the police have stepped efforts in the solving of issues land dispute, it is also the responsibility of citizens to be on the lookout, in order to prevent not becoming victims of these charlatans.
There is the need to bear in mind that, availing one’s self to these criminals, increases the crime rate in the country, hence preventing potential investors from coming in to invest.

Indiscriminate defecation: A gradual eradication of cleanliness

By Helena Selby
Cleanliness they say is next to Godliness. Does this mean one who does not practice cleanliness is very far from the practice of Godliness? If really cleanliness is next to Godliness, then one can say emphatically that, Ghana can be described as one of the cleanest countries in the world, since she has about 70% of her population claiming to Godly, in terms of the Christian religion.
It is very pathetic that the Godly people of this country, do not give much respect to the hygiene and sanity of the country, but defecate anywhere they feel like, without regard to hygiene.
Despite the existence of civilization, and the campaign for good health, some people defecate wherever they find convenient, and leave the environment very dirty and stinky. The surprising thing is that, these supposed places of defecation, are mostly in the midst of the homes of people, placing them at a high risk of disease infection.
What has become of the people of Ghana? Gone were the days when the act if defecating openly, was an act solely practiced by children. It very sad to realize that this sordid act has been taken over by matured and elderly people. The act of defecating along roadsides has become something that people do not feel shy about. The observation is that, apart from Ashaiman, which is considered a place of filth and dirt, some people also defecate along the Accra-Tema motorway, and along some of the streets of Kanda, a suburb of the capital, Accra.
Human excreta disposition
In Ghana, owing to the living standards of people, and the nature of accommodation, people do not get access to the proper way of disposing of human excreta - through the Water Closet (WC). However due to the difficulty in accessing WCs, the Kumasi Ventilation Improved Pit (KVIP) is commonly used.
The main purpose of the KVIP is to reduce the disadvantage of the odour problem, and nuisance of flies. Pit latrines are the simplest solution to human excreta disposal. They can be implemented, not only in rural areas, but also in municipalities. According to the opinion of SCIENCE DIRECT, the use of pit the latrine, in general, has to be excluded in areas with a density of more than 250 habitats per capital.
Sometimes, in places where people do not have access to both the WC and the KVIP, the only option they mostly clinch to, is digging a hole, and after doing their ablutions, cover it to prevent it from producing odour.
What causes this action?
According to medical experts, it is advisable for every human being to bring out excreta or defecate at least once everyday. When one is only able to free his or her bowel twice weekly, one can be said to have constipation. SCIENCE DIRECT, describing what constipation is, described it as infrequent stool-passing of hard stool, or straining to have bowel movement. It is usually due to lack of dietary fiber, and it is commonly treated with laxatives.
Freeing of one’s bowel frequently is a good habit, and is good for the health. However, disposing of it carefully and responsibly is the central idea. Though this is important, people find it difficult adhering to the courtesy of disposing of it properly. The explanation is that, especially from people of Ashaiman, there are not enough KVIPs in the town. Sometimes, they have to wake up very early in the morning, to go and form very long queues, just to have about 10 minutes access to a pit latrine. This makes them end up arriving at their work places late.
Some people also decide to defecate along roadsides, because they complain the pit latrine is too stinky, and so find it difficult to use. They believe they could contract diseases, especially with the excessive heat generated from the pit, when one is using it. Some of them secretly defecate in polythene bags, and leave them on the streets, and garbage bins, or on the frontage of nearby houses.
How important is human excreta?
Despite the truth that human excreta exposure is not safe in a human environment, when properly processed it could be used as fertilizer for farming, and also in the production of methane gas for domestic purposes. Human excreta can be described as a waste human product for safe recycling of the plant nutrient present as fertilizer, and also a natural resource, which is always available in all societies.
In SCIENCE DIRECT’s opinion about human excreta, it noted that though very unfortunate the value of human excreta is highly underestimated, in present agriculture and horticulture, in many tropical developing countries. Especially human urine is rich in nitrogen. This “free” fertilizer should be used as much as possible. In many cases, human urine and compost human faeces could be fortified with wood ash, kitchen and garden waste, to meet the potassium and phosphorus needs of plants, and to improve soil structure.
Diseases associated with unhygienic environments
According to medical experts, human excreta contain 400 different species of bacteria and viruses. With the presence of these bacteria and viruses in the environment, surely there will be no doubt that foods and drinks would be contaminated.
The end results of contaminated foods and drinks are usually associated with diseases. Some diseases, associated with contaminated or unhygienic meals or water, include typhoid fever, cholera and diarrhoea.
According to the MedicalNet.Com, these diseases are contracted through the ingestion of the bacteria, in contaminated food or water. The bacteria especially that of typhoid, is deposited in water or food by a human carrier, and is then spread to other people in the area. Clean water supplies, and effective waste disposal systems, are the best ways of preventing typhoid, and also foods that are properly cooked and well preserved, or fruits they peel themselves.
Other preventive measures are drinking only water, which has been boiled or treated with chlorine or iodine. Other safe beverages include tea and coffee, made with boiled water, and carbonated bottled beverages with no ice. Eat only foods which have been thoroughly cooked, and are still hot. Avoid undercooked or raw fish and shellfish.
Results of defecating along roadsides”God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong,” goes our national anthem. How can our nation be blessed and made strong, if some of the citizens are not really pulling their weight to help ourselves, for God to also help us to be great and strong.
It is the responsibility of the citizens to make the nation attractive to foreigners, to boost investments in the country.

Despite the fact that it is the desire of many people to achieve this great dream, the practice of defecating along roadsides, is an eye-sore and a nuisance to foreigners. Apart from making the environment terribly stinky, it as well tarnishes the image of the nation. No wonder some foreigners describe some parts of the country, especially parts of Kanda and the Accra-Tema motorway, as stinking.
The attitude of indiscriminate defecating also makes the place a disease-prone area. If medical experts say the use of pit latrine, has to be excluded in areas with a density of more than 250 habitats per capital, then a town like Ashaiman should have about 100 KVIPs, since its habitats are more than a 3,000, with a very few number of KVIPs.
However, the situation is not so, with a town as populated as Ashaiman, it can only boast of very few KVIPs. Taking into consideration diseases related to unhygienic environment, the possibility of diseases like cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea erupting is high there. If God is to really bless and make strong our homeland, what role will the citizens play, if they are always sick?
The ozone layer’s gradual depletion can be attributed to the immense odour in the environment. One might wonder what the ozone layer really is; well, according SCIENCE DIRECT, the ozone layer, found miles above the Earth's crust, is our defense against the ultraviolet radiation from the sun's rays. The Ozone layer in the atmosphere protects the earth from deadly radiation. Ozone destroys bacteria, viruses, mould, and mildew. It also eliminates odours in the air, such as smoke.
Conclusion
Cleanliness in the country depends on the citizens. We, therefore, have the responsibility of building up attitudes, which will help maintain the hygiene of the nation, since it would be a tragedy for its citizens, should an epidemic strike.

Hand washing: A basic step to personal hygiene

By Helena Selby
The washing of hands, especially with soap, is an extreme necessity, yet though very important, people do not give much attention to it. It is advisable to wash one’s hands after a long days work, whether it looks dirty or not. Washing of the hands has been concluded to be a necessity, because a study identified that during a long days work, people engage in unconscious activities, such as shaking of hands, climbing of stairs, opening of doors, and many other activities. According to medical experts, day in day out the unconscious activities that people undergo, get them infected with many germs. However because germs are very minute in nature, and can only be detected by a microscope, people find it very hard to see it with their naked eyes. In Ghana adults always tend to advice the younger ones to wash their hands after returning from school, and after playing. Nevertheless, these same adults do not follow the example they teach the younger ones. What’s more, even if adults or children are prompted to wash their hands, they tend to do it using only water, instead of soap.
Hand washing in Ghana
Washing hand with water alone, a common practice around the world is significantly less effective, than washing hand with soap. Proper hand washing, requires soap, and only a small amount of water. Using soap works by breaking down the grease and dirt that carry most germs, facilitating the rubbing and friction that dislodges them, leaving the hands smelling pleasant and clean. The clean smell and feeling that soap creates are incentives for its use. With proper use, all soaps are equally effective at rinsing away diseases- causing germs. The hands should be washed with soap, after using the toilet, or cleansing a child’s bottom, and before handling food.
After an in-depth research by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, it was discovered that Ghanaians generally wash their hands with soap after using the toilet, or after cleaning up a child, and before handling food, eating or feeding a child. However, of all these washing of hands a few really wash with soap.
In 2003 it was discovered in a survey that only 2.7 of mothers were observed to wash their hands with soap after visiting the toilet, with 32% washing their hands with water only. Even fewer, 23%, wash their hands with water after disposing of child’s faeces, while 63% did not wash at all. In schools, only 6.2% children were observed to wash hands with soap and after using the toilet, while over 72% did not wash their hands at all. Of nearly 1,000 children observed, only 5 washed their hands with soap before eating, though 43% did wash their hands with only water.
Importance of hand washing with soap
Hand washing with soap is among the most effective ways to prevent diarrhoea and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the majority of child deaths. Every year, more than 3.5 million children do not celebrate their fifth birthday, because of diarrhoea and pneumonia. Hand washing can prevent skin infection, eye infections, intestinal worms, SARS and Avian Flu, and the benefits the health of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Hand washing is effective in preventing the spread of disease, even in overcrowded, highly contaminated slum environments, research shows.
The critical moments for hand washing with soap, are after using the toilet, or cleaning a child, and before handling food. It is important to ensure that people always wash their hands after these critical functions.
Hand washing with soap is the single most cost effective health intervention. Hand washing promotion is cost effective, when compared with other frequently funded health interventions. A $3.35 investment in hand washing brings the same health benefits as a $11.00 investment in latrine construction, a $200 investment in household water supply, and investment of a thousand dollars in immunisation. Investment in the promotion of hand washing with soap can also maximise the health benefit of investments in water supply and sanitation infrastructure, and reduce health risks when families do have access to basic sanitation and water supply services. Cost is not typically a barrier to hand washing promotions almost all households in the world already have soap, because it is common.
Studies have shown that hand washing with soap, reduces the incidence of skin diseases, eye infections like trachoma and intestinal worms. Hand washing reduces the rate of respiratory infection in two ways: by removing respiratory pathogens that are found on the hands and surfaces and by removing other pathogens (in particular, enteric viruses) that have been found to cause not only diarrhoea, but also respiratory symptoms.
Diarrhoea
Cleanliness has always being said to be next to godliness, with cleanliness being a criterion for good health and prosperity. No one consciously wishes for a disease, for they always surface in the body of a person without his or her knowledge. Refusing to wash one’s hands has been considered a very bad habit, since it contracts a lot of diseases to the individual. According to the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, washing the hands with soap at all times, especially after using the toilet, and before handling food, goes a long way of reducing diarrhoea diseases by nearly one-half, and rate of respiratory infection by about one-quarter.
In Ghana diarrhoea is one of the most significant causes of illness and death for children under five, and accounts for 25% of deaths among children under five, and a total of 84,000 deaths a year, and more than nine million episodes of diarrhoea annually.
Most diarrhoea diseases are caused by the ingestion of excreta, and can therefore be prevented, by ensuring that faeces are kept out of the environment, through adequate sanitation, and ensuring the hands are washed thoroughly. That simple act of hand washing with soap, after using the toilet or cleaning up a child and before preparing or eating food or feeding a young child, can have a major effect on the lives and health of people. Diarrhoea diseases are often described as water-related, but more accurately should be known as excreta-related, as pathogens come from faecal matter. These pathogens make people ill, when they enter the mouth the mouth via hands that have been in contact with faeces, contaminated drinking water, unwashed raw food, unwashed utensils or smears on clothes. Hand washing with soap breaks the cycle.
Soap
Lack of soap should not be a barrier to hand washing at home. The vast majority of even poor households have soap in their homes. Research in periurban and rural areas found for instance, that though soap was present in 95% of households in Uganda, 97% in of households in Kenya and 100% of households in Peru, the problem is that soap is rarely used for hand washing. Lack of soap can be a barrier to hand washing in schools, especially in developing countries, where there is often neither soap nor the appropriate washing facilities. Building tippy taps and getting help from parent groups to supply soap or create a small fund for soap are good options.
In Ghana a lot schools add toiletries like soap and napkins and toilet rolls to pupil’s prospectus, with the intention of using it to keep the children clean, however it is very sad to know that the compilation of these toiletries, are usually shared among the teacher themselves. Pupils despite the provision of such toiletries find it difficult even getting toilet rolls for the wash room, more or less soap for washing of hands after using the washroom. When it comes to KVIPs, there is nothing good to write home about, even keeping the place hygienic is a problem, how much more providing soap for washing hands.
Conclusion
Hand washing is a cornerstone of public health, and a hygienic behaviour and sanitary service and also a formidable ally in efforts to combat a host of other illness, such as worms, eye infections like trachoma, and skin infection like impetigo.
It is therefore everyone’s responsibility to help in the education of hand washing, owing to the fact that it is for our own good. A person with germ-ridden hands can go round shaking hands, and who knows you might be one of the people receiving the handshake.

Girl-child education: an invisible factor of development

By Helena Selby
From the beginning of time, when men were the masters of everything, including women, who would have thought that women, one day, will be given the opportunity to become heads of certain important organizations, including countries.
Who would have thought that women would be given the opportunity, to take part in certain important decisions concerning the society, or the home? One might wonder why the sudden change of decision, could it be the existence of modern-day education. The answer might be positive, but the question is, how come many women have not gotten the opportunity to undergo this form of education.

“If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation.” This was a statement made by Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey, on how important girl-child education really is. Due to his immense concern for education for girls in Africa, he was sometimes called the Father of African Education. He being an intellectual, a teacher and a missionary at that time, gave him the opportunity to send across easily, his message about the importance of girl-child education.

Gender disparities in education
It is amazing that women, who are able to speak right through the hearts of people, more often, are deprived of the chance to education, though they can be said to be the most influential gender in the world. All that they were labeled to be good at was the bearing of children.
In many parts of the world, girls are denied the chance of going to school, in view of the fact that society has the notion that it is better to take the boy-child to school. This is because the boy-child might be considered to be the heir of his family’s fortune, going to get married and take care of a family or maybe the bread winner if the father is no more. For the girl-child, owing to the fact that a man would ask for her hand in marriage one day, there was no need for her to go to school. Moreover, she is supposed to be taken care of by her husband, and even if things get tough with the husband, she can go to the market and sell, for the survival of her family.
According to a research, conducted by the Commission for Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in Ghana, the Nkwanta districts of Ghana have 76% of their population living in the rural areas, school attendance is poor, and there are twice as many boys in basic education, as girls. Many girls in the Nkwanta districts do not complete their education.
From 2002 to 2003 girls enrolment has been higher than that of boys, and this shows that there is a growing awareness to send girls to school.
In most developing countries, gender disparities become more glaring, when girls enter high school and go to university. Two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population is made up of women. The illiteracy rate among women in the Nkwanta Districts is 77%, with the national illiteracy rate, 42.1%.
According to UNICEF, world statistics show gender disparities at primary school level, with lower enrolment and retention rates, and higher school dropout rates. The gender gap in secondary school is larger, with girls lagging behind boys by 16%, as at 2003.

Women and education
Education has now gone a long way to spread the news on how essential it is to send the female child to school. It has even gone to the extent of influencing leaders, in taking relevant decisions about women, as to how they have the same opportunity as that of men.
The Beijing Conference, in September 1996, concerning the rights of women, changed the perceptions of many people, about the role of women in society. This conference brought about a slogan, which goes, “What men can do, women can also do, and do it even better.”
As a result of this, women are being given the respect they deserve, and not being underrated anymore, during social gatherings.
Women now hold prominent positions in the world.
In Liberia - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, India – Pratibha Patil, Chile - Michelle Bachelet and Philippines - Gloria Arroya, are all women of power and fame, appointed by their people to lead them.
In Ghana, many women are being appointed to significant positions in the government. Ms. Gloria Akuffo - Deputy Minister for Aviation, Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey - Member of Parliament for the Weija constituency and Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry, PSD and PSI, and Justice Theodora Georgina Wood - Chief Justice.
There is the need for us to remember the legendary woman of the Ashantis, Yaa Asantewa, the queenmother, who led her people to war, to fight for their rights and freedom, during the colonial era.
Why girls are sometimes denied education
Apart from the female gender being discriminated upon, whenever a family finds itself in extreme poverty, the privilege of undergoing education normally goes to the males. This is due to the perception that the male, having a strong nature, can go through the vagaries of life, to obtain a job after his education, and take care of the family. The female on the other hand, with her fragile nature might grow weary along the way. Additionally, it will be a waste of time if after she gets married and gives birth, would stay at home to take care of the children and home, thereby making investment in her education useless.
The death of parents can also render a girl-child hopeless, in terms of undergoing education.
Evelyn Adubea, the only child of her parents, gave up her dream of becoming an accountant, when her parents died in a car accident, almost 13 years ago. She lived in Osino, a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana, with her parents.
According to her, because she was the only child of her parents, they gave her anything possible, to enable her have the joy and desire of going to school.
After the death of her parents, she was sent to Accra to live with an Auntie.
Her auntie did not give her the opportunity of continuing her education, all she could do was observe her cousins (Auntie’s children) go to school everyday.
For almost 13 years, of her stay with her auntie, all she did is to cry, whenever she recollected that her dreams of being an accountant had being ruined.
She is now a hairdresser, though she never dreamt working in that profession, and according to her, she is very glad she is able to do the work well.

Why the education of women?
Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey was right about the notion he had on the importance of education for the girl-child. A mother with an educational background tends to inculcate the benefits and knowledge she has into her children. She tries her best to give her children a better life, so that they could do better in life, by taking them through education.
Education will help them make their own choices, make their own decisions, and also be very independent.
The vicious cycle of poverty, coupled with the low standard of living among families, will be gradually broken and eradicated, if a woman is properly educated.
A woman with a good educational background, will have little problem taking care of her children, in times of the untimely death of her husband, especially an intestate death or in the case of divorce.
Her educational background would enable her get a job, to take care of children, and as well, take them through school.
Unlike the illiterate, who due to the fact that she has been divorced, widowed or inheritance denied, does not realize the benefit of sacrificing, for her children to acquire an education.
The cycle of poverty might, in the long round, compel children to engage in all sorts of social vices, since they do not have any future career to concentrate on.
The result is social unrest, which has the possibility of driving away potential investors, who have the ability of creating jobs for the nation.
Prostitution, from the same ignorance, has the ability of increasing the rate of HIV/AIDS cases among the youth.
Imagine a generation full of wayward youth and HIV/AIDS patients, how then will the future generations be like.
The education of females can help eradicate certain outmoded and inhumane customs and traditions, like child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
Educated women will educate women and the community on the dangers associated with the various cultural practices, especially FGM, and widowhood rites.

Conclusion
Education is a good thing, though its effect sometimes is adverse, in terms of modernity, but its benefits outweighs the adverse, in the sense that it has been able to expand the horizon of the world’s development.
It will be of great help to the world, if the statement made by Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey is being adhered to, so as to encourage women to partake in the world’s development.

Food insecurity: a global issue yet not conquered

By Helena Selby
Food has always being meant to be eaten by man for survival and in order for man to obtain energy for his daily activities. Apart from that food is needed for mankind’s daily growth and good health. Food is a daily necessity of mankind no wonder even in the biblical word Essau sold his birth right just for a loaf of bread, this shows how important food is to mankind. Though man cannot live without food and it is emphatic that man always have access to food, the situation does not look at it that way food is more often than not in short supply in many parts of the world even in the developed world. Many nations in the world are very insecure in terms of food in such a way that there have being shortage in the supply of food hence bringing about scarcity. War prone nations which normally suffer most the consequences of food insecurity since their precious time are mostly spent on violence so have lesser time in cultivating crops for themselves. They always have to end up being handicapped in terms of food accessibility. The issue of food insecurity has even compelled people to spend about 70% of their income on food alone rather than on education, health and miscellaneous. Situation in Ghana
In Ghana food insecurity struck during 1983 which many Ghanaians at that time testify of how horrible it was to the extent that people have to wake up at dawn only to queue up for food for their family. In those times according madam Rosemond Akorful who is about 51 years now people especially parents had sleepless night always just because of what their wards will eat the next day. Money was very much available but food was not enough for money to buy, people even went to the extent of even fighting among themselves in queues. The situation is not the same as 1983; presently however history invisibly seems to be unveiling itself in the economy. Of late the cry of most Ghanaian concerns the rate at which the prize of food is galloping at a very great pace.

According to dealer in food stuff and other food products, the increase in prices of food stuff is no fault of theirs and that the prices increases as a result of the frequent increase in the price of fuel leading to increase in transportation fare. The rate at which the economy is turning into people have to buy a loaf of bread that was sold at GHp 0.80 in January now selling at GH¢1.80. A bag of maize that was sold at GH¢ 40 six months ago now costs GH¢75. The increases are also reflected in transport fares which have also gone up by more than thirty percent. "I can now save some money to keep my sons in school," said a 55 year old father of three, John Appiah who says he currently spends 70 per cent of his GH¢ 300 monthly income on food and transportation every month.

The northern part of Ghana is no exemption, more often during certain period of the years the nation expects rain to fall during the rainy season but turns out that the whole of the year becomes very dry throughout. How ironic during those time while Ghanaian cry for rain to fill the Akosombo dam, the same rain tend to destroy a lot of farmlands and developmental projects in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions of the country. example during the later part of last year the heavy torrential rain did not only destroyed a lot of home rendering people homeless but also destroyed a lot of farmland causing hunger and the prevalence of mosquitoes in the region. Imagine living without food and at the same time being beaten by mosquitoes resulting into malaria. The flood was heavy in such a way that people even had to use canoes to cross at any point in time. The issue seemed to be not beyond the control of the government but unfortunately the government had no choice than to run to the United Nation (UN) for intervention. Apart from the government asking for aid from the UN and transporting food stuffs from the south to these three regions, coordinating council, the government, Non-governmental Organizations, philanthropic organizations, religious bodies and individuals, or even claiming lives, as we experienced last year.

Situation worldwide
The fact that there is a food crisis confronting the world is no more a projection, but a stark reality that many nations, particularly the poor are grappling with. World food prices have gone up more than half and are still rising. According to Time World website emergency fiscal measures including suspending import taxes, restricting exports and releasing emergency food stocks onto markets have been undertaken in many countries in the region. Ghana's West African neighbours, Ivory Coast, Niger and Burkina Faso have all witnessed violent protests in response to the rising global food prices that has crippled several families. In Senegal, 130,000 public sector workers are currently striking in protest at high food prices.

They are demanding salary hikes and frequent strikes in Burkina Faso. There are other problems like the spike in oil prices, which hit $103 per barrel in recent days, have pushed up fertilizer prices, as well as the cost of trucking food from farms to local markets and shipping it abroad. Then there is also climate change, harvests have been seriously disrupted by freak weather, including prolonged droughts in Australia and southern Africa, floods in West Africa, and this past winter's deep frost in China and record-breaking warmth in northern Europe. The World Bank says the price of staple crops such as wheat; rice and corn have all risen, leading to an increase in overall food prices of 83 per cent in the last three years.

Government’s supports
According to allafrica.com has become the latest country in West Africa to announce it is struggling to manage its national budget in the face of spiralling world prices for fuel and food. Newly released statistics from the government show Ghana's expenditure on crude oil imports rose from US$ 500 million in 2005 to US$ 2.1 billion by the end of 2007 for the same quantity of oil. Ministry of Finance officials say Ghana's current budget was drawn up with an estimated crude oil price of US$ 85 a barrel, whereas the current world price of oil is hovering around US$ 135 per barrel. In view of this the President John Kufour announced a US$1 billion package of interventions to mitigate the impact on Ghanaians. He said the government would "immediately" drop all import duties on rice, wheat, yellow corn and vegetable oil.

As well as the removal of excise duties oil and tax on fuel for the country's fishermen and subsidies on fertilizer and free tractors for farmers. He said the removal of taxes on petroleum products and some food items will "certainly" improve Ghana's ability to raise enough needed revenue to invest in producing more food for local consumption.

Causes of food crises
Apart from the high imposition of taxes on imported food, rapid growth in population has been considered to be one of the causes of food crises in pour recent economy. In Ghana the population of citizens increase every now and then. According to statistic there are many children in the country than grown up. Imagine a population where the children are more than the older generation, how are the few older ones going to work to feed the greater number of the younger the generation. It is of no doubt that if the older ones refuse to work hard to support surely there will be food shortage leading to food crises. The increase in population and the still production of crops will surely bring about scarcity in food supply. Moreover the increased use of crops such as maize for the production of ethanol results in large amounts of farmland being used for fuel production, rather than for food, lowering food production output, and therefore raising prices. For countries such as Ghana, who rely heavily on importing certain food products from abroad, inflation such as this can be crippling.

Senior Economist in the World Bank's Agricultural Unit, Robert Townsend, explains the problems facing West African nations, if they continue to import inflated food supplies:
"In West Africa, rice accounts for a much larger share of food consumption than in Eastern and Southern Africa. As more rice than maize is imported, local food prices in West Africa will be more affected. Countries with local supply disruptions are also particularly vulnerable to global price increases, as experience with the drought in Burkina Faso, the recent cyclone in Madagascar, and localized floods in Ghana have shown. "Less local supply means more reliance on imports to meet domestic demand — imports which are now much more costly. Within these countries, the poor will be especially vulnerable as they often spend as much as half their disposable income on food.

Though the prices of transportation fare increase the cost of food, sometimes the shortage of food in the market is the cause of the dealers. More often than not people turn to hoard their food stuffs with the explanation that, the price will increase for them to get more profits as result the food turn out to decompose making it not to be useful at all. Food in this case is wasted for no apparent reason.

Conclusion
Food preservation is a good thing, though most of the blame has being put on fuel prices, the society can go a long way in preventing food insecurity when one learns how to protect food and not waste it. It is our individual responsibility since we all depend on food for our survival.

Cold stores: a treat to human health

By Helena Selby
The main preservation of meat and fish has always been through freezing.
In this modern era consumers depend solely on cold stores for their fish and meat, with the assumption that it is well preserved there.
The question is, is their assumption really a truism? It is very pitiful that sometimes those that people really rely on for good health, turn out to be the ones that rather inflict diseases on them, and put their health at risk.
In the Food and Drugs Board’s (FDB) review of 150 cold storage facilities inspection reports in the Accra–Tema Metropolis, the inspections were carried out to find out the level of compliance of the companies to Good Cold Storage Practices.
It was discovered that a lot of cold stores in the metropolis do their repackaging under unhygienic conditions, and without the authorisation of the FDB. What’s more, there is non-adherence to personal hygiene, absence of or faulty washrooms, use of personnel not medically certified, absence of or faulty temperature–monitoring devices, lack of Pest Control Programme.
According to the directives of the FDB, packaging of products should be airtight to prevent oxidation, wrapping material should have high resistance to penetration of water vapour, in order to protect the fish evaporation during storage, and wrappers should be well-fitted to the product.
Though most of these cold stores know the exact practice to undertake, to prevent the contamination of these products, a lot of things are taken for granted, regardless of how the human health would respond to these products in its bad state.
Causes of spoilage of meat
Meat has always being the favourite of many Ghanaians and many people worldwide. Its most preserved state is when it is well-frozen. The process of thawing is a gradual indication of its contamination and exposure to bacteria. The FDB has concluded that meat can really reach a state of spoilage, when it undergoes frequent re-packaging.
It can also go bad when there are poor or inefficient freezing facilities, poor storage facilities, inappropriate packaging material, and storage beyond shelf-life.
It is always advised to discard contaminated products, however, when contaminated products are repackaged and added to others in good condition, the possibility of the contaminated product affecting the rest is very high.
Meat with its nature always turns to decolourize, or changes colour, when it goes bad.
There is an excessive liquid exudation from bad meat, development of an off-flavour, softening of the meat tissue, strong smell in freezer or cold room, as well as presence of flies around and within the cold room.
Signs of spoilage in fish
Normally, due to the reason that cold-stored fish have no expiring date on their packages, people find it very difficult detecting whether or not it is wholesome.
For one to detect if fish is wholesome or not, the FDB has elaborated that spoilt fish has signs of loss of flavour, changes in its texture, changes in colour, that is the fish turns a yellowish brown colour, and sunken eyes. Moreover there is always an indication of the presence of slime on the skin and gills, an unpleasant ammonia cal odour and flavours, dents in the flesh, after pressing with your thumb, slimy rather than moist wet body, as well as a sharp or peppery taste.
How can spoilage be prevented?
According to the FDB freezing does not kill spoilage organisms in food, but rather stops their rate of multiplication. Organisms will continue to grow and multiply after the frozen food is thawed. Therefore, the number of bacteria in and on the food must be held at a minimum, before freezing it in a freezing van, to be conveyed to its final destination. For this reason, there is the need to keep everything that touches it, be it fingers or equipments, thoroughly clean.
Frozen foods should be totally enclosed in odourless and taint-free packaging of good quality, in order to prevent contamination of the product.
Importance of fish to the human body
Fish is a very important nutrient in our everyday diet. Thefightdiabetes.com has indicated that fish oil has positive effects on the heart, brain, joints, skin and even pregnancy. It can be used to prevent coronary heart diseases and stroke, essential fatty acid deficiency in infancy (retinal and brain development), Diabetes, Autoimmune disorders (e.g. Lupus and nephropathy), mild hypertension and other associated diseases.
Fish oil deficiencies have also been tied to many conditions like diabetes, depression, weight gain, heart disease, allergies, arthritis, violence, memory problems, cancer, eczema and inflammatory diseases.
Protein is important for the growth and development of the body, and repairing of worn out tissues and the production of enzymes and hormones, required for many body processes.
Vitamin A from fish is more readily available to the body than from plant food. It is required for normal vision and for bone growth. Mortality is reduced in children less than 5 years. Vitamin C is important for the healing of wounds, normal health of body tissue, and aids in the absorption of iron in the body. Iron deficiency is associated with anemia, impaired brain function, and in infants, is associated with poor learning ability and poor behaviours.
Effect of eating spoilt meat/ fish
Just like the eating of a contaminated meal can give adverse effect to one’s health, the same applies to the eating of contaminated or spoilt meat or fish. According to research made by the FDB on Good Cold Storage Practices in some parts of the country, it was discovered that the intake of spoilt fish or meat caused diarrhoea.
According to Rehydration Project website, Diarrhoea is the passage of watery stool, usually at least three times in a 24-hour period. However, it is the consistency of the stool, rather than the number that is most important. If one is fortunate not to be infected by these diseases, then there is always a strong possibility that one feels nauseous to the extent of him or her vomiting. What is more, one might feel itching all over the body, and sometimes cramps in the stomach.
Conclusion
It is not only cold stores that must keep fish for consumption, but the individual as well, owing to the fact that consumers are those who really suffer the consequences of the carelessness of cold store operators, so whether at the cold store or at home, using a deep freezer, fish or meat must be properly packaged before freezing.

Indecent dressing: Still a topic of discussion

By Helena Selby
First impressions, they say, speaks a lot. The outward appearance, they also say, gives volumes of impression, more than the inward, which is hidden in one’s own self.
It is the right and responsibility of everyone, to put on decent clothes in order not only to cover our naked bodies, but also prevent diseases like pneumonia, from affecting us. Dressing in decent clothes, people believe, differentiates one from the mentally disordered person, dressed in either tattered clothes, or without clothes at all.
In the Ghanaian culture or society, one’s way of dressing is very important. It is expected of one to dress decently, especially women, and not expose certain parts of the body, e.g. the breasts, buttocks, private parts, etc.
In the traditional, social and religious concept, the female body is considered sacred, since it was created in a very unique form to serve certain purposes, which the male body cannot do. Generally whenever a woman refuses to dress courteously, and exposes the sacred parts of herself, she is more often considered a prostitute. The public usually scorn women in clothes which expose their breast, beads, thighs and certain parts of her body, which are supposed to attract the male sex. Prostitutes are normally what they term them to be.
Some women enjoy dressing in such manners, even though they may not be prostitutes, and when attention is drawn to the impropriety of their way of dressing, embarrass whoever it is, by acknowledging that they are aware of the effect their dressing is having on others. This has led to the term ‘I am Aware’ in Ghana.
It must be noted that women are not the only culprits of indecent dressing, but also men. On the part of men, they do not belt or fasten the trousers/pants around the waist but rather let them hang loosely ob the buttocks thus exposing half their buttocks, or their underwear. This form of dressing in Ghana is also known as ‘Otto Phister’ after a German national, who once coached the senior national team, the Black Stars.
In our social environment, a woman who dresses courteously is often considered as a woman of good values, virtue and can be a good wife and a mother as well. This is so, because apart from the woman learning to serve her husband, she also is expected to learn to teach or impact the good values she has in her children.
Being Modern/Fashion
Modernity so far has been a good teacher. It has brought about discoveries, which day in and day out, help us in our activities. It has taught people how to exercise their rights, when the occasion calls for it. Modernity has also brought about improved education, which is one of the important aspects of it. Peace in many places of the world can be said to be as a result of modernity, unlike in the olden days where wars were very rampant, and where leaders were autocratic and dictators.
It must be put to notice that the way of dressing, nowadays, mostly is as a result of modernity. Modernity has brought into existence all kinds of fashion, together with peer pressure, has resulted in the traditional way of dressing, gradually fading away. In Ghana, and many parts of Africa, ways of dressing is more often is copied blindly from the western countries.
In the western world dressing and exposing certain parts of the body, is considered normal, so people do not frown against it.
In many parts of the African society, due to the many years of colonial rule and the imposition of their values on Africans, people have developed the notion that anything, or any form of behaviour, from the west is best, so decide to imitate these things without thinking of the pros and cons of their actions. Many Ghanaians have become victims of this notion, and see those who do not agree as being old fashioned or naïve, and worst of all, ignorant.
Religion
The Christian religion, which is one of the widely known religions in the world, talks very much about the importance of a woman keeping her body hidden from the eyes of men, since her body is meant for her husband’s eyes only. A woman is supposed to cover herself properly, in order to prevent men from lusting for her, for in Christianity lust is considered to be a sin, as is temptation.
In recent times modernity has changed the way of dressing among Christian women. This can clearly be seen in our churches today, where all kinds of fashions are exhibited. Owing to the modern/fashionable way of dressing to church certain values of Christianity are fading away unknowingly. Some Christians give the explanation that the rapid advancement of the world has created certain freedoms in religion. Some justify it saying, God looks into the heart of man and not the outward appearance, so they can choose to dress anyhow they want to.
However in the case of the Muslim religion, one can say there is a strict adherence to the law of the Quaran. Though modernity and technology are speedily advancing, they still try their best to act according to their teachings, especially in their way of dressing. A Muslim woman always has to make sure she covers herself well before going into public – covering herself from top to bottom, exposing only her hands and feet - and that she exposes herself to her husband only.
The traditional religion also opposes the act of dressing indecently among the youth, especially married women, but in another vein the exposing of the breasts is not considered indecent, especially with nursing mothers. The old women also say that their breasts have dried up, so are not attractive, and therefore pose no attraction to the male. Law on indecent exposure
The Oxford Dictionary defines the Law on Indecent Exposure as “The intentional act of publicly and indecently exposing one’s body, especially the genitals.”
Obscenity in its central context includes dressing to expose the private parts, showing as well as selling of pornographic material in public. Though the law exists, some people seem ignorant about it, whereas others act against it with intent. This law is against exposing the private parts of humans in public, and the performing of certain private acts in public, e.g. having sex in all forms.
Why do people dress indecently or provocatively?
One may wonder which manner of dressing is decent, and which one is not. In our society a woman is expected to make sure her breast, thighs, waist and other provocative parts, are covered before going out. A man is supposed to wear his trousers at the right level and not expose his underwear and part of his buttocks in public.
Women would really love to stop this way of dressing, but according to some of these women, that is what really attracts the men, especially older men, popularly known as “Sugar Daddy”. According to them owing to economic hardships nowadays, they prefer dressing that way to attract men, in order for these men to help them reduce the level of hardship they are going through.
Some of these ladies are being copied by the youth, especially those in the Senior High Schools. Children not under any form of supervision, fall prey to such situations.
Results of indecent or provocative dressing
Women are created in forms, which easily attract men, so frequent exposure of their bodies to the public, creates lust in the minds of men. It is also on of the reasons for the high incidence of rape. The dignity of a woman mostly lies on her being able to keep her body from being disrespected, and having the courtesy to dress decently in order to speak well of herself.
Indecent dressing among the youth can as well bring about an insecure future of the nation. This is owing to the fact that the frequent occurrence of the youth engaging in immoral acts is very high. Youngsters indulging themselves in acts of obscenity normally have the tendency of flirting around in the future resulting in prostitution.
Males, who dress with their pants showing, normally end up becoming rascals and bullies, leading to frequent harassment of females.
Conclusion
There is the need for the society especially the religious institutions, schools, parents and guardians to monitor children, when they are growing, since a good culturing of the child would prevent him or her from acting wayward. Parents must also learn to set good examples for their wards to follow, since charity, they say, begins at home.

Inhumane aspects of cultural practices

By Helena Selby
Nations differ from nations, origins from origins, beliefs from beliefs, as well as cultures from cultures. Though nations differ from nations, it must be noted that within a nation the people also differ. The reality of these differences is to distinguish people from people.
In nations where there are many different people, tribes are what they usually identify themselves with. These tribes also have different cultures. The Encarta Dictionary defines culture as the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation, or people. It is also a group of people, whose shared beliefs and practices, identify the particular place, class, or time to which they belong.
In Ghana, and many parts of Africa, due to the existence of many tribes and languages, many cultures also exist. Some of these cultures, though the initiatives of ancestors, are still being practiced today. Despite the fact that culture was meant to control the values and norms of the society during those era, today the majority of them seem to undermine people’s fundamental human rights, especially that of women.
Puberty rites
Puberty rites are one of the most cherished cultures in Ghana. The Akans, of the Western Region in Ghana, call it Bragro; the Krobos of the Eastern Region - Dipo and the Gas of the Greater Accra Region - Otofo. It is normally performed for girls, when they have their first menses (Menstrual Period). It is done to initiate them into the world of womanhood.
According to people of these tribes, the main purpose for the practice of this culture is to inculcate in the adolescent female, the relevance of keeping one’s virginity intact before marriage.
It is considered a great shame to the family of a young girl, if she is found to have been deflowered (lost her virginity), before the performance of this custom. According to them the inculcation of these practices put a sort of dignity in the girls and society they belong to. It is this shame and embarrassment, which prevents the young girls from indulging in pre-marital sex, hence decreasing the number of teenage pregnancy cases in such societies. They also have the notion and belief that, if they undergo the rites, a good husband awaits them in the future.
Child betrothal and Poverty
Child marriage can simply be explained as marrying a girl off before the age of puberty. Whereas some tribes deem it an honour and importance, to allow a girl to grow till the appropriate time for marriage, others deem it as irrelevant and pointless.
In many parts of the world, child marriage is being practiced without any sense of remorse. This practice can be found in Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Malawi and certain parts of northern Ghana.
According to Mrs. Charity Sampah, who has her family roots in the Northern Region, this is mostly practiced by families who are in desperate need of money, and in a hurry to collect their children’s bride price.
In such cases the unfortunate child is married off to a rich person, who in most cases could be as old as their grandfathers.

In a nutshell, the central cause of this practice is poverty. Poverty being the case for child marriage being practiced excessively in the world is not very surprising, since according to inquiries made, 25,000 lives are lost everyday from hunger and poverty.
Poverty causes poor families to spend over 70% of their income on food. The UN observing the standard of living in Niger, also has described Niger, in West Africa, as the worst place to live in the world, because the life expectancy there is 44.6 years, while 71 per cent of adults are illiterate and 79 per cent of children don't go to school.
In the northern parts of Ghana, according to research, many people live in poverty and it is considered to be the poorest are in the country. Many families living in such extreme poverty prefer to marry off their children, for money to make a living, and also take care of the other children.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) female genital mutilation is the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia, or procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs, for non-medical reasons.
Procedures can cause severe bleeding and urinary problems, and later potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths. It is mostly carried out on young girls, between infancy and the age of 15.
The practice has no health benefits for females, and in Africa about three million girls are at risk of FGM annually. An estimated 100 to 140 million girls, and women worldwide, are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
According to those into this practice, it is meant to deter girls from committing fornication, since the removal of the external genitalia takes away any sort of desire or pleasure for sex.
Trokosi
It is a customary rite practiced in the Volta Region of Ghana, especially among the Ewe tribe. With this practice a virgin girl is taken to a shrine to pay for the wrongdoings of a family member, especially the parents. The girl is bestowed to the shine, so loses the chance of getting married to any man, since she is believed to be married to the fetish priest immediately the rite is performed.
The priest, due to this, begins to have sex with her at a tender age of about 13. Decisions concerning her life lie in the hands of the priest, her husband.
Agitation against this practice, by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and human rights activists, has yielded some results, with a large number of girls being freed from captivity, over the past years.
Widowhood Rites
This rite surprisingly still exists in many remote communities. It is a rite that many spouses, especially women, have to undergo after the death of their partner. Though it is being performed in many countries and societies, its practice differs from society to society.
Some of these women have to go through hair shaving, ritual bathing and confinement in a room for days and sometimes, years. Not long ago, three very old women in a royal house were confined in a room for about nine years, simply because their husband who was the king was dead. They had no choice than to spend nine years of their lives, cooped up in a room.
Such women, apart from the humiliation they go through, also experience social, economic and emotional trauma.
The outcome
The perpetrators of some of these awful rites seem not to be aware of the consequences of their actions. Apart from puberty rites, which instill a sort of morality in adolescent girls, the rest are acts which infringe fundamental human rites.
Child marriage and trokosi tend to shatter the dreams of many girls. Education always becomes a topic of less importance in this case and girls are not given the opportunity to exhibit freely what they are capable of doing in future.
Their so-called husbands indulging in sex with these under-aged girls, is also an infringement of the law under defilement. The result is that these under-aged mothers suffer undergrowth and have complications when in labour.
Just imagine, a child giving birth to a child. Not even telling the number of women these men had already slept with, with the dangers associated with indiscriminate sex lurking.
Females, who cannot handle the situation, end up running away from home. This in the long run makes them resort to either engaging in manual work, or prostitution, for their survival.
Government Actions
FGM and widowhood rites are internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls. The government of Ghana, realizing the plight many women go through, in terms of certain culture practices, brought about the creation of a body known as the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Its purpose is to help people identify their rights, owing to the reason that many people in the country do not know the rights. Imagine a country without laws governing human rights, people will engage in all manner of chaos, atrocities and inhuman treatment of others, simply because they do not respect them as equal human beings.
The commission has the mandate to investigate complaints on rights, abuse of office, unfair treatment by public officers and corruption.
Since the establishment of the commission, it has pursued an agenda, aimed at realizing a vision of a free, just and equitable society, where fundamental human rights are protected and power is accountable.
CHRAJ believes that the resilience of the peace we enjoy in the country, is attributable mainly to the growing culture of respect for rights and human dignity, and that it educates the public on the human rights and responsibilities of society.
Conclusion
Without further disagreement, one can say that, surely these practices really served the purposes it was meant to serve in time past, however with the presence of modernity and the practice of democracy, these practices seem to go way beyond the abuse of the fundamental human rights of innocent people. Some have to be abolished and others remodeled to suit these times, for not all traditions/cultures and beliefs are that bad.

Fishermen in danger

By Helena Selby
Gone were the days when man depended solely on traditional occupations like farming, hunting and fishing, this time it is very different, owing to the emergence of white-collar jobs and modern technology. However, in spite of the drastic change, the link between traditional occupation and modern technology is not totally missing, since the development of white-collar jobs and modern technology, in most cases, depend on traditional occupation. What’s more even if the link is missing, mankind still depends on the products of these traditional occupations for survival. Nevertheless, if one may ask, are society and the nation, as a whole, still concerned with the activities of traditional occupations? Farming has always being a priority to the nation, since it is important to feed the people, hunting is still in progress, but in an advanced way, there are now many abattoirs in the country, catering for livestock for consumption.
Fishing
The development of the fishing industry has not being very favourable, with citizens every now and then complaining of the frequent increases in the price of fish on the market. Not long ago the Deputy Chief Fisherman of Elmina, Opanyin Kobina Badu, alleged that fishing inputs meant for fishermen, were being diverted, and called on the government to take the appropriate action. Moreover the fishermen in Munford have over the years, been appealing for the building of a fishing harbour in the town, to boost the fishing industry, but to no avail. Though the issue is not being deeply delved into, the issue of the Deputy Chief Fisherman is enough proof of the decline in fishing activities in the country.
Importance of fish to the human body
Fish is a very important nutrient in our everyday diet. Thefightdiabetes.com has indicated that fish oil has been shown to have positive effects on the heart, brain, joints, skin and even pregnancy. It can used to prevent coronary heart diseases and stroke, essential fatty acid deficiency in infancy (retinal and brain development), Diabetes, Autoimmune disorders (e.g. Lupus and nephropathy), mild hypertension and other associated diseases. Fish oil deficiencies have also been tied to many conditions like diabetes, depression, weight gain, heart disease, allergies, arthritis, violence, memory problems, cancer, eczema and inflammatory diseases.
Protein is important for the growth and development of the body, and repairing of worn out tissues and the production of enzymes and hormones required for many body processes. Vitamin A from fish is more readily available to the body than from plant food. It is required for normal vision and for bone growth. Mortality is reduced in children less than 5 years. Vitamin C is important for healing of wounds, normal health of body tissue, and aids in the absorption of iron in the body. Iron deficiency is associated with anemia, impaired brain function, and in infants, is associated with poor learning ability and poor behaviours.
Problem in the fishing industry
Ghana’s marine resources are an important source of food and economic activity. In Ghana, fishing is very common in all the coastal towns and cities. According to Wikey Inter Science, inadequate trade policies, globalisation of the fishing industry, dominance of Europe's distant water fleets, declarations of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) by neighbouring West African nations, over-fishing and a lack of good governance, contributed to the decline of Ghana as a regional fishing nation, a position it had held since the 18th Century. The prohibitive cost of access arrangements limits Ghana's access to distant waters. The country's marine environments have been impacted by overexploitation of stocks, and the use of destructive methods.
Subsistence fishing has become the sole means of survival for many fishers. The decline of the fishing sector has limited the country's ability to meet domestic demand, and threatened the economic and food security of many Ghanaians. The early history of Ghana's fisheries, their gradual decline during the last four decades, outlines recommendations for policy changes to address the situation, and steer the nation on a course towards sustainable fisheries.
In a research, conducted by Friends of the Nation (FoN), it was discovered that there are inadequate official conservation mechanisms in place to conserve the marine fish stock; there appears to be no formal conservation strategy, employed by the state or its agencies in charge of fisheries, to conserve to preserve marine fish stock. There are no artificial breeding of fish to replenish the marine stock, and most of the lagoons, which serve as breeding grounds for some species of fish, are so polluted that they cannot support fish breeding.
Moreover fish stock is exploited without regards to any official conservation mechanism; there is uncontrolled harvesting of fish, and there is neither a fish harvesting policy, regulating the maximum sustainable harvest of fish, nor a policy regulating the quota of fish harvested per annum. The only conservation practice has been the traditional system of conservation, which is practiced by the artisanal fishermen. The traditional systems are taboo days, either Tuesday or Wednesdays, full moon, or on special traditional occasions, during which at artisanal fishermen do not fish.
Fishermen and poverty
Fishermen nationwide, are reporting of low harvests, and at some periods even no harvest, due to the depletion of fisheries resources. In the face of this, our artisanal fishermen have to compete with highly sophisticated, industrialised fishing vessels in an era where the fishing industry requires high financial inputs. This has deepened the poverty level of fisher folks and their dependants, resulting in school dropouts, promiscuity and teenage parenthood, and other social vices in the communities.
In a Recognizance survey and field visit by FoN, to coastal communities in all the four coastal regions in Ghana, it was revealed that there were high poverty levels in the coastal communities, due to the combination of factors.
This includes the depletion of marine fish stocks - the depletion is evidence by the reduction in quantity of fish landed by fishermen, and this could be due to over-exploitation of the fisheries resources, inadequate conservation mechanisms, weak monitoring controls and surveillance activities, and lack of effective collaboration between fisheries managements within the sub region, etc.
Over-exploitation of the fisheries resources is due to the fact that there are now too many fishing vessels/canoes fishing in the waters (over capacity), due to the practice of open the access regime (a regime where anybody can carry a canoe to do fishing). Fishing in Ghanaian waters without regards to conservation mechanisms, has resulted in over-fishing, and this has lead to the depletion of the marine fish stock. The use of bad fishing methods being employed by some fishermen, in their quest to increase fish catches, and the continual harvesting of juvenile fish, are gradually depleting the fish stock.
Remedy
FoN recommended that there should be the promotion of sustainable fisheries management, to control the depletion of the fisheries resources. In view of this, the Minister of Fisheries must, as a matter of urgency, must ban with immediate effect the practice of pair-trawling in Ghanaian waters. This must be followed by an effective enforcement of the ban, to ensure that no illegal pair-trawling goes on. After this, necessary measures can be put in place to bring about responsible fishing, to control fishing with light aggregation methods, small net sizes, dynamiting and others, to stop the depletion of the fisheries resources.
Moreover, there should be strengthened Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) activities. To strengthen the MCS, there should be a proper legal support, such as a legislative instrument, to back the fisheries law, to provide the proper legal atmosphere for MCS activities.
There should also be re-establishment and institutionalisation of community-based fisheries management committee structures at the community, district, regional and national levels. To do this, there is the urgent need for the district/metropolitan assemblies to fast-track the gazetting of the Community-Based Fisheries Management Committees (CBFMCs) bye laws, and must be supported by the state to function fully.
To effectively meet the objective of fish stock conservation, and promote fishery livelihood, and thereby reduce vulnerability to poverty, there should be an official close season for fishing, certain periods where there is no fishing, to allow rejuvenation of the fish stock.
Conclusion
It will be in the interest of the nation, and not fishermen only, if fishing reserves are well protected. One must bear in mind that as much as one gets income from the occupation, one also, as a result, gets good health, since the nutrient found in fish is an immune booster. It is our duty to protect our land of good reserves, for our children’s children.

Selling on Streets: a Source of Livelihood

By Helena Selby
It is the dream of every rational individual to have a three square meal everyday whether one went through strive to obtain it or not. In order to survive there is the need to always be on good diet and also have a standard of living which one will not be considered as being in poverty. Though food for the stomach is necessary, it is very pathetic that not everyone has the likelihood of getting food for the stomach. In the developing and under developing countries especially where wars are very persistent the source of feeding is very difficult to find. It is important for every individual to work in order to get a source of income for ones daily continued existence.
How is the World’s Standard of Living like?
Sometimes countries without the means to access food end up in starvation leading to the death of many of its citizen especially women and children. According to inquiries made 25,000 lives are lost everyday from hunger and poverty. Sometimes a bad case, diarrhea lead to death because of weakness caused by hunger. More than 800 million people know what it feels like to go to bed hungry which most of them are women and children. Due to the need for food for the system always, no enough food malnutrition causes more than half of all child deaths. Poverty has caused poor families to spend over 70% of their income on food where as an average American family spend just over 10%. Additionally more than 100 million children are stunted physically and mentally from malnutrition.
The research continue that families trying to survive in such extreme poverty must often go without the food they need and must make agonizing choices between adequately feeding their children or buying medicine when they are sick or sending them to school. A billion malnourished people mostly women and children are losing their health and lives, their potential for prosperity, and their hope for a better future.
In Ghana, due to the economic hardship experienced by many of the citizen, acquiring good diet and decent clothing is very hard. According to research, though people are in poverty in many parts of the country, the upper east, upper west and the northern region are believed to be the poorest in the country. Considering the recent flood which took place in those regions, the incidence of poverty has risen more than expected. Owing to their over reliance on their farm products and farming being the main occupation in the region the incident of the flood gave them a very big blow. Habitats have to wait for aid from NGO’s and governmental agencies in order for them to have a daily bread.
Despite the fact that they have to go through hunger, they also have to go through a period of displacement where they have no where to live. They have to spend their night in classrooms and in the morning leave for students to have their normal classes.
Poverty can erupt in so many ways either through natural disaster, joblessness or economic hardship. Which ever way it may erupt, the point is that they are all very below the average standard of living. Many of these people spend most of their time hunting for jobs as a way of searching for greener pastures for their various lives.
How do people cope with the situation?
In many parts of Ghana people resort in indulging themselves into businesses more often than not selling especially on the streets since the white colour jobs are generally very hard to find. One might think these people selling on the streets are illiterates, however it must be put in mind that majority have experienced what it is like to go through school but come out not getting what they really expected after their schooling.
Due to the changes in the situations of live people end up on the street trying hard to sell in other to fend for themselves and their families especially if they happen to be the bread winners of their families. Typically thing normally sold are edibles, this is because it has been noted that whenever people are stack in traffic for a very long they get hungry and thirsty so they take the opportunity to sell to them what they have.
In an interview with some of these sellers, they complained about the work being extremely hectic especially when the sun is awfully scotching. They for a while get sick because of the high sun rays hence have to spend part of their income on drugs to cure themselves. Above all these unpleasant things they go through, the pathetic thing is that getting passengers or people around who are interested in their item is very difficult so have to go back home with most of their items not being bought.
Why this Choice of Selling or Hawking?
No one wishes to end up on the street selling petty items which at the end of the day would not earn him or her enough to even settle the utility bill of the home. People due to certain circumstances are forced in a business they have no pleasure in. According to some of these sellers, they prefer to sell on the street to get a source of income than to beg for alms on the street or always seek for help from relatives. Some of them also complained that they often get more of their items sold where traffic is really jammed but when they road are traffic free passengers hardly buy their items and even sometimes take their money away when the drivers is really in a hurry.

Despite the fact that they are trying to find means to fend for themselves, their activities seems to be a torn in a flesh for people who sell in the mall. Sellers in the mall complain that due to the presence of these sellers on the streets buyers feel reluctant to enter the mall since they can get the same product on nearby streets.

Owing to the reason that the roads are always congested the Accra Municipal Assembly (AMA) do not want them to be there since it is sometimes a sort of nuisance and unpleasant to visitors in the country and exposes them to many risks. Though AMA always chase them off the roads and cease most of their items, sellers and hawkers come back after some few days. Their presence on the streets makes difficult the passage of vehicles and pedestrians to the extent that it sometimes create traffic on the roads.

However though this manner of selling seems obscure people indulged in this give the reason that, they do not have enough money to secure a place in the mall. According to them it is very expensive to obtain a shed to sell. For plantain chips seller, she complained that the amount collected could even be enough to serve as a capital for a new business but unfortunate she does not have that amount of money. She continued that if only the government could reduce the price to favour all sellers then they will with
Pleasure leave the street in order not to stress the AMA and also make way for vehicles and pedestrian.

It is surprising that sellers in the mall also sometimes come to the street to sell, giving the explanation that the presence of those on the street prevent buyers from entering the mall, so they have resorted in coming to the street to sell as well.

Are there any consequences of selling on the street?
Most often due to the difficulty in getting buyers to buy ones items and the hectic moment one goes through before selling all items, one tries to sell through the hard way. These sellers more often stand in the middle of the roads, between vehicles in order to deliver quickly their item people in vehicles who would like to buy. Not long ago it was reported by the Daily Guide newspaper that some sellers on the street of Dansoman aged between 25 years and 30 years were run over by a 207 Mercedes Benz car. These men were run over as a result of the driver losing control over the brakes and were killed at an instance. Nevertheless sellers give a blind eye to the fact that they selling on the street leave their lives at risk.

Occasionally owing to the fact that these entire seller really want to get all their items sold, there is argument as to whom to sell to the passengers when they are called at a random. Argument among themselves normally does not end there but continues in terrible fight which eventually lands in the police station with most of their items destroyed. The pitiable thing is that not only are they going spend money to heal their injured bodies but also make money available to get themselves bail from cell hence resulting into they spending more than they earn.

With the above mentioned consequences aside, there is also high also a high tendency of pick pockets increasing in the system. Crowdie busy market places are generally the habitat of pickpockets. They study carefully and take advantage on the less vigilant ones and rob them off their money. According to Araba Quainoo a sugar cane seller, she was once robbed off her sale for the day so went home empty handed.

Conclusion
It is of a truth that we need one need a source of income for survival but care must be taken in order nit to put ones live at risk since the life of every one is of great importance to those around him and nation as a whole.

The youth and green pastures

By Helena Selby
Economic hardship is the commonest problem in all the continents of the world, even in developed countries, and especially developing and underdeveloped countries. Due to this worldwide economic hardship, the standard of living in under-developed and third world countries is high, and coming by money for three square meals a day is difficult. To most people living in extreme poverty, and without any means of livelihood, apart from engaging in unlawful activities, seeking for help from close relatives is the only alternative. It is terrifying to know that many people, from the tender stage of life, are condemned to a future of hustling in poverty.
Africa and economic hardships
The harsh economic state of the country is experienced in many parts of the world, especially Africa. Economists use a country's per capita gross domestic product, and the value of all the goods and services it produces, as an indicator of the quality of life. The United Nations (UN) produces an annual "Human Development Index", which assigns a score to each nation, based on three broad sets of indicators: Health and Longevity, Knowledge and Education, and Standard of Living, measured by purchasing power.
By these measures, the UN, in its conclusion, described Niger in West Africa, as the worst place to live in the world, because life expectancy there is 44.6 years, with 71 per cent of its adults illiterate, and 79 per cent of children do not attend school.
One might not understand why Niger is being described as the worst place to live on earth, but it must be noted that citizens trekking from their country to seek greener pastures, even in developing countries like Ghana, tell how severe the economic hardship really is.
If in Niger 71% of adults are illiterate, then the availability of white-collar jobs in the country will be low. In this case, manual jobs will be the commonest.
In Ghana, many of the youth, without the capital for starting a business, or entering into a vocation, end up engaging themselves in menial jobs such as the carrying of luggage for money, popularly known as Kaya Kaya – the females are referred to as Kayayo. Though it is not very much of a decent job, majority of these youth believe it is better than engaging in robbery, which would land them into jail.
Why this business?
The kaya kaya business, very surprisingly, is mostly practiced by the people from the Northern Region. Despite the fact that the north is very far from the south, Accra, they prefer to do business in the capital city.
According to Abudulai Amidu, who hails from Bawku, he and his family moved from Bawku five years ago, in search of greener pastures in Accra. Living in Accra, he said, though difficult, cannot be compared to that of Bawku.
It is his very wish to enter into a vocation, but the problem is he seems to be the breadwinner of the family. After five long years of engaging in the kaya kaya business, all he does with his money is spend it on his mother and kid brother, who is in school.
To him, though it is his desire to also go to school, his capital at the moment, is not enough to cater for his mother, brother and himself.
The central idea of people engaging in this business is to save money, to be able to establish some form of small scale business. Men are not the only ones who go through the ordeal of engaging in this business, but women especially. For some of these women, the ordeals they have to undergo, even to get a single load, is painful. According to them, if one wants to make a good market for the day, there is the need for one to begin as early as 5:00 .a.m. The number of luggage one gets to carry for the day depends on how smart and strong one is. Bringing to mind the saying, “Only the strong shall survive” and “No risk no reward.”
What are some of the challenges they face?
Each one for himself, God for us all, is the policy some of them adopt, according to them, though they might be friends or be of the same tribe, when it comes to fighting over luggage, they put all concern for each other aside, and fight for their daily income.
The ugly part is that friends, within a short while, fight among themselves and injure each other terribly, all because of sometimes a single piece of luggage. This results in them ending up at the police station, using their income to pay for their bail in the long run.
Despite the very little income they get for the day, the police and other authorities always try to tax them on whatever they manage to acquire. According to them, they used to pay at first, but as time went on they realized it affected their income greatly, so decided to stop paying. To avoid taxation, the only alternative they have, is to run away when they see the tax collectors coming, which sometimes prevents them from coming to work the next day.
Despite the fact that some are as young as 10 to 15 years, they are generally engaged in adult activities, carrying very heavy loads, in order to fend for themselves, and some of them, including the grown ups, live in uncompleted and abandoned buildings, parks, containers, pavements, kiosks or on the street itself.
They sometimes wake up the next day, only to find out that they have been robbed off their monies and belongings.
Most times females, who spend the night on the street, become victims of defilement and rape. Men always take advantage of their physical weakness, and harass them sexually.
Females, who have been sexually abused, often turn to prostitution, since they do not see anything special about their bodies anymore.
The dreaded scourge HIV/AIDS is also rising, at an alarming rate, due to some of these ordeals they go through.
At times people take advantage of their desperate need of money, and introduce them to drugs. Some of them are forced to take dangerous drugs like cocaine, and also manipulate them into swallowing some of these drugs for trafficking. Most of these kayayos end up becoming addicts, unable to free themselves till death, or they are caught and put in jail.
Some of these youth sometimes end up becoming armed robbers, leading to them becoming a danger and nuisance to society.
The health of kayayos is generally poor. Many suffer from chronic diseases like TB, typhoid, malaria, jaundice, liver/kidney disorders, pneumonia and severe body aches, due to the heavy loads they have to carry.
National youth employment
Creating employment opportunities, to enable the youth engage themselves productively, as well as to prepare for the future, is one of the greatest priorities of the government, which is the reason why the government of Ghana introduced the National Youth Programme Employment (NYEP).
The main idea of the youth employment programme, is to empower the youth, to be able to contribute more productively towards the socio-economic and sustainable development of the nation. Some of the categories for the employment include industrial attachment, health extension workers, urban afforestation and community protection.
Though the jobs provided are not permanent, its main aim is to equip the youth, in terms of skills, to get enough experience for permanent jobs. It is also intended to make busy, the idle youth, and prevent them from suffering, since it is their basic human right to work and contribute to the progress of the nation.
The existence of the youth employment programme, despite the fact that it has really helped some of the youth to get a source of income, for some who are not fortunate, they complain of not getting vacancy in any of their categories for employment.
According to Gershon Kpodo and Abudulai Amidu, they went to seek for employment four months ago, at one of their offices, but their effort was futile as an official told them there was no vacancy. They expressed the desire to be part of the working crew of the national youth employment, since they believe it was more lucrative than their present kaya kaya work.
It will be a happy moment for them, if the government could help the rest of the youth get out of this business, of carrying the loads of people, since apart from it not being lucrative, it gives them too much stress and health problems.
Conclusion
The youth of this country can only help brighten the future, only by creating a brighter future themselves. Though it is their right and responsibility to work, and fend for themselves, the government, through immense effort, can help speed up the journey towards the youth getting a brighter future.


`