Wednesday, June 25, 2008

100 parishioners honoured

Saturday, June 28, 2008 (The Mirror)

By Rebecca Kwei
MORE than 100 parishioners of the Holy Spirit Cathedral at Adabraka in Accra who are 70 years and above were honoured last Sunday by the parish.
The thanksgiving mass was the climax of the Christian Family Week which was organised by the parish as part of activities to commemorate this year’s Mothers Day and Fathers Day.
A series of activities, including talks, were organised for parishioners in the course of the week. It was on the theme, “The Catholic Family as nucleus of the church.”
The occasion was also used to say farewell to Rev Fr Michael Mensah, Secretary to the Most Rev Charles Palmer-Buckle, who is leaving the archdiocese for studies in Rome.
In his homily, Fr Mensah called on Christians to place their trust in the Lord.
He said “God keeps his promises and when we do what He says we will see transformation in our lives”.
Rev Fr Mensah urged the congregation to have a deeper faith in the Lord.
He observed that people had become like “sheep without a shepherd and are being led astray”.
He said there was the need to draw closer to the Chief Shepherd and listen to His voice, adding, “We are nothing without God.”
Rev Fr Mensah prayed for God’s blessings on the congregation, that “they may follow the direction of the Shepherd and not stray from the path that led to righteousness.”
Mr Ben Amegashitsi and Mrs Victoria Asiedu were honoured as Father and Mother of the Year, respectively.
Mrs Asiedu expressed appreciation to the parish and promised that they would continue serving in the Lord’s vineyard.
Present at the ceremony were the Cathedral Administrator, Rev Fr John Louis, and Rev Fr Charles Ackon, an associate priest of the cathedral.

Agbe-n-a-a-a! Adoley is 'Ghana's Most Beautiful'

Saturday, June 21, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)

By Rebecca Kwei
The die is cast. Adoley, the contestant from the Greater Accra Region is TV3’s “Ghana’s Most Beautiful” queen. She beat three other competitors at the grand finals last Sunday.
Although all four finalists had performed creditably during the weeks that the pageant was held, Fanny and Eyram were the most tipped to win when the number was pruned to four.
The finals which was held at the National Theatre, opened with a traditional dance performed by the National Dance Company.
First to come on stage was Fanny. Looking graceful and confident, she said she decided to participate in the pageant to prove to women that “marriage and having children was not the end of life.”
Saying she would promote culture, she did not state clearly what exactly she would do and her answers to questions from the judges was not too impressive.
Adoley had the disabled at heart and said she would establish fan clubs in Junior and Senior High Schools for the youth to appreciate disabled people.
Eyram was also not too impressive with how she was going to tackle her sanitation project.
Coming from the Northern Region, Ruweida used the opportunity to appeal to the people in north to give peace a chance. She mentioned the eradication of guinea worm in the northern regions as what she would embark on when she won. She did well in answering her questions although she messed up a little when she was asked to recite the national pledge.
The high point for the evening was when the contestants paired — Fanny with Adoley and Eyram with Ruweida — to portray that Ghanaians are one people with a common destiny.
The event was interspersed with modelling by the contestants and music from Elivava, Joe of Mentor 2, Obour and the National Dance Company.
For coming tops, Adoley got a Tata Indigo car and a Tata Safari which she would use as a ceremonial car during her term as queen. She also received GH¢3000.
The second position went to Eyram and she had GH¢6000 and an additional GH¢ 500 for the Best Skin award while Fanny who placed third had GH¢4000 and Ruweida walked away with GH¢2000.
All the contestants received a mobile phone each from Onetouch plus other prizes from sponsors.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

17 Female undergraduates attend mentors programme

Thursday, June 19, 2008 (Daily Graphic Pg 11)

By Rebecca Kwei
SEVENTEEN young women from various tertiary institutions in Ghana are taking part in a mentoring programme to encourage them to make active decisions about their careers.
The programme, the second to be held by the Ghana Women’s Voices (GWV), an NGO, is to provide an opportunity for young females to work with women of influence.
The two-week programme, which was launched on Monday, June 16, 2008, is on the theme: “Mentoring , a tool for investing in women and girls to improve their lives”.
Last year’s maiden programme attracted 12 young ladies from various tertiary institutions in the country.
The mentoring programme is the brain child of Nana Yaa Appiah, the Executive Director of GWV, who, having participated in a mentoring programme: ‘Vital Voices’, for young women leaders in business in 2007 in the USA, was inspired and motivated and felt responsible to set up a similar programme to open doors for other young females.
The mentoring programme is being implemented on mentor-mentee relationship such that women who have established themselves in their individual professions will mentor the younger ladies to ensure maximum learning experiences.
The mentors chosen from an extensive network of professional bodies include judges, businesswomen, lawyers, IT specialists and civil engineers.
Each mentee is paired to a mentor from whom she is expected to learn during the programme to build their entrepreneurial and personality skills.
They will also learn about opportunities that exist in higher levels of decision-making and to be the tool of change.
According to Nana Yaa, the objective of GWV was to inspire, motivate and empower young women between 16 and 35 years.
This, she said, could be achieved through the development of business and entrepreneurial skills by exposing them to diverse opportunities within the private sector.
She noted that last year’s edition of the mentoring programme was very successful and the mentees also used the experience they gained to mentor their peers.
“The programme will also ensure that women who are making strides in all walks of life to ensure economic and psychological empowerment can be identified to be role models for young Ghanaian women,” she said.
Additionally, Nana Yaa noted that the programme was an effective and innovative method for empowerment of young women in business and entrepreneurial life in Ghana and also to communicate to them the diversity of opportunities available for them in the private sector and the advantages of achieving job satisfaction.
She mentioned the exponential ripple effect resulting from women helping other women to grow and was thankful to all partners of GWV who, according to her, “belong to a strong force that believes that investing in women and girls is very important to improve their lives”.
In a message of support, Dr Chris Anderson, the External Affairs Director of Newmont Ghana, was emphatic that Newmont Ghana put top priority on the need to invest in women and girls in order to maximise the wealth of potential that they possessed.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Shun negative tendencies — Obour advises youth

Saturday, June 14, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)

By Rebecca Kwei
Hiplife musician, Obour, is making a lot of ‘political waves’ and championing a youthful cause in the media lately.
First was his call for a constitutional amendment to reduce the minimum age for qualification to contest the high office of President of Ghana in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He felt the constitution was not fair to the youth by pegging the age to contest for the Presidency at 40, and that cutting out the youth entirely from holding that position is not good for the nation.
This time around, Obour is calling on the youth to shun negative tendencies that had the potential to destroy their lives and terminate their careers.
“To lose hope when you have your life ahead of you is terrible, but this can become real in your life when you engage in negative tendencies that have the potential to halt your further development as a youth,” he said in an interview with The Mirror.
Obour is embarking on a campaign dubbed “Youth for President” and he says it is to help champion the cause of the youth, imbibe in them a can-do-it attitude and for Ghanaians to come out of the “sickness” that young people are not wise.
Presently, he is undertaking a series of campaigns, seminars, and tours to create awareness.
Obour observed that many young Ghanaians were languishing in jail, due to the use of and/or association with drugs and other negative tendencies such as sparking and involvement in conflict, violence, rape and robbery.
He said these young people could have channelled their energies wisely, but have rather put brakes on their own life.
"As young people, we must always strive to embrace peace and behave responsibly at all time,” adding that “we are in an election year and the youth should not allow themselves to be used to cause civil unrest in the country.
He also cautioned the youth about unprotected and indiscriminate sex, saying that the youth represented the energies of the country; as such it was very critical that the youth eschewed sexual practices that had the potential to expose them to the HIV menace.
“We need to be strong and healthy, first and foremost, to enable us push our agenda.”
Obour admitted that the youth were facing serious challenges in their daily lives, but advised that that should rather spur them on to aspire for greater heights to change the situation rather than engage in activities that were going to make their situation worse. He said facing tough challenges was no excuse for anybody to perpetrate crime or violence.
"As we the youth knock on the doors of society to give us more space, attention and inclusion in the conceptualisation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation processes on issues bothering us, we must also be seen to be responsible enough to accept the challenge when thrown to us," he stressed.
He also observed that certain wise sayings such as ‘Life begins at 40’ have all contributed to making some youth lazy, stressing that it was important to change the mindset of the youth and imbibe in them the can-do-it attitude and then contribute to the decision-making process.
The award-winning rapper emphasised that his mission was not to say the youth did not need the wisdom of the elderly, but that “the wisdom of the elderly, combined with the energy of the youth, will help achieve results”.
He said the time had come for the youth of Ghana to re-brand themselves and build a new image as people who were responsible in all their endeavours.
"This campaign we are embarking on is one of image enhancing for the youth, and we must reflect on that new image, an image of responsible youth."
Obour hinted that his campaign was going to take a practical turn, and with the support of some organisations and well-meaning Ghanaians, practical solutions would be given to some of the challenges facing the youth.
"It is not enough to only diagnose the challenges facing the youth, but help in finding lasting solutions to those challenges.”
Obour, who read Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, and currently a student of Leadership and Governance, used his music to embark on the Road Safety Campaign project and another “Ghana Reads”, in collaboration with ReadWide Ghana.
According to him, the album for the current campaign ‘Youth for President’ will be out soon.

Who's Ghana's most beautiful?

Saturday, June 14, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)

By Rebecca Kwei

It is the final showdown for TV3’s Ghana’s Most Beautiful pageant. Who is your bet on? Is it Adoley, Eyram, Fanny or Ruweida?
Come tomorrow at the National Theatre, the four finalists will no doubt put up a keen competition to determine who grabs the ultimate prize.
For the past 12 weeks, viewers of TV3 have stayed glued to their television sets to watch the contestants perform on Sunday evenings.
They have entertained, educated, and above all, showcased the rich cultures of the various regions they represented.
The competition started with 10 contestants, namely Abena from the Ashanti Region; Rafiatu — Upper East Region, Fawzia — Upper West Region, Efua — Western Region, Fanny — Central Region, Adoley — Greater Accra, Akua — Eastern Region, Erica — Brong Ahafo Region, Eyram — Volta Region and Ruweida — Northern Region.
Efua from the Western Region was the first to be evicted, followed by five other evictions, leaving the four to compete for the crown.
Regular judges Efo Kodjo Mawugbe and Linda Ampah and the various guest judges who appeared on the show helped steer the competition in the right direction.
Their remarks, criticisms and praises enabled the contestants to improve on their performance, and in a way, it also helped viewers to take decisions on who to vote for.
Last Sunday, each of the final four had the opportunity to put across what she would do when she wins.
Adoley is passionate about the plight of the disabled in society and would champion their cause so that their voice is heard.
For Eyram, sanitation is dear to her heart and will organise activities to let people know the importance of keeping their environment clean.
Fanny says she will promote Ghanaian culture, while Ruweida will team up Lamisi Mbillah, Miss Ghana 2005, to help eradicate guinea worm in the northern regions.
Judge Linda Ampah encouraged the contestants to carry through with their projects, even if they did not win, saying “we talk a lot and it is about time to take action on whatever we say we would do”.
The pageant is sponsored by Onetouch and on the theme “Redefining Beauty to Promote National Unity”.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Erica fails to make it to finals

Saturday, June 7, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)

By Rebecca Kwei
Host Gideon Aryeequaye was right when he said the last eviction of Ghana's Most Beautiful pageant was going to be a bitter moment for whoever would be affected.
And indeed, it was a 'bitter moment' for Erica, the Brong Ahafo Regional representative who was the last to be evicted before the finals on June 15.
Erica who had escaped two evictions was not spared this time around when the judges had to choose between her and Eyram. All the judges, Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, Linda Ampah and guest judge, Dzifa Glikpoe, an actress and a director of the National Drama Group, Abibigromma, were unanimous in saving Eyram.
For them, although both had excelled throughout the competition, Eyram was on top.
Erica took the eviction in her stride, smiled and informed viewers through the host, Gideon, to expect her gospel album out soon.
Last Sunday, the contestants had to perform naming ceremonies in their various regions.
Each contestant had to explain the rites performed before a baby is named and the significance of the names given.
While Erica was a bit nervous and did not flow with her narration, Ruweida, Fanny, Eyram and Adoley received good comments from the judges.
Judge Efo Mawugbe noted that from all the performances , it was obvious that Ghanaians were one people with a common destiny and appealed that "we all strive to be one."
The final four, Ruweida, Fanny, Eyram and Adoley went on a trip to Nigeria courtesy Virgin Nigeria.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Ghana's Most beautiful - Who makes it to the finals?

Saturday, May 31, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)
By Rebecca Kwei
The question that may be uppermost on the minds of viewers of TV3’s Ghana’s Most Beautiful pageant is which of the remaining five contestants would be the 'unlucky one' to be the last to be evicted before the finals on June 15.
The remaining contestants are Erica (Brong Ahafo Region), Fanny (Central Region), Adoley (Greater Accra Region), Ruweida (Northern Region) and Eyram (Volta Region).
Last Sunday saw the sad eviction of Eastern Region's representative, Akua.
The judges had the difficult choice of saving either Fanny or Akua.
For regular judge Linda Ampah, it was a difficult task as she said Akua was very beautiful while Fanny had excelled throughout the competition.
But she had to save one and it was Fanny. The guest judge, David Nii Amoo, also saved Fanny while Efo Kodjo Mawugbe preferred Akua to stay in the competition.
The task for last Sunday was for the contestants to perform various dances and give the historical background to them.
Eyram did a war dance of the Anlos, Atsiagbeko, and received praises from all the judges while the Sikyi dance was beautifully performed by Akua.
Erica did the Kete while Fanny added a 'vibrant touch' to show with Asafo dance performance. Ruweida did not impress much with her Jaraa dance.
Throughout the show, the contestants have performed creditably, and through their dances, poems and mini dramas they have been educating the public on various traditions and cultures of the country.
All the remaining five are confident of making it to the finals but one will be evicted leaving four to compete for the finals.
The pageant, which is sponsored by Onetouch, is on the theme: “Redefining Beauty to Promote National Unity” and judged through 100 per cent public votes.
However, the judges have the power to save one of the two contestants who gets the least votes.