News
2 institutions donate to Accra Psychiatric Hospital
The Accra Gye Nyame Lions and Leo Club together with IDonate Ghana on last Saturday donated assorted items to the Children’s ward of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
Some of the items included bags of rice, gallons of oil, detergents, disinfectants, buckets of powdered soap, liquid soap, packs of diapers, toilet rolls, scrubbing brushes and other cleaning materials.
Presenting the items, The President of the club, Lion Jennifer Dzikunu, said the donation was part of the national volunteer day which the club observes on September 21 every year alongside IDonate GH.
She said the club was poised to help people and communities in need tacking nine thematic areas including, “childhood cancer, hunger, youth, disaster relief, environment, humanitarian, vision and diabetes.’’
The club focuses on serving humanity and communities that are in need and is the largest humanitarian service organization in the world with 1.4m members in 49,000 local clubs servicing in 200 countries globally.
Receiving the items, the Senior Nursing Officer at the hospital, Bridget Ayatey, thanked the donors and stated that it would go a long way to help them in the discharge of their work.
She also acknowledged that there were 14 patients currently at the children’s ward and had to change diapers of each of the 12 inmates, at least three times a day which made the diapers an important donation.
The Lead Volunteer of IDonate Ghana, Naa Amarley Tagoe, in an interview with The Spectator, stated that the organisation had supported the Accra Psychiatric Hospital Children’s Ward since 2016.
IDonate, is an online-based charity founded in 2014 that supports less fortunate children and those with special needs in public and private institutionalised care.
Naa Amarley said, “we redirected our fundraising efforts to support the hospital,” adding that, “the annual clean-up exercise, meal service, and supply donations have continued for eight years with inspiration from a December 2015 TV3 report highlighting patient neglect during festivities.”
As part of the donation, activities like feeding of inmates and clean up exercises were held as a way of interacting with the inmates and showing support.
By Nii Ayitey Brown
News
Intake of ‘Gobe’ can prevent heart diseases —Nutritionists

Nutritionists have advised Ghanaians to eat more beans-based meals, including the popular local dish, gari and beans, also known as ‘Gobe’ to prevent heart diseases. They said incidences of obesity and cancer could be minimised with the regular intake of beans meals.
At a programme in Accra to mark the World Pulses ( Beans) Day on Monday, Mr Wise Chukudi Letsa, Nutritionist and Dietician, who spoke on the topic: ‘Beans: The Super Food for Healthy Living and Healthy Farmlands,’ admonished Ghanaians to include beans in their diets.
Mr Letsa said beans was rich in protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals, irons and other nutrients and contained just a little fat. Mr Letsa, a Nutritionist with Lets Consult, stated that the presence of those nutrients in beans explained why its intake could prevent heart diseases and other ailments, hence the need to consume it regularly.
The event, dubbed: ‘Meatless Monday’ was organised by the Communications Initiative for Change (CIC), a Ghanaian non-profit organisation.
The ‘Meatless Monday’ is an initiative aimed at encouraging Ghanaians to reduce their intake of meat by taking in more beans-based meals on every Monday of a week.
It was launched after the United Nations in 2019, set aside February 10 to celebrate and encourage the consumption of pulses (beans) worldwide. This year’s celebration was hinged on the theme: ‘Bringing Diversity to Agrifood Systems.’
Mr Peter Agbovi, National Secretary, Chefs Association of Ghana, said a variety of meals could be prepared with beans, which include Waakye (rice and beans), Kose (beans paste made into cakes), Ayikple, Aboboi, Tuo Zaafi, Akyeke, and kakro.
He encouraged Ghanaians to consume more of those foods to stay healthy.
Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, the Executive Director, CIC, indicated that even if people could not eat beans-based meals regularly, efforts should be made to consume them every Monday.
He said that was the essence of the introduction of the ‘Meatless Monday’ initiative. -GNA
News
Restore beauty of Kwame Nkrumah Circle area / State of Kwame Nkrumah Circle an eyesore!

Small size quarry stones fixed at open spaces under the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange was to leave the place open and free from activities of beggars and other activities of the homeless.
By the way the stones were fixed, it makes the area, particularly the VIP and Neoplan Station stretch of the Interchange, inhabitable by the destitute.
But a walk through the area currently suggest the opposite.
At the median where pavement blocks have been taken over by these homeless and destitute, the area has been turned into a hotel where a number of these unfortunate ones have comfortably laid their mattresses and other stuff to rest from the day’s activities.
They have crossed over to the SSNIT and Kaneshie Station area with their activities and have removed the quarry stones which were to ward them off the place to enable them find spaces to sleep comfortably.


The pavement blocks removed from different locations under the interchange now serves as foundations on which beds were laid and in some cases, mosquito nets erected.
Their continued presence is not only creating a nuisance for commuters but marring the beauty and serenity of the place.
Sadly, the activities of these deprived fellows have been ignored while the numbers keep increasing day by day.
The Spectator finds the development very worrying and calls on the responsible authorities to clear the area to restore the beauty and serenity of the area.
By Victor A. Buxton