News
‘Dorcas Project’ receives skills training support
Eleven widows who belonged to a group known as “The Dorcas Project” from the Lapaz District of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, have received skills training in bread baking, pastries, soap and beads preparation in Accra.
The skills training which was held at the River Rose School, Tantra Hill, Accra, was aimed at empowering the beneficiaries, who belonged to the “The Dorcas Project” to become economically independent, concentrate on caring for their children, and stop thinking about the loss of their husbands.
Rev Mrs Nyuieme Adiepena, the National Women’s Programme Officer of the West Volta Women’s Fellowship (WVWF), who was In- charge of the programme, said in an interview with The Spectator that the training was facilitated by the All African Conference of Churches( AACC), Widows Fund .
She said the AACC was glad to sponsor the ” The Dorcas Project”, having considered the economic hardship members were going through.
Rev Adiepena said the sponsorship package included the equipment the trainees would work with, to eradicate the difficulty of mobilising capital to start on their own.
She was of the hope that the beneficiaries would take keen interest in the various skills they were taught and make maximum benefits out of them.
Rev Adiepena lauded the initiative of the stakeholders of ” The Dorcas Project,” adding that it would ease the burden of the beneficiaries.
The President of the West Volta Women’s Fellowship, Presbyter Mrs Naomi Jiagge, described the training as good since it would ease the burden of the women involved and assured that the fellowship would continue to pray for their success.
Ms Doris Ofori, one of the trainees said she and some of her colleagues had started preparing liquid soap for sale.
She intimated that they had planned to come together to bake bread for sale at affordable prices to school children when school re-opens, adding that they remained grateful to the facilitators of the programme.
History
“The Dorcas Project” was established in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Lapaz District of Accra by a group of stakeholders, led by Rev (Mrs) Davida Matti- Atakpah in June 2019.
It commenced with 10 widows and four widowers, with the aim of helping them to ease emotional and psychological pains endured , and stigmatisation they encountered as a result of some socio- cultural practices.
Rev Matti-Atakpah said she later discovered that some of them needed financial support to enable them to cater for their families and perform other social duties, hence the need to provide them with employable skills.
She was grateful to Rev Adiepena through whose initiative the group had acquired the support from the (AACC) Widow’s Fund .
By GhanaianTimes
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
