News
Fashion designer reaches out to Hour of Grace Orphanage
A popular fashion designer in the New Juaben Municipality of the Eastern Region, Mrs Doris Bonney, has appealed to the public to show love to the vulnerable, especially children in the various orphanages in this era of COVID-19 pandemic.
According to her, there was nothing more noble than somebody spending a little time with the children in the orphanages and sharing life experiences and gifts with them.
She said, “None of the children at the orphanages decided on their own to be there, but circumstances have done so, and it is, therefore, important that we (society) get back to care for them.”
Mrs Bonney made the appeal when she presented food items and soft drinks to the staff and children of the Hour of Grace Orphanage near Huhunya on Wednesday.
The programme, which was part of her 45th birthday celebration, offered her the opportunity to visit the children and share her experiences in life with them.
She ate with the inmates and urged them to be respectful to everybody they came into contact to enable them receive the blessings of God to grow to become good and law abiding citizens of Ghana, in future.
Speaking to the Spectator on the reasons for celebrating her birthday at the orphanage, Mrs Bonney said, “Birthdays are happy and impactful occasions children always look forward to either from their friends, parents or themselves because they know that it would be filled with gifts, new dresses, and special food that they can share with friends.”
It is unfortunate that most orphans and the homeless people do not experience such special events, hence my decision to celebrate my birthday with the orphanage children.
“It is a great joy to celebrate your birthday with such underprivileged kids because it gives an idea of how to plan for your life,” she said.
She urged the public, especially the well-to-do in society not to be overwhelmed by their social status but rather be impressed by how they put smiles on the faces of the vulnerable.
Mrs Bonney said most of her birthdays had been celebrated in orphanages in places such as Bawjiase, Assin Fosu and Koforidua.
“Let us become windows to the orphans to enable them realise that they are not different but children of Ghana,” she added.
The Director of the orphanage, Mr Lawrence Gbengor, thanked Mrs Bonney for the gesture and appealed for support for the children.
He said the role of the society was to give the vulnerable children a helping hand to enable them feel comfortable in the environment they had found themselves in.
He said that Mrs Bonney would be counted among the people who cared for needy children in the society.
By Samuel Opare Lartey
News
Craze for x’mas shopping: Crowded markets, low patronage
Vendors of food and other wares associated with the Christmas celebration have expressed surprise at the low patronage despite the increased number of visitors to some of the major markets across the capital.
Four days to the celebration(Christmas), the markets are filled with various products ranging from food, clothing, livestock and many other stuff, but according to the vendors, patrons are doing more ‘window’ shopping.
The Spectator on visits to some of the markets in the capital, notably the Odawna, Makola, Accra Central Business District, New Town and others made similar observations as shoppers crowd them but did little in terms of purchases.
The paper also observed that majority of vendors, originally selling other wares have switched to product related to the festive season.
What it means is that there are a lot more clothes, food and vegetables, livestock and poultry, toys, firecrackers, drinks of different types and many others on display.
The markets have also stretched to the pedestrian pavement, leaving very narrow spaces for commuters to move about freely.
That, in addition to a few of the female vendors dressed in coloured attires to reflect the occasion, has heightened the euphoria, leaving the low sales as the only headache for the vendors.
Speaking with this paper, they sounded very optimistic, believing that sales would improve in the last few days to the yuletide.
According to them, there was the opportunity to sell beyond Christmas as the New Year celebration offers similar opportunity to trade the same wares.
They urged patrons to throng the markets to shop since prices were quite moderate and products affordable for all.
News
Retirement service for Elder John Ackom-Asante,3 others
Retired Deputy Editor of The Spectator, Elder John Ackom-Asante, was last Sunday honoured by the Church of Pentecost Windy Hills District in Kasoa in the Central Region, with a retirement thanksgiving service, after serving for 26 year as an Elder of the church.
He was honoured with a citation and certificate of service along with three other elders who served in the capacity for various years.
Elder Ackom-Asante was baptised at the Darkuman Central Assembly in 1979 and ordained as an Elder in 1997.
The citation read “Your selfless service, zeal, willingness to relate wholeheartedly and your desire to effect change has gone a long way to shape the lives of many people in the church and the nation over the 26 years of your dedication to the service of the Lord.”
Elder Ackom- Asante held many positions at the Darkuman Central Assembly, Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and Tema, serving in various capacities as youth and evangelism ministry leader and marriage counsellor.
He was the founding member of the Darkuman Christian Fellowship, a member of the Greater Accra Christian Fellowship; member of Bible Society of Ghana; founding member Obuasi Chapter Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International and founding member of New Times Corporation Christian Fellowship and Chaplain, Methodist University Tema Campus 2009- 2010.
As a professional journalist, Elder Ackom-Asante combined effectively and efficiently his duty as a member and elder of the church and the demands of his profession, with admiration from the church, kith and kin, till his retirement on December
From Alhaji Salifu Abdul-Rahaman, Kasoa
