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Rachel Tugbedzo …Ghana’s youngest author changing the narrative with the pen
Rachel with the Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tutu II
Have you ever dreamt of having your books on a shelf in a library?
Well, eight-year-old Rachel Yram Perpetual Brain Tugbedzo is living that dream to the fullest. She is among the few Ghanaian children using the pen to change the narrative and raise the country’s flag high.
Rachel is arguably Ghana’s youngest writer at the moment. At age six, she had her first book, “More Nice City” published.
BACKGROUND
Rachel was born on November 20, 2014, in Mepe in the Volta Region to Mr Enoch Mensah, an Education Consultant and Mrs Portia Akosua Tomeleku Tugbedzo, a Teacher.
At age three, she was said to have read more than a dozen novels. She kept reading till she felt that spark to put down her first few words.
These few words became a sentence, a sentence became a paragraph, and a paragraph became a full story. Her parents impressed by the interest their daughter showed in writing, kept encouraging her to continue.
By age six she had written more than 50 stories. This had led to the conception of the idea “More Nice City”, a book she cherishes so much.
The 22-page book takes readers on an imaginative journey through the mind of the young author. The book also sought to give readers a sense of hope and enable them face life head-on despite challenges.
Rachel told The Spectator that the book was motivated by her favourite author “Nana Ama”. The moral lesson behind the “More Nice City”, she said was to encourage people not to give up no matter what others do to make them unhappy. We shouldn’t let that take our happiness away.”
“Daddy Sam and Mummy Sandra”, her favourite characters in the book are fictional representations of her parents. Aside from her love for writing, she enjoys track and field events.
ACHIEVEMENT/ADVOCACY
Rachel holds the award for being the Youngest Author in 2022. She has achieved this feat at the “6th Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) Literacy Awards, 2022”.
Prior to that, she presented copies of her book “More Nice City” to personalities who later endorsed the book due to its compelling content.
They included the Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tutu II; United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultured Organisation (UNESCO) Country Representative, Mr Rahaman Abdou Diallo; the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum among others.
The above-mentioned had supported her in various ways. The Asantehene took some of her book for the Palace Library and donated an undisclosed amount of money to support her writing journey.
The UNESCOC Country Representative, Mr Diallo, ensured that the book got the international recognition it needed. Through his endorsement, Rachel had been called by international news outlets to share her experience so far.
Rachel has taken the mantle to ensure that all children in the country get access to books to read so they can benefit from the treasures hidden in books. With the support of her parents she has organised reading clinics in some communities and schools.
She has also donated copies of her books to various schools and libraries nationwide.
Recounting one of her proudest moments, she revealed that “one time I was on my way to the washroom in school, I heard students from Kindergarten (KG) 2 reading my book. I felt motivated and fulfilled.”
By Jessel Lartey Therson-Cofie
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
