News
Rotary Club donates to Tetteh Ocloo State School

The Rotary Club of Tema has donated nose masks and hand sanitisers to Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates of Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf at Adjei-Kojo in the Ashaiman Municipality.
The President of the Club, Mr Seth Otoo Larbi, who made the presentation on behalf of the club, noted that the exercise was necessitated by the humanitarian mandate of the club for the deprived and disadvantaged in society.
He said the club had identified the school for the deaf and other deprived groups in the Ashaiman municipality as those that needed assistance.
Mr Larbi said because nose mask needed laundering after it had been worn all day, school children needed additional ones and that, children should not use the same mask to school two days in a row, hence the gesture.
He said there was nothing more important now than promoting the safety of school children and in doing so, called for a concerted effort to safeguard their safety.
Headteacher of the school, Mr Isaac Arthur, admonished the students to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols, and that this must be seen as a new rule they ought to follow to avoid contracting the disease.
He said families needed to complement the efforts of stakeholders and ensure that the COVID-19 protocols were strictly adhered to at home.
Mr Arthur said the task should not be left for only teachers who were not supposed to get within arm’s reach of students because of the need for social distancing.
He advised parents to wear nose masks to serve as an example for their children and guardians to encourage children to wear face mask whenever they were in contact with other members of the household.
From Ken Afedzi, Ajei-Kojo
News
Silence box fighting violence, forced marriages in Nanumba North District

Aisha, a 16-year-old girl’s prefect of Nabuli Junior High School in the Numumba North district of the Northern region, is among hundreds of girls in rural communities, where a simple metal box kept in a safe room in their school is offering a lifeline for many innocent girls.
To the untrained eye, it looks ordinary. It’s just a box with a narrow slit at the top, but to the teenage girls, it is a silent witness and a keeper of secrets. “This is the Violence Reporting Box.
In Nabuli, violence was once an unspoken norm for decades, where issues of domestic abuse, child marriage, and gender-based violence were swept under the carpet.
The victims bore their pain in silence, fearing banishment when such issues were reported to powerful community elders.
It was installed as part of a community driven initiative, spearheaded by ActionAid and implemented by songtaba, a local base NGO.
Madam Hamida Kukuna, the Community Officer for Songtaba at Nabuli said the box does not judge, but only listen, trying to address your issue if you have been wronged.
She indicated that every week, trained volunteers discreetly emptied the box, forwarding reports to a team of social workers and law enforcement officers stationed in the district capital, after victims of violence anonymously slip handwritten notes into the box.
“At first, the box was a curiosity, where children giggled as they looked at it, and villagers questioned its purpose”, she said.
Ms Hamida continue that for weeks it remained empty, then after one rainy evening, she saw a footprint towards the box so she opened it and saw a piece of paper inside.
It stated “He comes every night when my mother is away. I am only 12, Please help me.”
The volunteers acted swiftly and that led to the identification of the girl and rescued her from her abusive uncle, who was later arrested.
The news spread quickly, and for the first time, the people of Nabuli realised the power of this silent box.
Soon, more notes followed, as a wife who had been battered for years sought help and a father reported his daughter’s forced marriage to a much older man.
According to Hamida, the box became a beacon of hope, an outlet for the voiceless.
Moreover, she said within a year the box has facilitated the rescue of over 30 individuals from abusive situations.
“It has also triggered critical conversations about violence, gender roles, and justice in the community, she added.
Mrs Beatrice Yanman Biije, a Programmes Officer at ActionAid Ghana at the Tamale office stated that village council, once complicit in silencing victims, began working with the authorities in creating a safe place for the teenagers.
She said one of the most remarkable transformations was when a 26-year-old mother of two, after years of beatings from her husband, wrote a note to the box with the help of a teacher.
“Her story inspired the creation of a women’s cooperative, offering skills training and support to survivors of abuse,” she said.
She added that, the initiative faced hurdles, where some villagers accused the box of encouraging rebellion and breaking families apart, said an elder in the community.
“Others tried to sabotage it, spreading rumors and threatening volunteers, but the tide was turning with each life saved, the community’s support grew stronger”, she added.
The success of the violence reporting box in Nabuli caught the attention of many schools in the communities around who are working on getting a metal box.
The box stands as a testament to what happens when silence is broken, when whispers become voices, and when justice is given a chance to thrive, even in the most unlikely places.
From Geoffrey Buta, Nabuli
News
Report cancer cases to qualified health professionals

The President of the Breast Care International (BCI), Dr Beatrice Wiafe-Addai, has observed that “Some patients come with end-stage conditions of cancer, following prolonged days at quack health facilities.”
Dr Wiafe-Addai, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Peace and Love Hospitals, said the trend where “cancer treatment in Ghana is mired in superstition and bogged down by mounting financial challenges,” was worrying.
She indicated that this at Beposo, in the Bosomtwe district of the Ashanti region, on World Cancer Day 2025, which was observed on Tuesday, under the theme: ‘United by Unique.’
World Cancer Day aims to improve awareness and knowledge of cancer so that it can be better detected and treated.
The day, organised by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), brought scores of residents and students of Beposo for sensitisation on the disease.
According to her, it was important to wage “a sustained, vigorous education on cancers countrywide for the people to be enlightened about the disease and change the belief that the disease has spiritual elements.”
Furthermore, Dr Wiafe-Addai stated that the high cost of cancer treatment of has put most of the survivors into poverty, and that there was the need to support them, “because everybody is a potential cancer and other communicable disease patient.”
She then urged the government, as a matter of urgency, to put cancer patients on the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) as a source of support for them.
In her suggestion to help increase cancer education in Ghana, she called for the evolution of people-centred programmes and policies to ameliorate the plight of cancer patients.
“A people’s centred approach leads to improved patients’ well-being, higher quality care, and increased trust in healthcare providers,” she stated, adding that people-centred care included initiatives such as community health programmes tailored to local health issues and cultural competence training for healthcare providers, among others.
Dr Wiafe Addai advised women not to treat cancer-related diseases spiritually but rather to seek early medical attention “because the disease is not caused by any supernatural activity.”
“The cancer disease is curable, preventable, and treatable. At least visit your hospitals for a thorough medical checkup once a year to prevent escalation of the disease,” she added.
Dr Cary Adams, CEO of UICC noted that the theme (United By Unique) recognised that “every experience with cancer was unique and everyone has unique needs, unique perspectives and a unique story to tell, that people touched by cancer are improved, are united in a shared ambition to see governments implement policies to improve cancer prevention.”
Nana Atakora Bonsrah I, the Caretaker of Ankaase, expressed gratitude to Breast Care International and their partners for the sensitisation and screening of the residents in the area to create the awareness on cancer.
He said the awareness creation was the best way to prevent the disease, and called on stakeholders in the health sector, individuals and corporate organisations to get involved in the fight against cancer.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kum