News
Teach children local dialect
Members of the congregation in traditional wear
A wife of the Bishop of the Northern Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, Mrs Lucia Eyison has admonished African parents to teach their children the local dialect to appreciate their culture rather than the English language.
According to her, teaching the child with the English language was not wrong but doing that at the detriment of the mother tongue deprives the child of his/her cultural values.
Mrs Eyison disclosed this in an interview with The Spectator at the Northern Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana’s Indigenous Ghanaian Day celebration held in Accra, last Sunday.
The day formed part of the church’s fifth anniversary celebration and aimed at promoting Ghanaian culture.
The event attracted 18 circuits in the Dioceses, with members dressed in traditional outfits to represent their various tribes and cultures across the country.
It was a blend of regular service protocols of worship, hymns and praises, along with traditional cultural tunes played with local instruments.
The church complemented the occasion with a sellout of culinary lessons on some traditional Ghanaian delicacies such as ampesi, akple, banku, kenkey, ofam, kpokpoi, fufu, aprapransa, yakayakae, kokonte, waakye and tuo-zaafi at the St John’s Methodist Society, Tantra Hill.
Local beverages such as sobolo, asaana, millet drink were also on display.
Mrs Eyison said learning to speak in the mother tongue was very important for a child’s overall development, saying being fluent in the mother tongue benefits the child by connecting him/her to the culture, ensure better cognitive development and aid in the learning of other languages.
“Language is a unique identity to every ethnic group which makes it the most important aspect of communication to all humans. We should all encourage these young ones to learn, understand and speak their mother tongue so that they can appreciate their culture and project it to the world,” she added.
The Circuit Women’s Fellowship Secretary, Mrs Gloria Asabea whose group represented the Eastern Region said the significance of the event was to educate the youth about Ghanaian culture through their dressing, food and language.
By Vivian Arthur
News
NTC staff demonstrate prowess in fire fighting
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) on Tuesday held a sensitisation workshop on fire safety for staff of the New Times Corporation (NTC), publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator.
It created awareness on fire prevention and safety measures to prevent fire in the home or office.
During the practical session, a section of the staff were taken through fire outbreaks drills steps to take in fire .
tries his hands on
one of the traditional
way to combat fire
Nortey led the demonstration exercise
to staff before the demonstration exercise
of staff Herty Nortey to put off a fire
Can-Tamakloe trying to
extinguish the fire
Led by Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO 1) Isaac Tengfaa, the staff were taught how to use the different types of fire extinguishers to combat fire.
He said it was important for home owners and office workers to put off every electrical gadget at work before leaving for their respective home because more fires in offices occur at closing hours.
He said fire incidence often resulted from carelessness, ignorance or natural occurrence.
Supported by ADO I Richard Mensah, ADO I Eunice Ceasar and Fire woman Anita Amponsah, some of the staff tried their hands on the fire extinguishers and other modes of combatting fire.
By Linda Abrefie Wadie
News
GJA commits to fighting ‘galamsey’
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Kwabena Dwumfour, has expressed the association’s commitment to the fight against illegal mining, known in the local parlance as ‘galamsey.’
According to him, the association was worried that forest reserves, water bodies and farm lands were being destroyed and degraded, all in the name of gold mining.
He said this when he addressed a press conference on issues affecting the nation and welfare of Journalists.
The GJA president indicated that in the mining communities, law and order were crumbling with impunity, with associated human right abuses, adverse and forced possessions of individual lands and farms while the decentralised administrative arms of government and traditional authorities seem to be helpless.
Turning his attention to assurances given by President John Dramani Mahama to fight illegal mining, the GJA President stressed that those assurances were welcomed, but urged the President to honour them.
“We welcome the assurances and commitment of President Mahama towards the fight against galamsey and it is our prayer that he will not relent or give up but honour his promise of stopping illegal mining in the country,” Mr Dwumfour emphasised.
He pledged the GJA’s support for the government in curbing the menace.
“We reiterate our condemnation of all illegal mining activities and demand urgent steps to be taken to tackle the issues head-on. There should be strict enforcement of all mining laws and regulations without any concessions, as well as the imposition of maximum sentences on offenders. This is a reliable approach to addressing this issue,” Mr Dwumfour added.
“The GJA urges the media to maintain the galamsey issue at the forefront until the menace was eliminated. As indicated in previous press conferences, we will not stop highlighting the issues until Galamsey stops,” he urged.
