News
Women get help at last in Kulpieni …as men resolve to assist in domestic chores
Some of the women seated during the training
Men in the Kulpieni electoral area in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region have resolved to assist their wives at home in order for the women to have adequate time to engage in economic activities and have enough rest.
The Assembly Member of the electoral area, Mr Elijah Danyi who made this known to The Spectator, said hitherto, women were left with the task of taking care of the home and the children without assistance from their husbands.
But after series of meetings and training on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGVB), the men now understood their roles at home.
A Unit Committee member for the area, Mr Camillus Zineyele added that men catered for younger children to give women the liberty to prepare meals for the family and said they had also adopted the habit of staying at home to assist their wives.
These insights came to light during a meeting with the monitoring team from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the coordination of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the sub implementing partners on a project dubbed the 8th Country Project.
The project trained the community members on SGBV issues with regard to parent-child relationship, teenage pregnancies, early and forced marriages and unpaid care work, among others.
The Unit Committee member stated that before the training, they used to think that house care and house chores were the preserve of women.
“These days we do help our wives at home; we take care of the children while they cook. Initially a woman will have to carry the child and cook at the same time and we thought that was womanhood but after the training, we have assumed the roles of helpers,” he said.
He again stated that with the help of the community watchdog team that was formed to check immorality among adolescents, immoral meetings among the youth had ceased, hence their adolescent children stayed at home to assist their parents with the chores.
Another community member, Vida Gaaganaah said that due to sensitisation by the project implementers, the young men in the community had mobilised to construct a block to be used for issues of maternal health in the Kulpieni electoral area.
The community-initiated block, she said when completed would facilitate the work of the prospective midwife who would be sent to the community to work with pregnant women.
Madam Gaaganaah stated that before the training, pregnant women had to walk for between 10-15 kilometres (km) to Nanville for antenatal and other healthcare services.
She added that sometimes when pregnant women were in labour and there was no tricycle, it was diffi cult conveying them to the health centre with a motorbike but said that after the sensitisation, the men were able to secure the services of a midwife from the other community who visited Wednesdays to attend to pregnant women at a designated location.
According to the Assembly Member, the building was therefore to enhance the work of the midwives who visited the community and provide some form of privacy to the pregnant women.
He added that the community had started consulting some stakeholders to assist them secure a permanent health worker and minor work equipment for the block they were constructing to ensure that it served its intended purpose.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Kpaala
News
GBBF assistant treasurer, Aurora Commodore-Toppar eyes GOC Treasure slot at Elective Congress on Saturday
The Assistant treasurer of the Ghana Basketball Federation (GBBF), Madam Aurora Commodore-Toppar, has set her sights on becoming the next assistant treasurer of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) at the upcoming Elective Congress on Saturday.
The daughter of the former Chief Executive Officer of Accra Hearts of Oak, Mr. Emmanuel Martey Commodore-Mensah, will be vying for the position against Bernard Quartey of the Ghana Boxing Federation and Edward Patrick Nii Lante Banerman of the Handball Association of Ghana.
Having had her nomination approved by the GOC’s Electoral Commission, the well-seasoned banker, with over 15 years of rich working experience, believes she is well-suited and positioned to help structure the finances of this esteemed organisation.
In a chat with Spectator Sports, the captain of the bronze-winning 2024 University of Ghana basketball team at the 11th African University Games in Zaire, Nigeria, revealed her commitment to effective and accurate financial management, growth, and development of all associated sports federations.
She said, “I am committed to the growth of the GOC, and I want to offer my financial knowledge to aid in ensuring that the GOC operates with the highest standards of financial governance and set-up.”
According to her, the mission is to help promote the GOC’s agenda widely, and having served for over two decades in sports—especially basketball—in various capacities and roles, she believes this experience will help protect the GOC’s finances.
“If elected as assistant treasurer, I will do my utmost, together with the treasurer, to manage the GOC’s finances, including accounting and financial reporting among others,” she added.
According to her, “Accurate financial record-keeping has been a problem across the board; I will help eradicate this issue.”
Aurora Commodore-Toppar stands for transparency, hard work, and an inclusive work culture, she further added.
The former Aburi Girls’ Secondary School basketball team captain has played pivotal roles in improving sports in the country—especially basketball—including being a member of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2023 Africa Games, an LOC member for the recently concluded Hoop Rave SHS competition, a project lead for FIBA’s “Her World, Her Rules” initiative, chair for the 2024 Fetu Afahye Basketball Tournament, and founder of the Stomp De Yard Basketball Tournament, among others.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
News
113 Cardinals hold 3rd General Congregation in Rome
The 113 Cardinals present in Rome held the third General Congregation on Thursday morning, and announced who will deliver the two pre-conclave meditations.
The Cardinals decided that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández will celebrate the Mass on the sixth day of the Novemdiales, instead of Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
They agreed that Fr. Donato Ogliari, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls, will deliver the first meditation on Monday, and that Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher Emeritus of the Papal Household, will deliver the second meditation at the beginning of the conclave, whose starting date has not yet been decided.
The Cardinals began a conversation about the Church and the world, deciding to hold the next General Congregation on Friday morning at 9:00 AM.
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists that 61,000 people have paid their respects to the late Pope Francis as of 1:00 PM on Thursday, adding that St. Peter’s Basilica should close at midnight on Thursday, unless large crowds are still queuing to enter.
Following the Pope’s funeral on Saturday, April 26, a Rosary will be held in front of the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Saturday at 9:00 PM.
Mr. Bruni said the burial service for Pope Francis will take place in private.
Starting the morning of Sunday, April 27, the faithful may begin to visit the tomb of Pope Francis at the Marian Basilica.
