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13-Year-Old JHS Student visits Pres Akufo-Addo, calls for National Students’ Day to build volunteerism
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Monday May 27, 2024, met and had an exciting interaction with budding teenager and Head Boy of Franphil International School, Master Papa Appeakorang Duodu-Kumi III, at the Jubilee House in Accra.
The rare, yet fascinating visit comes after the thirteen-year-old teenager had written a fine-looking yet insightful letter to the President, chronicling his early steps towards his ultimate ambition of becoming President of the country someday, as well as his fondness for President Akufo-Addo’s inspiring “Fellow Ghanaians” speeches at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The young JHS Two student has advocated for a National Students’ Day dedicated to students to do voluntary work in their schools and endeavour to instill same in them, as well as the establishment of more Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) schools across the country.
Taking lessons from the EU’s recent enactment of the Artificial Intelligence Act that applies a risk-based approach to ensure that different applications of the technology are treated differently depending on the perceived threats they pose to society so that based on their risk levels, not all applications are acceptable, he asked for the promulgation of an Artificial Intelligence policy to regulate that burgeoning, yet unfettered space in Ghana.
He also called on the Minister for Education to embark on working visits to rural communities, saying these visits will motivate the teachers and students alike and for the President to visit the needy and deprived families, interact with them and learn firsthand their needs and aspirations.
The very interactive visit also saw young Master Duodu-Kumi III seeking autographs on two photographs; one bearing the six leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) popularly known as the Big Six, and referencing the familial relations of three of them to the President, and another one of a young six-year old Akufo-Addo at the wedding of Dr JB Danquah, he sought to know which one of the three inspired the President on his decision to push to be President
He also wanted to know what the President’s most challenging and most difficult decision has been since his election and sought the President’s perspective on the leadership capabilities of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
President Akufo-Addo, in his responses, pledged to continue touching base with people of rural communities as he has done on his regional tours since 2017, when he became President, and directed the Ghana Education Service to engage relevant stakeholders on the National Students’ Day proposition.
The President also mentioned the introduction of the Free Senior High School Policy as the most challenging and most difficult decision due primarily to the period of implementation when Ghana was going through an IMF austerity procedure that triggered concerns by several members of his cabinet against the costly implementation of the policy.
He said, in the face of all these, he had to go ahead to implement Free SHS because he believed, then and now, that human resource remains the most important natural resource for Africa and that Ghanaians were looking forward to the fulfilment of the key campaign promise.
On his views on Nkrumah, he lauded the first President’s efforts in the independence struggle and the attainment of it, which positively sparked a wave of self-determination movements across Africa. He, however, disliked Nkrumah’s autocratic disposition and intolerance for dissenting voices, that led to the introduction of the Preventive Detention Act, based on which a lot of people were jailed because they didn’t agree with some of his decisions.
He continued that Dr J B Danquah, who was indeed one of the three members of his family in the Big Six, has always been his unbridled inspiration in his long walk to the Jubilee House and disclosed that, the other two, his father, Edward Akufo-Addo and his uncle, William Ofori-Atta, were themselves also similarly inspired by Dr JB Danquah’s political trajectory and impressive depths of knowledge.
Master Papa Appeakorang Duodu-Kumi III was accompanied by the principal of the school, Phil Opoku Boateng, Francis Boateng, William Addo Brown, an uncle and Kwaku Duodu-Kumi, his father.
The Dzidula Pink Foundation, a new organisation dedicated to cancer awareness, early detection, and patient support, has been officially launched in Accra, with a passionate call for national commitment to fighting the disease. The launch event, held last week Friday, carried the theme: “Beyond the diagnosis: A future of restoration, care and courage.”
Speaking at the event, Madam Abena Brigidi, founder and CEO of Nimed Capital Limited, emphasised that cancer remains one of the most devastating health challenges facing families across the country. “Cancer does not discriminate—it affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It drains families emotionally and financially, and behind every statistic is a human story and a future suddenly thrown into uncertainty,” she said.
Sharing her personal encounters with cancer, having lost both her husband and father to the disease, Madam Brigidi highlighted the emotional, financial, and physical scars left behind. “I stand here not just as a speaker, but as a witness to what cancer can take away,” she stated. “I have watched loved ones fight bravely, and I have felt the deep pain that loss leaves behind.”
She stressed that awareness and early detection are critical to reducing deaths, noting that many Ghanaians still lack access to proper screening, reliable information, and adequate treatment. She appealed to healthcare professionals, corporate institutions, policymakers, the media, and the general public to join hands in the fight. “Early detection saves lives. Your support today can lead to someone’s healing tomorrow,” she said.
Madam Brigidi further called for collective responsibility to sustain the foundation’s mission. “To our medical professionals, we need your expertise. To corporate partners, your resources. To the media, your voice. To policymakers, your support. And to the public, your compassion,” she urged. She also insisted that breast cancer awareness should not be limited to annual campaigns, saying, “Breast cancer awareness must not be seasonal.”
Mrs Diana Fafa Gozo, founder of the Dzidula Pink Foundation, shared her own cancer journey, describing the shock of diagnosis, the fear that followed, and the difficult path through treatment. Her experience transformed her pain into purpose and inspired her to create a foundation to ensure no cancer patient walks alone.
Mrs Gozo explained that many patients struggle not only with treatment costs but also with emotional resilience. She outlined the foundation’s initiatives, which include awareness and early detection campaigns, patient support funds, community outreach, and survival support circles. “This foundation is my offering of gratitude, courage, and compassion and a reminder that no one should walk the cancer journey alone,” she concluded.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) says it will deploy teams of Public Health Officers, members of its Sanitation Taskforce, and labourers, including sweepers and janitors, across all sub-metros to support the third National Sanitation Day exercise.
It explained that these teams will be equipped with waste collection trucks, tippers, and other tools to help with desilting, refuse collection, and transporting waste to approved disposal sites.
The AMA reminded residents that failing to comply with the sanitation directive or refusing to participate in communal labour is an offence.
It said offenders risk a fine of up to 100 penalty units, imprisonment between 30 days and six months, or both, with repeat offenders liable to additional daily penalties.
It urged all residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants, and businesses to actively participate in the exercise.
The AMA said it counts on everyone’s collective responsibility to keep Accra clean, liveable, and resilient, especially as the city approaches Christmas and the New Year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
