News
SDA Women Ministry donates to Koforidua Prisons
Officers at the facility receiving the items
The Women Ministries Department in the New Life District of the Seventh Day Adventist (S.D.A) Church has donated items worth GH¢12,000 to the Koforidua Local Prisons.
The items include three bags of bathroom slippers, 70 bags of sachet water, 700 pieces of toothpaste, 700 pieces of toothbrush, bags of second hand clothing, several copies of evangelistic books, washing detergents and toiletries.
The District Women Ministries Leader, Mrs. Gladys Coompson who presented the items said the purpose of the donation was to reach out to the inmates as the Bible obliged them to do.
She noted that the ministries assisted in spiritual, social, relationships,human interest and humanitarian issues, hence the need to visit the inmates and put smiles on their faces.
Mrs. Coompson indicated that the ministries would use the coming six months to visit, interact and encourage inmates with the aim of loving one another.
She, therefore, advised the public to embrace and love them when they were discharged.
For his part, the Church Pastor of the Newlife S.D.A Church, Pastor Osei Bonsu Sarpong encouraged the inmates to have faith in the Lord and hope that they would leave the place with a new heart.
Pastor Sarpong, who is also the District Pastor noted that there were characters in the Bible who were sent to prison but due to the faith they had in God, they were able to endure and got released later.
He indicated that some of the inmates had found themselves in their current situation due to mere hatred and added that “Jesus loves everyone including them”.
Also for her part, the Former Effiduase District Women Coordinator, Madam Margaret Serwaa Ofori revealed that she had engaged a number of the inmates for 10 years and won eight souls for Christ in baptism.
According to her, the inmates would reform totally when they were released.
Receiving the items, The Assistant Duty Officer of the Koforidua Local Prison, Assistant Superintendent of Prison (A.S.P) Samuel Adu expressed gratitude to the women for their kindness.
He appealed to the government, corporate bodies and philanthropists to address the water, food and congestion situation that the inmates were battling with.
From Spectator Reporter, Koforidua
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
From panic to pass: how parents, teachers can help children beat BECE, WASSCE exam phobia- Part 1
Walk through any Junior High or Senior High compound in Ghana as BECE or WASSCE approaches and you will see it.
A bright girl suddenly quiet. A boy who led class debates now sleeping at his desk. A Form three student with stomach pains every Monday morning.
This is not laziness. This is academic stress. When left unaddressed, it hardens into exam phobia-overwhelming dread that pushes children into burnout, avoidance, and sometimes silence.
As a mental health professional who sits with these children and their parents at Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Adenta Oyarifa-Teiman, I see the pattern clearly.
Research confirms it. Putwain and Daly (2014) found that high test anxiety predicts lower grades independent of ability. Zeidner (1998) showed that chronic academic pressure raises cortisol, weakens memory recall, and increases school dropout risk. The brain under fear cannot retrieve what it studied.
Understanding the storm: What academic stress really looks like
Exam phobia is not just “being nervous.” It shows up as headaches before mocks, sudden anger when books are mentioned, night-time insomnia, or perfectionism that ends in blank scripts.
Some children over-study until 2 a.m. and forget everything by 9 a.m. Others avoid books completely, scrolling phones instead. Both are distress signals. Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent resilience, notes: “Stress is not the enemy; feeling alone with stress is.” Too many Ghanaian children feel alone with it.
The home front: How parents and couples become safe havens, not extra pressure
The first antidote is at home. Structure beats shouting. Set a predictable study slot-same time, same place, with water and a light snack. Then protect sleep like you protect school fees. A tired brain fails faster than an unprepared one. Use the “15-minute start rule”: “Just sit for 15 minutes. If you still can’t, we close and try after a walk.” Often, starting is the hardest part.
Couples must watch their language. “Don’t disgrace us” plants fear. Replace it with “We see your effort. What part feels hardest today?” Praise process, not only position: “You revised three topics and asked for help—that is maturity.” Research by Dweck (2006) confirms that process praise builds resilience while outcome praise increases anxiety.
For caregivers, check your own anxiety. Children borrow our nervous system. If BECE makes you panic, they will panic. One parent grounds—keeps meals, prayer, and bedtime steady. The other pivots—talks to teachers, adjusts timetables, arranges counselling. Both protect rest. An empty cup cannot pour calm.
Resources
– Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC): Award-winning Clinical Mental Health and Counselling Facility, accredited by the Ghana Psychology Council.
– School-Based Support: Speak to Guidance & Counselling units, or licensed school counsellors. E.g. Counsellor Blessing Offei – 0559850604 (School Counsellor).
– Contact CPAC for Parent Coaching/Counselling & Student Therapy: 055 985 0604 / 055 142 8486
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