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Adolescence is like an egg, handle it carefully …Adolescents urged
Adolescents have been urged to treat their teenage years with caution, with adolescence being compared to ‘an egg’ that can crack instantly from a single mistake.
This came up during an engagement with adolescent boys and girls at Ave-Dakpa in the Akatsi North District under the project, ‘The Clinic Is Yours,’ an open day clinic, to invite adolescents and the youth to visit health facilities for free access to youth-friendly services.
It was organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), which is also a leading volunteer-supported non-governmental organisation, focused on providing comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services to young people in Ghana.
Madam Rosemary Addeh, the Midwife and In-charge of the Ave-Dakpa Health Centre, who facilitated the engagement, said adolescence was a period of rapid physical and brain development between childhood and adulthood, typically spanning the ages between 10 and 19, involving the search for social independence.
“Adolescence really is as fragile as an egg, and a single mistake can alter a young person’s future instantly.”
She explained that curiosity, peer pressure, and the desire to fit in made teenagers vulnerable and that the “egg once broken” by a crisis such as an unplanned pregnancy, the effects on a young person’s education, health and future were difficult to reverse.
The session highlighted the physical, mental, and social toll of teenage pregnancy, with other health risks cited including anaemia, malnutrition, early labour, and low birth-weight babies, because of immature physical development.
She said mentally, young mothers faced stress, depression and stigma, while socially many dropped out of school and faced long-term financial hardship.
To “handle the egg safely,” adolescents were advised to practice open communication with parents, seek comprehensive reproductive health education, set clear life goals, and build self- esteem to resist risky situations.
“When you access phone, use it for something profitable not pornographic materials. Also, access youth-friendly services. Get close to health workers on any information on SRHR, do not ask around to be deceived or misinformed as that can land you in trouble,” Madam Addeh advised.
Mr Delali Alex Dwomoh, the Physician Assistant and In-charge of Ave-Dakpa Health Centre, also addressed the group, assuring adolescents that health workers would not judge them.
“Take whatever you were told seriously. We will not be judgmental but will help you as young people to reach your full potential,” he assured them.
Mr Emmanuel Christopher Makam, the PPAG focal person for UNFPA Adolescent Girls Empowerment Project and Gender-based Violence Scale Up project for Volta Region, said the engagement formed part of ongoing efforts to equip adolescents with knowledge and support systems to navigate adolescence safely.–GNA
Medical Doctor and dietician, Dr Bernice Korkor Asare, has urged women to take greater responsibility for their lifestyle choices, particularly their eating habits and levels of physical activity, to help reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.
According to her, although, some breast cancer risk factors, such as family history and certain reproductive factors, may not be within an individual’s control, lifestyle choices offer an opportunity for people to take preventive action.
She made this known during a talk on the topic: “Role of diet in breast cancer prevention” organised by Times Ladies Association of the New Times Corporation, publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator, in Accra on Thursday.
The event themed “Breast Cancer Awareness- Promoting Early Detection, Healthy Eating and Prevention.” 
She noted that having a risk factor did not automatically mean a person would develop breast cancer, but could increase the likelihood of developing the disease compared with someone without that particular risk factor.
“Having close relatives who have had breast cancer, particularly a mother, sister or daughter, may increase the risk, although not everyone with a family history will develop the disease,” Dr Asare opined. Read More.
By Adizatu K. Munkaila
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A group of compassionate friends from Innovation Gospel Impact last Friday visited the management, teachers and learners of the Street Academy in Accra.
The visit was to interact to get a deeper insight into the operations of the Academy that houses hundreds of street and underprivileged children and find ways to support them.
The team was led by Rev. Dr Isaac Apenteng Yeboah, a former Director for West African Mailbox Club and Director for Prisons Support Foundation, and Rev. Dale Sutherland from Washington DC.
The call, according to the visitors was occasioned by reports about the struggles of the Academy despite the occasional support it enjoys from individuals and some corporate entities.
Briefing them, the Founder and Executive Director of the Academy, Dr Ataa Lartey, thanked them for the concern showed, indicating that “this is a major boost for both teachers and learners; knowing that their plight is known by people outside their premises.”
According Dr Lartey, the Academy had planned to undertake a number of project to enhance teaching and learning and also procure facilities for the children with keen interest in sports but had to shelve those plans for lack of finance.
He told the team that their biggest concerns were the monthly utility bills that takes a toll on their finances.
“We have a piece of land we planned to turn into an astro turf pitch to train the younger ones whose interests lies in making a career out of football, however, we have been unable to commence because there is no money now,” he said.
Dr Lartey expressed gratitude to the teachers who have dedicated their lives to training these children, rather than going for well-paying jobs and hoped that with time, their conditions of engagement would improve.
Moved by the plight of the Academy, the group donated a cash amount of Gh₵3,000 to settle its water bills.
They described as unfortunate the conditions of learners and teachers of the Academy and pledged to continuously support their operations to realize the dream to build a better future for the unfortunate children.
The group offered to support the school with its monthly utility bills, feeding and staff allowance and urged the Academy staff to remain in constant touch with them.
The Street Academy is located at the Accra Art Center and offers brilliant but needy the chance to pursue their educational dreams by enrolling them in public schools with others offered training in sports and cultural activities.
By Spectator Reporter
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