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GOOD LUCK, “AKUFO-ADDO GRADUATES!”
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Ghanaian students have not been very lucky in recent years, have they?
I mean – they have been deprived of tuition in the past, because their leadership had decided students should go and cart cocoa from cocoa farms. At other times, massive political unrest on campuses had caused disruption of work on campuses.
So a smile played on my lips when President Akufo-Addo, in his 12th
address to the nation on Covid-19, emphasised referred twice to what he called the “Akufo-Addo graduates.”
The first mention occurred in this passage:
QUOTE:“ [The] SHS 3 students, also referred to by some as the ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’, are the first group of beneficiaries of Government’s Free Senior High School policy,to sit the WASSCE exams. 1.2 million children, the highest such enrolment in our nation’s history, [are currently in senior high schools] because of this policy”. UNQUOTE.
The second reference to them appeared in this passage:
QUOTE: “I take this opportunity to assure all parents and guardians that [my] Government is determined to protect the lives of the eight hundred thousand (800,000) students, teachers and non-teaching staff, who will be returning to school from tomorrow. I will be the last person to put the lives of the ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’ at risk.” UNQUOTE
It is gratifying to find that the President identifies himself so closely with the welfare of our students, for as he acknowledged, the future development of the country will rest on their shoulders.
Just how important it is for the country to cherish its students is illustrated by the dialogue which officials of OccupyGhana (knowledgeable persons trained by educational institutions) have been carrying out with the Ghana health authorities on their management of the Covid-19 pandemic.
OccupyGhana held a “zoom meeting”with the “entire leadership” of the Government’s Covid-19 team in the evening of 19 June 2020.
And it says:“It was a very engaging meeting.”
The group had earlier expressed “scepticism about some of the death figures put out with regard to Covid-19 cases in the country.” There was cause for it to suspect that the death numbers issued by the GHS were “being massaged.” So OccupyGhana complained about this in a statement on June 15, 2020.
The GHS had issued a statement denying that there was any such “massaging” of death figures. A zoom meeting was subsequently convened by both parties, where the Service sought to clarify its position.
OccupyGhana says it “vehemently disagreed” with, and still “questions” the science behind the GHS’ claim [that] GHS was “verifying the ‘epidemiological condition’ of [those who had died] “from COVID-19.”
In the opinion of OccupyGhana,“this terminology caused “confusion”, since “the verification team in Accra was not doing any retesting or post mortems”. Simply put, there was “nothing to verify, outside a simple phone call to the people on the ground!”
OccupyGhana stated that it still considers “the excuse of a delay in releasing test results, due to the so-called “verification”, unacceptable and untenable and provides “grounds to OccupyGhana’s expressed suspicion. These delays erode public confidence in the GHS’ data.”
In fact, according to OccupyGhana, it was “entirely possible” that, had “the full information” been made available, “the President’s decision” [to ease the knock-down] and “public reaction” [to it] “would have been different.”
Other questions raised by OccupyGhana at the meeting included: Is it Government policy to head for ‘herd immunity’? Why are ambulances not responding to the several callers? Why is there so much delay in releasing test results? Why has contact tracing reduced? Why is there a shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)? [Is it not a fact] that the holding and treatment centres in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions (the two epicentres) are full?
On ‘herd immunity’, OccupyGhana was “assured that this was not the Government’s intention.”
With regard to Ambulance Response, the
GHS said “they did not consider this to be within their remit”. OccupyGhana expressed concern that the delays “could be due to not enough ambulances having been assigned for COVID-19 related use.” Again, OccupyGhana was assured at the meeting that its “concerns would be addressed.” OccupyGhana commented: “We will continue to monitor the situation”.
On the issue of delays in releasing test results, the GHS had earlier claimed that it took 48 hours for most results to be released. But OccupyGhana did not accept the accuracy of that statement. “As was shown at the meeting, currently, some results take as much as seven days. Sometimes it takes much longer to receive results.”
OccupyGhana explained: “We, therefore, raised further questions on whether the testing centres are optimised to perform? Are all the testing centres running, and if not, why? Do the testing centres have data entry issues?
“Do the sample collection facilities adequately fill the case forms that accompany all the samples? Is there a high number of mislabelling?
“Ultimately, the meeting conceded that there are indeed delays and assured us that a lot was being done to address that. For instance, a barcode labelling system, with electronic transmission of test results through the ‘SORMAS app’ has been introduced. We will continue to watch this space since reducing the delay in getting test results will reduce anxiety among those who have tested, and then dovetail into the discharge strategy, so that patients are discharged in good time to make room for others.”
On Reduced Contact Tracing, Occupy Ghana was informed that “Ghana is no longer doing the enhanced contact tracing that characterised the lock-down, and that the mass contact tracing team has been disbanded.”
OccupyGhana declared: “We disagree, strongly. At the end of the lock down on 19 April 2020, Ghana had 1,042 positive cases. Currently, we have a total of 13,717 positive cases of which 3,558 are active.
“We [therefore] find this new policy bizarre and counter-intuitive. We know enhanced tracing has financial implications, but it beggars belief that [it] would be discontinued, when the daily number of new positive cases is increasing. Early detection and treatment are critical to preventing severe and critical cases. We forcefully expressed these concerns and have been assured that they will be addressed. We will continue to advocate for and demand a return to enhanced tracing.”
With regard to Data Sanctity, OccupyGhana maintained that “we also pointed out, and … the Government COVID-19 team admitted, [that] several of the deaths then not included in the national total, had occurred some two to three weeks before the President recently further eased restrictions.
“To us, that meant that as at the time the President was taking that decision and announcing it, both he and Ghanaians had been denied the full complement of the data and the true picture. It is entirely possible that had the full information been made available, the President’s decision and public reaction would have been different.”
Delays eroded public confidence in the GHS’ data, OccupyGhana said. “e were assured that the problem had been resolved and that there would be more real-time updates.”
Long may such reasoned, objective discussions take place. We thank our stars that when such a terrible pandemic descended upon us, we had groups with the intellectual depth, both within and outside the public service, to agree to let the science do the talking.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Features
Confronting newborn abandonment in Ghana: When a cry for help is heard in a dustbin – Part 2
The root causes: It is never just one reason
My years of counselling at CPAC show me abandonment is rarely an act of malice. It is the tragic endpoint of seven overwhelming distresses:
1. Severe maternal mental illness —The hidden emergency
a) Clinical Postpartum Depression (PPD): This is far beyond “baby blues.” It is a severe mood disorder that can appear weeks to months after birth. Due to a massive drop in hormones, extreme sleep deprivation, and emotional exhaustion, the mother feels deep sadness, worthlessness, and complete emotional numbness towards her baby. Picture: A new mother sits by her bed all day, staring blankly. Her baby cries for hours, but she cannot lift her hands to carry the baby. She whispers, “This baby would be better off without me.” She does not hate the baby; she feels she has completely failed as a mother.
b) Peripartum Psychosis (Postpartum Psychosis): This is a psychiatric emergency. Rare but extremely dangerous, appearing suddenly within the first 2-3 weeks after delivery. The mother completely loses touch with reality. She hears commanding voices telling her to abandon the baby, or believes the baby is possessed by an evil spirit or is a “spirit child” who will bring a curse. Picture: A mother genuinely believes she heard a voice saying, “Leave this child at the crossroads at midnight or your family will die.” She abandons the baby not out of hatred, but because her broken mind believes she is obeying a higher spiritual order to save her family.
c) Pre-existing untreated Schizophrenia: This is a chronic, severe mental disorder that existed before the pregnancy. The stress of pregnancy and labour shatters her fragile coping. She suffers from paranoid delusions — believing people want to poison her and the baby — flat affect (zero facial expression), and grossly disorganised thinking, making it impossible to plan how to feed or clean a baby. Picture: A young woman whose family called her illness “spiritual attack” instead of taking her for medication wanders away after delivery, completely forgetting she even gave birth, leaving the infant behind.
2. Extreme socio-economic deprivation: For many girls in some parts of Ghana such as Kasoa, Madina, or Bekwai, poverty is not a statistic; it is a daily panic. No money for antenatal care, no money for hospital delivery, no money for baby diapers or formula. When a mother cannot feed herself, the thought of feeding another mouth feels impossible. Some mothers say, “I left her where someone richer would find her, because I could not watch her starve to death in my hands.” It is a distorted act of survival.
3. Intense societal stigma and shame: In Ghana, pregnancy outside marriage, teenage pregnancy, or pregnancy from rape can bring extreme family rejection. The girl is called “spoilt,” beaten, banned from church, or sacked from school. The fear of bringing shame to the family name is heavier than the fear of police. So she hides the pregnancy for 9 months, delivers alone, and abandons in secret to protect her family’s “honour.”
4. Paternal abandonment — The Man Who Ran Away: Behind almost every abandoned baby is a man who vanished. He says, “It is not mine,” or “Abort it,” and switches off his phone. The mother is left utterly isolated — no emotional, financial, or social support. She is criminalised alone, but the abandonment started with him. Psychological research shows paternal denial is one of the strongest predictors of maternal panic and newborn abandonment.
5. Substance abuse disorders: Alcohol, tramadol, and other drug addiction impair the brain’s executive functioning — the ability to plan, judge consequences, and process emotions. A mother struggling with addiction may give birth in a highly intoxicated or withdrawal state, unable to comprehend the needs of the newborn, leading to neglect and eventual abandonment.
6. The spirit child cultural phenomenon and superstition: In some remote pockets of Northern Ghana and even in few parts of Central and Ashanti regions, public health research shows babies born with congenital deformities, severe disabilities, or whose mothers die in childbirth are branded as “spirit children” or cursed. In extreme instances, families, under cultural pressure, mandate that such babies be exposed or abandoned at shrines or bushes. This is not mental illness, but a harmful cultural belief system that still kills.
The invisible wounds
On the baby: Risk of death from hypothermia, sepsis, and infection. Survivors suffer Anaclitic Depression and Failure to Thrive due to lack of touch. As adults, they battle Reactive Attachment Disorder, chronic mistrust, and identity crisis — “Why did my mother leave me in a dustbin?”
On the mother: Lifelong hidden grief, intense guilt, chronic PTSD, depression, and elevated suicide risk. A prison cell does not heal this.
On the nation: Overburdened orphanages like Osu Children’s Home, draining health budgets, and overworked Social Welfare officers.
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“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. For there is no difference; – Rom. 3:10, 21-22. (NIV)
Introduction
Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness. The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.
The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own; the standard is simply too high. The good news is that true righteousness is possible for mankind, but only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21. This is an amazing truth. On the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness so that we can one day stand before God and He will see not our sin, but the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
Establishing our hearts in righteousness
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” – Proverbs 4:23
According to the above verse in Proverbs, our heart is the source of our life. Our life flows from our heart. The Holy Spirit resides in the spirit of the born again Christian. So there is a strong influence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the new-born Christian. But our heart is also comprised of our soul. As Christians we can choose to focus our soul on the Lord, or on evil things. If we focus on corrupt, immoral, and evil things our heart will be affected detrimentally. It will cause our heart to be crooked or wicked, instead of straight or righteous. So the Scripture says to keep, or guard, our heart. It is wise to protect our heart as what we allow to dominate our heart will inevitably become the fruit, or influence the outcome, of our lives.
One way to approach life is to continually ask the question, “How will this decision or action affect my heart?” Everything we do, every thought we entertain, everything we watch, read, or listen to, shapes our heart. Therefore, the future prosperity of our life will flow from how well we care for our heart.
Think of everything you do, every moment of time, as a seed. We have been given responsibility for choosing which seeds to plant in our heart. What will you grow in the garden of your heart? What seeds will you choose? Our heart is our garden, and our life is the fruit of our garden. So next time you are tempted to dwell on a bad thought, think, “Do I want this seed to grow and manifest in my life?” Next time you are tempted to indulge in a sinful action ask yourself, “Do I want the extension, or fruit, of this sinful action to be what I am known for?”
God gives us the freedom to plant whatever we like in our garden. God loves us regardless of the good or bad choices we may make in our lives. You may be reaping the fruit of some poor choices right now. And God is still saying, “I love you.” But He has wise advice for us; He desires we have a good life. He says, “Guard you heart with all diligence.” This Hebrew word translated ‘diligence’ conveys the meanings of: prison and guard (ibid). A superintendant of a prison is very particular as to what goes in and out of his prison. A prison has very tight security. Just as a superintendant watches over his prison, so we should also supervise our heart (our lives). We should exercise meticulous security with regards to what enters into our heart. Actually, even what comes out of it, as the Scripture says, “ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” – James 1:19, as “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” –Matthew 12:34b.
If what goes into, and what comes out of, our heart determines the success of our lives, what is the first important principle to establish in our heart? “In righteousness you shall be established;” – Isaiah 54:14
Righteousness is the key foundational truth we need to first establish in our heart. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33. Notice Jesus said, “His righteousness”, not our own righteousness. We have to seek and understand God’s righteousness. Isaiah 54:14 says, “Their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” God’s righteousness comes from God, not from within us. Humans cannot make themselves God’s righteousness, as all humans have sinned and are therefore inferior to God. God’s righteousness is a gift from God: “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Righteousness, or right standing with God, has been attained for us through the exchange Jesus made on our behalf. Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. God’s righteousness is imparted to us when we are made a new creature in Christ – 2 Corinthians 5:17. This righteousness is a gift from God and undeserved by us: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”- Romans 5:17
Through our faith in Jesus’ blood, shed to remit our sins – Romans 3:25, God imparts righteousness to us by His grace. We actually become a new righteous creation, fully identifying in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension. This is the foundational miracle we need to understand and have established in our heart. All the other miraculous promises of God come the same way, by God’s grace through faith. Righteousness must be established in our heart for us to truly have faith to receive our rich inheritance in Christ. Jesus has been made unto us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are now “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us”. – 2 Corinthians 1:20
Establishing our minds in righteousness
God expects that, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be radically changed. In Romans 12:2 He tells us, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
This transformation is to be a metamorphosis, of a magnitude at least comparable to that by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. He expects us to become totally different.
Scripture uses many different images to express the change that should occur: We become “a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.“ – 2 Cor 5:17. It is almost as if we become a new species. Scripture speaks of the “first Adam” who was earthly and fell into sin, and the “second Adam” (Jesus Christ) who was sinless and holy – Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor 15:44-49.
We are “made new in the attitude of our minds” – Eph. 4:23.
We “put off our old self” and “put on the new self” – Eph. 4:22,24; Col 3:9-10.
We “live by the Spirit” and not by the flesh – Gal. 5:16; Rom 8:13.
We become “instruments of righteousness” rather than “instruments of wickedness” – Rom. 6:13.
Each of these metaphors, in a different way, emphasizes the magnitude of the change that is expected. Each is dramatic and astonishing in itself; their cumulative effect is even more powerful. We are talking about a tremendous transformation. It should be visible to others, but its internal effect should be far greater than what others can perceive.
The goal of this transformation
What is the goal of this metamorphosis? Scripture states it in a number of different ways, which overlap and can be seen as different ways of expressing the same basic concept. Scripture often does this, because our minds are inadequate to comprehend, and our language inadequate to express, the full scope of God’s revelation to us.
To be continued!
Stay blessed!
For further inquiries please contact us on Tel Nos. 0243588467 or 0268130615
Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
Website: saltandlightministriesgh.org
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