News
Kindness: A solution to a healthy life
Decades ago, researchers measured the effects of diet on the heart health of rabbits. Not surprisingly, rabbits that were fed fatty foods developed cholesterol problems. But something else was surprising—one group of rabbits had significantly better health outcomes. They had eaten the same foods as the other rabbits, but they had been cared for by a particular researcher—one who happened to be “an unusually kind and caring individual.” She didn’t just feed the rabbits. “She talked to them, cuddled and petted them.” She didn’t know she was altering the results—she was just being herself.
Suddenly this wasn’t just an experiment about genetics and diet. These researchers were learning that relationships matter too. A recent book titled The Rabbit Effect cites these findings and concludes, “Ultimately, what affects our health in the most meaningful ways has … much to do with how we treat one another, how we live, and how we think about what it means to be human.”
in showing kindness
In other words, “the rabbit effect” could just as easily be called “the human effect.”
So many seem so angry as they interact with others—online and in person. Some are raging inside at the outside world, annoyed and impatient with people around them as well as themselves. Even many who aren’t openly hostile have simply become cold, distant, and impersonal. And we wonder why general health and happiness suffer, why peace and calm are so elusive.
Humans, perhaps even more than rabbits, need kindness and caring, affection and love in order to thrive. No one can flourish in an atmosphere of contention and animosity. When we are kind—even if others don’t return the favour—we carry a healthy inner peace, knowing we have generated light instead of heat. When we sincerely care for and about others, we spread compassion and helpfulness more freely throughout the world. And in the process, we create a healthier, happier environment for everyone.
This will always be a world of differing opinions. Like a brook that bubbles over rocks and obstructions, we frequently bump up against those who disagree with us. Learning how to deal with such obstacles is essential to happy living. Sometimes we navigate around them, proceeding on our way. Other times we find ourselves swirling in an eddy, unable to go forward or worse, immobile and stagnant.
Some say that discord is inevitable, simply a part of life. But engaging in contention never yields a positive outcome. Rather, it distracts us from our goals, robs us of contentment and peace, and can even destroy relationships. No one ever wins a quarrel; both sides ultimately lose.
There are times when we want to persuade someone to see things our way. And if we can do so with kindness and respect, we have a chance. But arguing does not convince others of our position; it only convinces them of our disposition.
Do we sometimes value skillful debating over sensitive peacemaking? Perhaps we should be more like the schoolteacher who gave extra credit to students who could mediate a disagreement and get classmates to calm down and see the other side of things. Or like the couple who found that when they wrote down their feelings before sharing them, they were able to see how hurtful some of their comments were and revised them to be more loving.
Disagreements and differences are inevitable, but they don’t have to lead to contention or anger. We can choose to listen with our hearts, respond with respect, and turn down the heat when we sense tensions rising. By considering the feelings and perspectives of others, we can avoid the pride that turns our loved ones and associates into our opponents. Then, if we disagree with them, we can do so with love and respect, not hostility and contention. It’s not worth engaging in battle. We find a greater measure of peace and joy when we put compassion before contention and people before opinions.
If cuddling a rabbit can lower its cholesterol, imagine what can happen if we look around and reach out in simple, loving ways to people around us. That’s the power of human kindness.
By Samuel Enos Eghan
The Ghana Water Justice Network (GWJN), a civil society organization, has called on the government to make water affordable and accessible to Ghanaians in the country.
The organization said making water affordable, particularly for low-income and vulnerable households, included an end to water disconnections due to inability to pay.
This was in a communiqué issued at the launch of the GWJN in Accra on the theme “Water for People, Not for Profit.”
The launch of the event was to mobilize citizens and advocate sustainable long-term solutions to Ghana’s escalating water crisis.
The statement said such disconnections violated the human right to water and disproportionately affected women and children.
“We advocate for inclusive, humane service delivery that prioritizes dignity and access to all citizens,” the statement said.
The statement urged the government to address significant investment shortfalls by fully honouring budget commitments, especially by extending services to underserved communities.
The statement urged authorities to actively include women as leaders and decision-makers in water management at all levels and address the disproportionate impacts of water scarcity on women and girls.
It also called for the establishment and enforcement of water protection zones and the integration of catchment protection plans into spatial planning schemes.
“To combat the menace of galamsey, we urge the government to seize assets and prosecute financiers and equipment owners, support community-based river guards, and deploy satellite and drone surveillance systems to combat illegal mining,” it said.
The communiqué also called on the authorities to introduce a national borehole drilling permit system, create a central groundwater database, and promote shared community borehole systems.
The statement said for countless communities across the country, access to affordable and reliable water remained out of reach.
In rural areas, peri-urban settlements, and low-income urban neighbourhoods, daily realities are marked by long queues, inconsistent supply, and rising costs.
It said at the heart of this crisis were women and children, who bear the heaviest burden when water systems fail.
This situation, the statement said, leaves far too many people behind and threatened to derail progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal six—universal and equitable access to safe and affordable water for all by 2030. -GNA
Police have retrieved all buried body parts of Joyce Akua Ampomaa, a 40-year-old trader allegedly murdered at Awutu Bentum in the Central Region.
The remains have been deposited at the Police Hospital Mortuary for preservation and autopsy, while investigations continue, Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said at a press briefing in Accra.
She stated that the suspect, a 25-year-old fetish priest, was arrested by the Homicide Unit of the CID after the mutilated body of the deceased was discovered in a bush on the outskirts of Awutu Bentum on March 10, 2026.
Police said the Asafoatse of Awutu Bentum reported the discovery to the Jei Krodua Police Station after the body was found with the head and both legs severed.
Investigations revealed that she had previously sought herbal treatment from the suspect in 2025 and returned on March 4, 2026, for spiritual assistance.
The suspect allegedly lured her into a bush, attacked her with a cutlass, killed her, dismembered the body, and concealed the remains.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted to the offence and disclosed that he buried the head at Mafi Avedo in the Volta Region and the legs at his residence at Awutu Bentum.
He was arraigned before the Adabraka District Court on March 13, 2026, and remanded into custody.
The court granted an exhumation order, enabling Police to retrieve the buried body parts.
On March 17, 2026, the suspect led investigators to Mafi Avedo, where the deceased’s head was exhumed.
On March 18, 2026, he led Police to Awutu Bentum for a reconstruction of the incident and to locations where the legs and destroyed mobile phones were retrieved.
At the crime scene, located on a cassava farm, the suspect allegedly identified the spot of the attack, the deposition of the body, and a pit where bloodstained items were buried.
Pathologists later exhumed the legs at his residence opposite the Chief’s Palace.
Police noted that community members had demolished the suspect’s residence and shrine, affecting retrieval of the suspected murder weapon and other exhibits.
COP Donkor commended officers for their professionalism and expressed appreciation to international partners, including INTERPOL, the Australian Federal Police, and authorities in Togo, for their collaboration. –GNA
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