Features
MAAME AMA’S COFFEE SHOP
Many friends have preferences for different foods depending on the times they become free to feed themselves or when they feel hungry and wish to consume some amount of food to get more energy for their work.
In terms of food preference, kenkey, banku, ampesi, rice, yam and others may be made available to food consumers. However, in early times of the day some people prefer to take in coffee before consuming other kinds of food.
This is what made Maame Ama’s coffee shop popular and widespread. The coffee shop is located at a place close to a taxi rank at Abeka Lapaz. The location made it easy for many people to be attracted to the shop even for those whose preference may not be for coffee but for something else.
Customer service
The truth of the matter is that Maame Ama was well versed in customer service and will do anything she can to attract any visitor to her shop. In spite of the description of her place as a coffee shop, she was involved in selling all kinds of food namely red-red, kenkey and others.
Thus, the coffee shop was a place of a kind that dealt with all kinds of foodstuff. About three months ago, one man, attracted by Maame Ama’s pleasant behaviour, went to her shop to buy coffee and ended up taking in more than necessary to his discomfort. Since his stomach was empty except the coffee which he took, he began to feel very uncomfortable and so asked for kenkey which could make him heavy for the morning.
“Heavy food man”
In the course of eating the kenkey he began to throw up, soiling his clothes and, in a way, embarassed himself since there were some ladies around. The truth of the matter is that he was not a “coffee man” but rather a “heavy food man”, meaning that he was the type who was used to taking in heavy meals rather than light ones like coffee.
It means that we should not force ourselves at any time to take in things that do not match our taste simply because we want to please someone.
The young man concerned here is Abubakar whose behaviour in this direction is very common though not good for his personality. Instead of standing for what he prefers Abubakar would be easily influenced by people especially pretty young women just to satisfy them.
“Do you take okro?” a friend asked him one day at a food joint at Kasoa. “Yes, I do”, Abubakar replied even though he was not used to taking okro soup. On that occasion, too, Abubakar started vomiting the content of what he took after a few minutes to the disappointment of his friend who took him there.
The truth of the matter is that we need to be bold enough to insist on our preferences rather than taking in things we may not like just because we want to please other people.
Here the lesson in life is that we should always be prepared to do what is acceptable to us rather than “killing” ourselves as sacrificial lambs to please others.
Hard liquor
This behaviour put up by Abubakar appears to be a trend in his family. One of his siblings, Joseph Dabo, underwent a similar experience about a year ago when he also decided to consume about half a bottle of hard liquor known locally as “Akpeteshi”. Joseph Dabo pretended he had great capacity for the local liquor. After consuming about three glasses with others who were with him, he fell and collapsed. Here again, three of his friends who went with him had to carry him home after anxiously pouring water on him several times to revive him.
On waking up, Joseph Dabo realised that he had nearly destroyed himself with the local gin. He was advised to keep away from “Akpeteshi” from that day, an advice he obediently kept to himself until another time when he decided to take in three bottles of Beer mixed with Guinness together with some friends who had greater capacity for such things.
Loss of fiancée
But going back to Maame Ama’s coffee shop, Abubakar who had vomited at the shop was also carried away home and made to take his bath. This behaviour caused him to lose his fiancée known as Namoale. Namoale is a very pretty lady who lived and behaved in accordance with her name. Her name in Ga means “who knows tomorrow”.
She was influenced, many people believed, by the meaning of her name. Having tolerated Abubakar for two years for his ugly and unacceptable behaviour, she became fed up and decided to stop the relationship and move on with her life even though she did not find it easy to do so since she was in great love with Abubakar. After leaving Abubakar, Namoale concentrated on her petty trading for nearly a year when a young man about two years older than her, met her and expressed interest in her.
The young man took her to Maame Ama’s coffee shop from time to time. The two would usually go for beverages like coffee or porridge and top them up with some other food. They go there at weekends when each of them is free from work.
Made for each other
The two partners appeared to have been made for each other, fighting hard and jealously to protect the interest of the other. It, therefore, came as no surprise when two years after they had met, they decided to unite in marriage. They were not very religious, but their lifestyle was pleasant. This also raised another question on the lips of their neighbours that whether it is religion that influences people’s morality, or whether it is the moral nature of people that results in good behaviour.
Unpleasant behaviour
Various opinions can be expressed on this issue. However, one thing that is clear is that by nature a person should be morally upright in order to find him or herself attracted and acceptable to others. Being religious is good but if the religiousness of a person who is by nature immoral, makes him or her put up unpleasant behaviour then such persons will not be found to behave well in society even if they live with the Pope in Rome.
The point being made is that keeping to the tenets of religion such as Christianity, Islam or any other religion may be good, but the moral nature of the person concerned is equally important. In certain parts of the country, many religious people can be found all over yet it is difficult to understand why at the least provocation they engage in fighting even though they are generally inter-related as a people.
Everyone concerned should be morally upright and be involved in the fight against squalor and deprivation but not engage in things that may lead to the destruction of life and property.
Good example to everyone
Maame Ama’s coffee shop should serve as a good example to everyone. Being a polite and well-trained person, Maame Ama had shown the world that you can attract all kinds of people to your shop if you exhibit an open heart and also demonstrate that you are prepared to move with everyone irrespective of where they come from. Our society must learn from this to make the country peaceful and attractive to all.
The coffee shop owned by Maame Ama is comparable to an island of good behaviour in a world of
confusion but it is never too late for everyone to change and follow Maame Ama’s behaviour so that
together, Ghana can become a great country to the glory of God.
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
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