News
Morning Glory Foundation supports 15 widows
• Morning Glory Foundation beneficiaries in a group photograph
Morning Glory Foundation (MGF), a non-profit Christian organisation has donated GHC 1, 000. 00 each to 15 needy widows, including an 87-year-old woman at a ceremony at Dabala, in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The octogenarian, Madam Deborah Viletor, had given birth to seven children but unfortunately lost all of them, with her last surviving child buried this year.
The gesture which formed part of MGF’s second -year of donating to support needy widows and single parents in the society, was also used to provide a two-day entrepreneurial skills training for over 300 female residents atDabala and its environs.
The training include making of pastries, producing liquid soap, local drinks, detergents and arrangement of beads to make them self-reliant.
The trainees were drawn from Dabala, Dabala Junction, Klikpo, Agavey, Deme, Agboglah, Hleve and Agordomey, all in the Agave Traditional Area.
The founder and leader of MGF, Rev Davida Matti-Atapka, said the foundation was started to support poor widows who were left unaided but compelled to toil and cater for their children.
She said it was unfortunate that most of the widows were subjected to inhumane treatment following the death of their husbands, including expulsion from their matrimonial homes.
The founder disclosed that it was incumbent on society to ensure that people received love, the best of treatment, care and support to make them comfortable.
According to Rev Matti-Atakpa, it was refreshing to note that a few days after the training session,some of the trainees had commenced making use of the skills they had acquired.
The Queen of Agave Traditional Area, Mamaga Kakator Agarll, asked the participants to take the skills training they had acquired seriously because elsewhere, others had to pay much for such training opportunities, adding that those who had received financial support from MGF should put the money to good use to enable them educate their children.
She thanked MGF for coming to the aid of the residents in the community, and called on philanthropists andother groups to emulate them to bring development to the area.
History
Delving into the commencement of MGF, Rev Matti-Atakpa said on July 18, 2017 after she had breastfed her child at dawn, she felt a tap on her shoulder with the accompanied words, “Just as you have fed your child with undiluted milk, so must you feed my sheep with the unadulterated word of God each dawn.”
She said this literally gave birth to the formation of MGF with the sole aim of propagating the word of God, but thiswas later extended to caring for widows and single parents.
By Raymond Kyekye
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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