News
Silence box fighting violence, forced marriages in the Nanumba North District.
Aisha, a 16-year-old girl’s prefect of Montanaya Junior High School in the Nanumba North district in the Northern Region, is among hundreds of girls in rural communities, where a simple metal box kept in a safe room in their school is offering a lifeline for many innocent girls.
To the untrained eye, it looks ordinary. It’s just a box with a narrow slit at the top, but to the teenage girls, it is a silent witness and a keeper of secrets. “This is the Violence Reporting Box.
In Nabuli, violence was once an unspoken norm for decades, where issues of domestic abuse, child marriage, and gender-based violence were swept under the carpet.
The victims bore their pain in silence, fearing banishment when such issues were reported to powerful community elders.
It was installed as part of a community driven initiative, spearheaded by ActionAid and implemented by songtaba, a local base NGO.
Madam Hamida Kukuna, the Community Officer for Songtaba at Nabuli said the box does not judge, but only listen, trying to address your issue if you have been wronged.
She indicated that every week, trained volunteers discreetly emptied the box, forwarding reports to a team of social workers and law enforcement officers stationed in the district capital, after victims of violence anonymously slip handwritten notes into the box.
“At first, the box was a curiosity, where children giggled as they looked at it, and villagers questioned its purpose”, she said.
Ms Hamida continue that for weeks it remained empty, then after one rainy evening, she saw a footprint towards the box so she opened it and saw a piece of paper inside.
It stated “He comes every night when my mother is away. I am only 12, Please help me.”
The volunteers acted swiftly and that led to the identification of the girl and rescued her from her abusive uncle, who was later arrested.
The news spread quickly, and for the first time, the people of Nabuli realised the power of this silent box.
Soon, more notes followed, as a wife who had been battered for years sought help and a father reported his daughter’s forced marriage to a much older man.
According to Hamida, the box became a beacon of hope, an outlet for the voiceless.
Moreover, she said within a year the box has facilitated the rescue of over 30 individuals from abusive situations.
“It has also triggered critical conversations about violence, gender roles, and justice in the community, she added.
Mrs Beatrice Yanman Biije, a Programmes Officer at ActionAid Ghana at the Tamale office stated that village council, once complicit in silencing victims, began working with the authorities in creating a safe place for the teenagers.
She said one of the most remarkable transformations was when a 26-year-old mother of two, after years of beatings from her husband, wrote a note to the box with the help of a teacher.
“Her story inspired the creation of a women’s cooperative, offering skills training and support to survivors of abuse,” she said.
She added that, the initiative faced hurdles, where some villagers accused the box of encouraging rebellion and breaking families apart, said an elder in the community.
“Others tried to sabotage it, spreading rumors and threatening volunteers, but the tide was turning with each life saved, the community’s support grew stronger”, she added.
The success of the violence reporting box in Nabuli caught the attention of many schools in the communities around who are working on getting a metal box.
The box stands as a testament to what happens when silence is broken, when whispers become voices, and when justice is given a chance to thrive, even in the most unlikely places.
From Geoffrey Buta, Nabuli
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
From panic to pass: how parents, teachers can help children beat BECE, WASSCE exam phobia- Part 1
Walk through any Junior High or Senior High compound in Ghana as BECE or WASSCE approaches and you will see it.
A bright girl suddenly quiet. A boy who led class debates now sleeping at his desk. A Form three student with stomach pains every Monday morning.
This is not laziness. This is academic stress. When left unaddressed, it hardens into exam phobia-overwhelming dread that pushes children into burnout, avoidance, and sometimes silence.
As a mental health professional who sits with these children and their parents at Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Adenta Oyarifa-Teiman, I see the pattern clearly.
Research confirms it. Putwain and Daly (2014) found that high test anxiety predicts lower grades independent of ability. Zeidner (1998) showed that chronic academic pressure raises cortisol, weakens memory recall, and increases school dropout risk. The brain under fear cannot retrieve what it studied.
Understanding the storm: What academic stress really looks like
Exam phobia is not just “being nervous.” It shows up as headaches before mocks, sudden anger when books are mentioned, night-time insomnia, or perfectionism that ends in blank scripts.
Some children over-study until 2 a.m. and forget everything by 9 a.m. Others avoid books completely, scrolling phones instead. Both are distress signals. Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent resilience, notes: “Stress is not the enemy; feeling alone with stress is.” Too many Ghanaian children feel alone with it.
The home front: How parents and couples become safe havens, not extra pressure
The first antidote is at home. Structure beats shouting. Set a predictable study slot-same time, same place, with water and a light snack. Then protect sleep like you protect school fees. A tired brain fails faster than an unprepared one. Use the “15-minute start rule”: “Just sit for 15 minutes. If you still can’t, we close and try after a walk.” Often, starting is the hardest part.
Couples must watch their language. “Don’t disgrace us” plants fear. Replace it with “We see your effort. What part feels hardest today?” Praise process, not only position: “You revised three topics and asked for help—that is maturity.” Research by Dweck (2006) confirms that process praise builds resilience while outcome praise increases anxiety.
For caregivers, check your own anxiety. Children borrow our nervous system. If BECE makes you panic, they will panic. One parent grounds—keeps meals, prayer, and bedtime steady. The other pivots—talks to teachers, adjusts timetables, arranges counselling. Both protect rest. An empty cup cannot pour calm.
Resources
– Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC): Award-winning Clinical Mental Health and Counselling Facility, accredited by the Ghana Psychology Council.
– School-Based Support: Speak to Guidance & Counselling units, or licensed school counsellors. E.g. Counsellor Blessing Offei – 0559850604 (School Counsellor).
– Contact CPAC for Parent Coaching/Counselling & Student Therapy: 055 985 0604 / 055 142 8486
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