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Team Strongman Foundation fetes less privileged
The Team Strongman Foundation brought relief and festive cheer to vulnerable communities in Accra during the Christmas season after organising a multi-day outreach programme aimed at supporting the less privileged and strengthening community bonds.
The outreach, which spanned several days, featured a mix of entertainment, charity and social engagement activities that attracted residents of Korle Gonno and surrounding communities, particularly children and young people.
The activities opened with music, dance and storytelling sessions that created a lively atmosphere and encouraged community interaction.
The programme continued on Thursday with Christmas themed activities organised to entertain children and young people in the area.
On Friday, the Foundation organised a charity walk that led to the distribution of food and clothing to more than 1,000 less privileged persons living on the streets.
The walk began at Korle Gonno Okpotsu Park and passed through Accra High Street, Bishop, Tema Station, Makola, Rawlings Park, White Chapel, Timba Market and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital before returning to the starting point.
The outreach concluded on Saturday with fun games, adding a recreational dimension while deepening engagement with children and young people in the communities.
Speaking to The Spectator, the Founder of the Foundation, Mr Stephen Nii Afotey Odai, said the initiative was to give back to society and support vulnerable people during the festive season.
He said the outreach went beyond donations to inspire hope, strengthen community spirit and encourage compassion even after the festive season.
“Our aim is to remind people to look out for one another and to build a culture of care within our communities,” he said.
Mr Afotey noted that the outreach was an annual initiative and that this year marked the third edition, adding that the Foundation plans to expand its activities to reach more communities in the future.
A member of the Foundation, Ms Stephanie Birikorang, described the outreach as a fulfilling experience for volunteers.
She said interacting directly with vulnerable people reinforced the importance of kindness and collective responsibility.
The Assemblyman for Korle Gonno, Mr Ransford Nii Antie Quaye, commended the Team Strongman Foundation for the initiative, describing it as timely and impactful.
Mr Quaye encouraged other organisations and individuals to support similar interventions, noting that such programmes complemented efforts to improve social welfare at the community level.
By Stephanie Birikorang
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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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Traders have returned to the streets of Accra, occupying pavements and stretches of some roads after the last major decongestion exercise.
The exercise, which was aimed at restoring order in areas like Kingsway, CMB, Rawlings Park, Tudu etc, have now been defeated.
From Kingsway to Rawlings Park, traders display several wares including, footwear, herbal medicines, plastic products, fresh fish, second-hand clothing, and vegetables, among others.
Local Evangelists are also not left out as they scramble for spaces on the streets.
Pedestrians, therefore, find it difficult to move around when shopping, due to the human and vehicular congestion created by the traders.
In an interview with The Spectator, Auntie Abigail, a trader, said her return to the streets was to sell more, and she saw nothing wrong with it.
Hajia, who deals in wholesale items, indicated that they were unable to make sales as their colleagues move to the pavement and since customers don’t want to come inside, they prefer to buy from them.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, has given traders a grace period to go back to their shops.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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