Celebrating The Kente Cloth of Ghana- The Happy Nation

Ordinary isn’t the word.

Representing a rich culture, we are devoted to the motherland.

Oh the beauty of the silk and the cotton fabric, the vibrant colours and the geometric shapes!

They all scream out originality and ooze an air of dignity and grace.

Welcome to my world, yeah you can call us patriotic.

As we are approach the world cup,this is a time to unite!

No more fear, no more feelings of inferiority.

The old has gone! The new has come so let’s wear our Kente with confidence.

A new season I declare. Rejoice oh people of Ghana.

We will be known for being the happy nation.

This will be a legacy which will forever stand.

Adwoa Asiedu ( @AdwoaAsiedu777)

Check out some of Adwoa’s work on her individual blog–  http://adwoapoems.blogspot.co.uk/ and look out for more posts from her right here on the Me Firi Ghana blog.

We left feeling Highly Commended!

So the results are in and Me Firi Ghana nominated for two UK Blog Awards came away  as a “Highly Commended” runner up in the Most Innovative Blog Category. I am extremely  proud of this achievement, we were the only representative of Ghanaian culture at the awards ceremony. In fact we were the only representative of African culture to make the final shortlist of 28 and when you consider 900 plus blogs  entered the competition and we amongst the top 10 blogs in the Arts and Culture category and the and amongst the top 3 most innovative blogs in the UK we have a lot to be proud of.

The event was a great advert for blogging in the UK with so much talent in attendance and as the first ever blog awards to celebrate cross sector bloggers, it was an event the organisers deserve kudos for. I was accompanied to the awards by Me Firi Ghana’s Manager/Head of Marketing, Joseph Aninakwa  and one of our finest bloggers Maclean Arthur who joined me in revelling in our achievement.

As I returned home from the awards ceremony my mind was already on next year and how we can improve the blog. You can rest assured that we will not be resting on our laurels, we are a progressive brand always looking to break new ground and the blog is a large part of that. Ghana’s involvement in the greatest show on earth; World Cup 2014 means we will be literally blogging crazy to ensure Ghana’s journey is covered every step of the way. There will be a plethora of engaging content across the categories on the blog and I am genuinely excited about what is to come.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team of great bloggers; Maclean Arthur, Jermaine Bamfo, Nora Mistersky, Adwoa Asiedu & Myriam Osei who have all helped to make the blog what it is today. Their passion for Ghana and tireless enthusiasm for blogging has made my job as Editor an easy one.

Lastly I want to thank you our readers! We will continue to produce innovative and engaging content on all things Ghana! Follow our journey and get involved in stimulating and facilitating the conversations that need to be had.

Ben Jk Anim-Antwi (@Kwesitheauthor)

Glaucoma leading cause of Blindness

When the 6^th World Glaucoma Week was launched in March the president of the Glaucoma Association of Ghana (GAG), Mr Harrison Abutiate, presented some alarming figures. TODAY around 700,000 Ghanaians are living with glaucoma, which is the most common contributor to Ghana’s blindness burden- around 60,000 of people affected are already blind. These statistics make Ghana one of the leading countries with glaucoma cases worldwide

Glaucoma is a disease of the eye and there are many types, however the most common type in Ghana is the most severe form of the disease, called open-angle glaucoma. This type of glaucoma is mainly characterised by damage to the optic nerve and poor blood supply to the nerve, which lead to visual loss and eventually irreversible blindness. Open-angle glaucoma usually presents with no symptoms and therefore often goes undetected until it’s too late, which highlights the importance of attending regular eye screening checks- at least once a year.

Consequently the chosen theme for this year’s World Glaucoma week “Beat invisible glaucoma” reflected the importance of prevention and early detection. The Health Minister, Mrs Sherry Ayittey, rightly pointed out that prevention is not only better than cure but is also much cheaper!

Even though it has been shown that the prevalence of glaucoma increases with age, glaucoma is not a disease reserved for old eyes- glaucoma does not discriminate! A study in a hospital in the northern region found that 21.48% of patients with chronic glaucoma were between 10 and 39 years old. These results are not conclusive and further research will need to be carried out to determine the age group screening should begin, especially for individuals with a family history of glaucoma.

According to Mr Abutiate there are around 250,000 people currently affected who are unaware of their condition, he therefore stressed the importance of intensifying glaucoma awareness and added,

“By so doing, the people will be well informed about the causes, preventable measures, its severity and effects which will make them conscious in making strides to find their status and seek appropriate health care required“. This statement really stands out, as it is all about promoting the fact that everyone is entitled to making an informed decision about his or her health.

And Mrs Ayittey, Minister of Health, added

“I want the education to go down to the people of the country, so this rogramme must be held in the marketplaces and the lorry stations where the public can be informed about the disease and not in this small room”.

Mr Abuitate also discussed some initiatives that could be taken to improve the situation in Ghana, which included increasing the number of glaucoma drugs available through the national health insurance scheme, abolition of duties on glaucoma drugs to maximise patient compliance and train more ophthalmologists.

Check out this really cool glaucoma awareness video: The Yvonne Nelson Glaucoma Charity Single feat. Sarkodie, Trigmatic, Iren Logan, Ayegbe Edem, Sherifa, Fresh Prince, Oga-B and many more.

Nora Mistersky (@Ms_Nora_M)

The event will provide practical advice on marketing, career advice, presentation skills, generating revenue, acquiring sponsorship, securing clients and managing live events. In addition there will be themed panel, Q&A workshop games, networking and an exhibition of Event service suppliers and business support bodies including ICAEW.

Guest Speakers include:

• Pauline Long – Entrepreneur, TV Presenter & Founder ~ BEFFTA Award

• China L’One – DJ, Entrepreneur & Event Organiser ~ We Run the World Female DJ Agency

• Afi Ofori – Founder & Director, Zars Media ~ Women in Sales Award

• Annik Rau – Talent Scout & Founder ~ Pony Express

• Faith Kalejaiye – Director, Founder Wedding & Planner ~ Deizi Events

• Ruth Odunuga – Owner ~ 360 Hype Wedding & Event Management

• Lexy Boahene – Founder & Director ~ Divas on Divas On Demand

TNBT  Media founded by Linda Smith helps young professionals, graduates and entrepreneurs make active steps towards building their career goals and businesses. Making it BiG is an events series which launched in early 2013 to motivate and equip people to make their dreams a reality across a range of sectors. In April TNBT Media collaborated with Divas on Demand at the Museum of London to host a free seminar called Making it BiG in Media. Guest Speakers included Tom White (Sky Sports), Claudia Liza (London Live), Bernard P Achampong (BBC Radio 2) and more in August TNBT hosted their second sold out event Making it BIG in Fashion at Google Campus featuring Emile London (Boutique Designer) and Nicholas Dex (ODF Clothing).

Making it BiG in Business took place in January 2014 which included Ketan Makwana (Director and Head of Operations at Rockstar Youth Loans), Jenny Garrett (Mentor and Executive Author of Rocking Your Role), Ross Bailey (CEO of Appear Here Property), Dean Carby (Creative Director of VNV Sounds), and Ruby Mae Moore (Founder & Editor of Amor Magazine).

Tickets for this event can be purchased via eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-it-big-in-events-tickets-11144829485?aff=estw

For more information you con contact TNBT Media direct;

Website: www.tnbtmedia.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/makingitbigevents

Press Enquiries & Interviews Linda Smith events@tnbtmedia.com07968563542

Age old youth activity has not lost it’s appeal in Ghana

On February 1st 2014  the Ghana Scout Association launched its 100-year anniversary at its national headquarters in Accra.

The scout movement aims to support young people worldwide in their physical, mental and spiritual development, to help them play constructive roles in society. The Scout uniform has distinctive features that include the fleur-de-lis, trefil and other badges, with intend to mask all differences of social standing.

Scouting revolves around a program of informal education with particular focus on practical outdoor activities including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking and sports.

Robert Baden-Powell, a lieutenant general in the British Army was sent to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1895 to lead an expedition against Nana Prempeh I (King of the Ashanti tribe). Baden-Powel employed hundreds of warriors from the Krobos, Elimina, Mumford and Adsani tribes. When Baden-Powell entered Kumasi he was greeted by a warrior chief, who held out his left hand, which symbolised bravery and trust –‘a warrior carries his shield in the left hand and the spear in the right’. The left handshake is still used today by millions of scouts worldwide.

Skills that Baden-Powell acquired on his trip include axe manship, pioneering and knotting by building roads through the jungle and constructing bridges over rivers. Baden-Powel acknowledged that he could get the best work out of his force by dividing them into small groups and giving responsibility to the captain of each group. These skills reflect the ideologies of scouting today and contributed to Baden-Powell’s book called ‘Scouting for boys’, which was published around 1907. In parallel with publishing his book Baden-Powell formed the first official Scout troop that went on their first camp on Brownsea Island (England).

The scout movement first arrived in Ghana shortly after the first ever scouts camp at around 1912 through Samuel Wood, who lived in Cape Coast at the time. Samuel won a drawing competition that was organised by the SHEFFIELD WEEKLY and received a prize of several books that included ‘Scouting for boys’ by Robert Baden Powell. On January 4th 1912 a charter was given for the first Gold Coast Scout group in Cape Coast, the country Gold Coast was however not given a charter for the legislation of Scout until October 15th 1914. Shortly after this Scout troops were being formed at Saltpond Winneba, Accra and Kumasi. Samuel Wood in 1914 became the District Commissioner in Accra and made every effort to spread the movement across the country, which resulted in the Gold Coast becoming the first Crown Colony to legislate for the protection of the Scout and Guide Movement.

Today over 31 million people across 216 countries are currently involved with Scouts.

Scouting continues to offer great opportunities not only for children but also for volunteers (Adults) to get involved worldwide, to learn new skills, build on ideas whilst contributing to the education of young people.

Visit their website- http://www.ghanascout.org/index.php to find out more about the Ghana Scout Association or visit their facebook page to see some of their pojects

Nora Mistersky (@Ms_Nora_M)

President_of_Ghana_hanaded_the_WAM_Youth_Policy_Brief_from_WAM’s_Director

Since 2010 your participation, feedback and evaluations contributed to WAM drafting a policy brief at the end of March. The policy brief looks at barriers and solutions of issues you’ve raised in terms of being better connected/involved with Ghana’s development.

This is the first youth focused document of its kind so we’d like to thank you all for your time and contributions, as we invite you to read and share the brief with your friends, network and family. Please Click Here To View The WAM Campaign Policy Brief

As we look to grow raise awareness of WAM and highlight the solutions and problems you’ve highlighted, so far we’ve managed to present the policy brief to the following influential individuals/decision makers:

• Mr John Dramani Mahama – The President of Ghana
• Mr Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse – Ghanaian Businessman aka ‘Bill Gates of Africa’
• Dentaa Amoateng – Founder of GUBA Awards
• Mr Max Bankole Jarett – Deputy Director of Africa Progress Panel
• Dr Nii Moi Thompson – Economic Advisor to the President of Ghana

Following on from the WAM Campaign & Me Firi Ghana Networking Forum – We present…… The Future of Ghana’s Youth (A Policy Brief)

When a group of like minded individuals assembled in East London on the evening of the Thursday 30^th January for the WAM Campaign in association with Me FiRi Ghana networking forum event. It set off an passionate debate on the challenges on youth engagement in the diaspora towards Ghana’s development.

The Networking event provided a platform for young Ghanaian Diaspora – primarily aged 18-35 years – to network, discuss and be more informed about ways in which they can proactively connect with the development of Ghana, with a special guest panel consisting of:

Emma Orefuwa: Manager for AFFORD’s, Africa-Gives

Mr Kofi Addo: Head of Trade & Investment, Ghana High Commission (UK)

Francesca Danmole: Commonwealth Students’ Association Consultant, Commonwealth Secretariat

Carl Konadu: Commonwealth Youth Sport for Development and Peace Working Group Coordinator, Commonwealth Secretariat

However the objective of the event was for the WAM Campaign to develop a Policy Brief which addressed the current barriers preventing young people from being involved in Ghana’s development, ways to overcome such barriers, providing a set of recommendations on how diaspora organisations, the Ghanaian government and youth can work together towards a more active and constructive involvement in Ghana’s development.

Now after all the views and suggestions have been collated and examined the policy brief by the Director of WAM, Arnold Sarfo-Kantanka has been published. As well addressing the barriers in engaging in Ghana’s development whilst suggesting recommendations. The brief highlights the work WAM has managed to achieve, voice the opinions of Diaspora Youth that WAM managed to collate from the event and through evaluations from past WAM programmes ensuring the right eyes and ears are aware of the work of the charity.

The policy brief is available on the WAM Campaign website – http://wamcampaign.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/WAM-Campaign-Policy-Brief.pdf

For any enquires concerning the Policy brief, please contact Ben Anim-Antwi at bantwi@mefirighana.com

For general enquires concerning the WAM Campaign charity, please contact  info@wamcampaign.org