And the earth beholds its beauty
It cries in the loudest of voices
But the earth comprehends not its fury
Unto the dry slate it descends
To choke her nostrils
And gave way to air fermented
But the earth resents
Though she is helpless
11/03/2011
thunder
It winks at the earth in darkness
And the earth beholds its beauty
It cries in the loudest of voices
But the earth comprehends not its fury
Unto the dry slate it descends
To choke her nostrils
And gave way to air fermented
But the earth resents
Though she is helpless
And the earth beholds its beauty
It cries in the loudest of voices
But the earth comprehends not its fury
Unto the dry slate it descends
To choke her nostrils
And gave way to air fermented
But the earth resents
Though she is helpless
Yesterday's Wisdom
A walk on the shores of yesterday's thoughts
We drowned a thousand feet and emerged taught
Memories of ancient wisdom jog along my skull
And winnow my brain from the rain of fashion chaff
From a distance stands a light
Gazing into the soul of our present night
It fades away and I bid it farewell
The world looks blur but the clear glare of the sun
Confusion is but for a dusk
At dawn we sit in the arbor and ask
'From whence cometh the light without a match'
And oh, from our forefathers, their graves
Yesterday's wisdom, tomorrow's vision
Today's night, yesterday's light
Wisdom, vision
We drowned a thousand feet and emerged taught
Memories of ancient wisdom jog along my skull
And winnow my brain from the rain of fashion chaff
From a distance stands a light
Gazing into the soul of our present night
It fades away and I bid it farewell
The world looks blur but the clear glare of the sun
Confusion is but for a dusk
At dawn we sit in the arbor and ask
'From whence cometh the light without a match'
And oh, from our forefathers, their graves
Yesterday's wisdom, tomorrow's vision
Today's night, yesterday's light
Wisdom, vision
5/17/2011
These Findings Are B-O-G-U-S !!!
' If education is expensive try ignorance'. An expression, an adage, a curse, a sage, every lecturer uses to warn students who refuse to patronise their hand-outs. Can a Ghanaian who has ever sat on a school desk deny ever hearing this? So our politrickstal Yutong drivers, their mates, trainees and cheap passengers need not remind us of this.
Teachers like me cannot sprint away from the low academic achievements of school children. The organisers cannot also excuse themselves. The participants are also into this. As you ask the cat to have mercy on the mouse, you must also caution the mouse not to be in sight when the cat is starving. Teachers recognise their inefficiencies and are constantly upgrading so why the 'hell' do imposters impose on them!
64% of school children cannot read and write and SO what? Who cares for the teacher who cares for the learner? Do teachers have a say in what they do? When teachers hit the streets, they were beaten, tear gas was fired. The firing squad was apologised to for what? Their act was condemned. Today it is here again.
How many teachers are presently writing end-of-semester exams and are still teaching?
Ghanaians have never been realistic and they will never be. Learners are not blamed, parents are not part and the drivers take no responsibility. This is an ochestration to relegate teachers' demands to the background. A learner spends 8 out of 24 hours with the teacher but it seems the teacher's classroom is a the mother's bossom. Socialisation as a subject says that the home's impact on learners is incomparable.
How much is the teacher paid that he is not allowed to farm, attend funerals, go to the hospital? How does he get paid if he does not go to the bank?
If education were a woman she would have been the best of prostitutes. Each government has its own definition of it. 3 or 4 years? Centralisation or the opposite? Free or paid? New or the old curriculum? Oh 'wo saa Ghana yi'
Teachers' contribution to this process story (failure) is less than 10%. BODMAS is needed here.
'30% of national budget goes into education, it is about 10% of our GDP' and so WHAT? The whole budget can be directed to education but until a feasible study is done to comprise all stakeholders, education will continue to fall for all.
I suggest we privatise the presidency. Won't a Japanese be the best?
On blakk86, i FADE OUT.
Teachers like me cannot sprint away from the low academic achievements of school children. The organisers cannot also excuse themselves. The participants are also into this. As you ask the cat to have mercy on the mouse, you must also caution the mouse not to be in sight when the cat is starving. Teachers recognise their inefficiencies and are constantly upgrading so why the 'hell' do imposters impose on them!
64% of school children cannot read and write and SO what? Who cares for the teacher who cares for the learner? Do teachers have a say in what they do? When teachers hit the streets, they were beaten, tear gas was fired. The firing squad was apologised to for what? Their act was condemned. Today it is here again.
How many teachers are presently writing end-of-semester exams and are still teaching?
Ghanaians have never been realistic and they will never be. Learners are not blamed, parents are not part and the drivers take no responsibility. This is an ochestration to relegate teachers' demands to the background. A learner spends 8 out of 24 hours with the teacher but it seems the teacher's classroom is a the mother's bossom. Socialisation as a subject says that the home's impact on learners is incomparable.
How much is the teacher paid that he is not allowed to farm, attend funerals, go to the hospital? How does he get paid if he does not go to the bank?
If education were a woman she would have been the best of prostitutes. Each government has its own definition of it. 3 or 4 years? Centralisation or the opposite? Free or paid? New or the old curriculum? Oh 'wo saa Ghana yi'
Teachers' contribution to this process story (failure) is less than 10%. BODMAS is needed here.
'30% of national budget goes into education, it is about 10% of our GDP' and so WHAT? The whole budget can be directed to education but until a feasible study is done to comprise all stakeholders, education will continue to fall for all.
I suggest we privatise the presidency. Won't a Japanese be the best?
On blakk86, i FADE OUT.
3/05/2011
On 6th March 1957 Ghana became independent; a 'breakaway' from colonialism and oppression. On this day though i am on strike i take off my hat and salute the freedom fighters. Those people through whose blood, sweat and toil a nation was built. The utterances made on platforms, the declarations, announcements and proclamations that have made me a free man cannot be unappreciated. The schisms as a result of the desire to set a people free and fuelled by the great commission were worth it.
Today we all celebrate our independence, Ghanaians and non-ghanaians alike. The world over Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah has been recognised as the main man and brain behind the cause. He deserves the credit even though he was not alone and i have reasons. I am in my mid-wenties so i heard and saw none of what happened. Despite what i have learnt from teachers, it seems i know nothing about Nkrumah and the struggle. Let me take the opportunity to ask why Ghanaians praise the dead while they rebel against them when they (dead) were alive. Days ago i was talking to a colleague teacher and she sang one of the songs sung against Dr. Nkrumah. It says Nkrumah was in the Guinea engaged in cocoa farming and Fathia was a 'koko' (porridge) seller. Some Ghanaians also 'buried' him when he was more than alive; a piece of plantain sucker purported to be the remains of Nkrumah was put in a coffin and buried.There are many of such songs and actions, they are in no book-i stand to be corrected but i have read no book that has this.
54 years of independence with great labels, symbols, speeches and shows. 54 years of defamation, vilification, nothing but nothing. 54 years of mental slavery, intellectual subjugation!
How and what would Ghana have been if Nkrumah and his colleagues were alive?
54 years of educational adultery! What can we boast of as a nation? Sovereign? I wonder! Is there a reason for the season? And does the season reason?
54 years of independence and we still 'dey beg'. What is the essence of school children marching past the 'this thing'? Thanks to teachers and their demands i can envisage the lowest turn out. I am already away from home and school doing my own thing so 'minus' my other three teachers and me. The take away continues.
A poem for the season and reason. My own poem:
We thought and
fought
They roared but we
won
Our warriors pushed
and pulled
Through the rough
and smooth
It was a struggle for
the tough
And the victory was
enough
We roared and they
left
Our warriors left not
their hold
For they were brought
up bold
But the cowards
allowed themselves
To be deceived and
took their knives
In sheep clothing they
came but wolves
(to be continued...)
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!
Today we all celebrate our independence, Ghanaians and non-ghanaians alike. The world over Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah has been recognised as the main man and brain behind the cause. He deserves the credit even though he was not alone and i have reasons. I am in my mid-wenties so i heard and saw none of what happened. Despite what i have learnt from teachers, it seems i know nothing about Nkrumah and the struggle. Let me take the opportunity to ask why Ghanaians praise the dead while they rebel against them when they (dead) were alive. Days ago i was talking to a colleague teacher and she sang one of the songs sung against Dr. Nkrumah. It says Nkrumah was in the Guinea engaged in cocoa farming and Fathia was a 'koko' (porridge) seller. Some Ghanaians also 'buried' him when he was more than alive; a piece of plantain sucker purported to be the remains of Nkrumah was put in a coffin and buried.There are many of such songs and actions, they are in no book-i stand to be corrected but i have read no book that has this.
54 years of independence with great labels, symbols, speeches and shows. 54 years of defamation, vilification, nothing but nothing. 54 years of mental slavery, intellectual subjugation!
How and what would Ghana have been if Nkrumah and his colleagues were alive?
54 years of educational adultery! What can we boast of as a nation? Sovereign? I wonder! Is there a reason for the season? And does the season reason?
54 years of independence and we still 'dey beg'. What is the essence of school children marching past the 'this thing'? Thanks to teachers and their demands i can envisage the lowest turn out. I am already away from home and school doing my own thing so 'minus' my other three teachers and me. The take away continues.
A poem for the season and reason. My own poem:
We thought and
fought
They roared but we
won
Our warriors pushed
and pulled
Through the rough
and smooth
It was a struggle for
the tough
And the victory was
enough
We roared and they
left
Our warriors left not
their hold
For they were brought
up bold
But the cowards
allowed themselves
To be deceived and
took their knives
In sheep clothing they
came but wolves
(to be continued...)
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!
3/03/2011
the lion sleeps tonight
I was born in 1986 in a Ghanaian village so i am a human being in Ghana. I have had all my education in this country, i do not hold dual citizenship and i have never gone to any of the air stations (forget the class) in Ghana. The first time i saw 'Embassy' was when i went to the NAFTI hostel (18th feb. 2011) and that was the American Embassy. I have voted twice-2004 and 2008 and in both i took part in the diferent shades (run-off), i pay taxes and i serve as i am supposed to. None of my ancestors was non-ghanaian.
What kind of sin have i 'done' against Ghana that is *so* unpardonable? A year after Senior Secondary School, i lost a brother who was sponsoring my education so my dream (which i referred to as my ultimate goal in life at the time) of becoming a media magnate was 'shutted'.
What i mean is that what is good for the geese is good for the gander! Early 2011, 'action year' was declared and so fuel prices were increased to almost 30%, there was reshuffling, editors of media houses were met followed by a buffet lunch. Mid-2010 the single spine salary structure (ssss) was implemented for the police and the increment was about 500%. Early 2011, teachers like myself were expecting a 'migration' on-to the ssss but for us it is now 'sickle cell salary structure'. The increment is about 0.0001%.
People have come out with various explanations, definitions and excuses. 'teachers are too many', the 'ecominy is fragile', etc. But the question is 'how much was the tea and wasn't the economy suffering at the time of the meal?'
Why do our leaders always have to demean the teacher and his contribution to national development? I read a comment on www.myjoyonline.com and it was unfotunate. It said that teachers should leave the classroom and join the police if they think their salary level is unfair. Another said we deserve what we have got.
I am a teacher and a Ghanaian by birth. If the ssss will not better the lot of the chalk holder, what about the recent increase in minimum wages? I appreciate the example of my colleagues in Koforidua, Accra and Kumasi; i am with them 150%. Today i went to class, wrote something on the board and sat in front of the office. The best part is that i have been paid though i have not been to the bank. The worst part is that i watch movies in the classroom.
If they think teachers are too many, i have this: let us teach them wrong so they do not add to the already disturbing number.
Press conferences! What was the agenda? What did Betty say? What about Graham? Okudjeto could only make anmouncements about the evacuation that never was! MPs wanted GHC7000 or so as salary plus 'in-' and ex-gratia! What about Job 600?
It is so funny! I am still watching movies// Angels and Demons. A quick reminder- i will be in school but will not teach!!!
What kind of sin have i 'done' against Ghana that is *so* unpardonable? A year after Senior Secondary School, i lost a brother who was sponsoring my education so my dream (which i referred to as my ultimate goal in life at the time) of becoming a media magnate was 'shutted'.
What i mean is that what is good for the geese is good for the gander! Early 2011, 'action year' was declared and so fuel prices were increased to almost 30%, there was reshuffling, editors of media houses were met followed by a buffet lunch. Mid-2010 the single spine salary structure (ssss) was implemented for the police and the increment was about 500%. Early 2011, teachers like myself were expecting a 'migration' on-to the ssss but for us it is now 'sickle cell salary structure'. The increment is about 0.0001%.
People have come out with various explanations, definitions and excuses. 'teachers are too many', the 'ecominy is fragile', etc. But the question is 'how much was the tea and wasn't the economy suffering at the time of the meal?'
Why do our leaders always have to demean the teacher and his contribution to national development? I read a comment on www.myjoyonline.com and it was unfotunate. It said that teachers should leave the classroom and join the police if they think their salary level is unfair. Another said we deserve what we have got.
I am a teacher and a Ghanaian by birth. If the ssss will not better the lot of the chalk holder, what about the recent increase in minimum wages? I appreciate the example of my colleagues in Koforidua, Accra and Kumasi; i am with them 150%. Today i went to class, wrote something on the board and sat in front of the office. The best part is that i have been paid though i have not been to the bank. The worst part is that i watch movies in the classroom.
If they think teachers are too many, i have this: let us teach them wrong so they do not add to the already disturbing number.
Press conferences! What was the agenda? What did Betty say? What about Graham? Okudjeto could only make anmouncements about the evacuation that never was! MPs wanted GHC7000 or so as salary plus 'in-' and ex-gratia! What about Job 600?
It is so funny! I am still watching movies// Angels and Demons. A quick reminder- i will be in school but will not teach!!!
2/28/2011
Our Children
It is 7:16am and i am leaving for school. About half km to the Osino township i see a sign post 'Agriculture Without Child Labour Is Possible'. An NGO (i did not bother to looj at the name) is driving this into the ears of our future leaders. A day before this post i wrote something about our educational system in a country called Ghana. I stated categorically and i am repeating 'again' that the Ghanaian is being educated on the concept of self-hate.
Some of these NGOs and their activities are a real nuisance. A child on set is a talented kid and the other on the street is in child labour. Which school in Gh is teaching practical agric? Our agric students obtain their doctorate degrees but cannot hold the matchete. When i was in my first year in the SHS, a mate asked how the cocoa looked like. She also asked if the plaintain sucker was the same that produced banana. This same girl knew all about the musicians in America and the gossips about them. So you see, in our own homes we are 111.1% aliens. There are some words in Akan which when a child says he is labelled a farm boy/girl and when an adult says he is also labelled a disgrace. Therefore, who says it?
How do we pass on our farming activities to the younger generation when our education has failed to do so? Where from these NGOs and what business have got to do with this? I see such initiatives not as political but intellectual machinations against the future of the African. Humans were taken away, resources were also taken and now our very conscience! Ghana has no educational system but a system and an era of true, pure, unadulterated indoctrination. How does the eighty-year old cocoa farmer keep his home if his children do not take over from him? Wasn't this dying farmer once a child who learnt from his father how to nurse cocoa? We cannot manufacture autobiles so we till the land, they could not till but they are now more than the best. Let us listen to them and see if we will not be the 100th world country.
We might not have the minds and hands to take over from the Wright brothers and what about that to think and work through the storm?
I am not a free man because i have principles but the freedom as to who tells me what and how to think, i am totally free!
Some of these NGOs and their activities are a real nuisance. A child on set is a talented kid and the other on the street is in child labour. Which school in Gh is teaching practical agric? Our agric students obtain their doctorate degrees but cannot hold the matchete. When i was in my first year in the SHS, a mate asked how the cocoa looked like. She also asked if the plaintain sucker was the same that produced banana. This same girl knew all about the musicians in America and the gossips about them. So you see, in our own homes we are 111.1% aliens. There are some words in Akan which when a child says he is labelled a farm boy/girl and when an adult says he is also labelled a disgrace. Therefore, who says it?
How do we pass on our farming activities to the younger generation when our education has failed to do so? Where from these NGOs and what business have got to do with this? I see such initiatives not as political but intellectual machinations against the future of the African. Humans were taken away, resources were also taken and now our very conscience! Ghana has no educational system but a system and an era of true, pure, unadulterated indoctrination. How does the eighty-year old cocoa farmer keep his home if his children do not take over from him? Wasn't this dying farmer once a child who learnt from his father how to nurse cocoa? We cannot manufacture autobiles so we till the land, they could not till but they are now more than the best. Let us listen to them and see if we will not be the 100th world country.
We might not have the minds and hands to take over from the Wright brothers and what about that to think and work through the storm?
I am not a free man because i have principles but the freedom as to who tells me what and how to think, i am totally free!
2/27/2011
Ghana & Education
Education has been defined simply as 'the preparation for life' and this has been the basic definition. Truly education has sought and will seek to prepare people for life. BUT how is this preparation done? This kind of preparation takes many forms: formal, non-formal and informal. Whatever form it takes, the objective is to equip the individual with attitudes, knowledge and skills. In Ghana the educational system seems to be in conflict.
Education cannot be done in vacuum; there should be learners and teachers and other materials. From my one-year experience as a primary (basic) one teacher, i think nothing has been and is being done to prepare our youngest generation. The teacher and the learner are two different people- each has his own uniqueness and as such co=operation is sometimes difficult if not impossble. Society does not exist without education and vice versa.
The point i am trying to make which might not be so clear is that Ghana is educating for no-thing! We seem to have educated men and women and not intelligent men and women. We are best described as aliens in our own homes. We do not know who we really are; we have not forgotten. Try telling me who i am and you become my enemy, a man living in coloquial/nial days.
A teacher comes to the classroom with his own set of values and attitudes which might be completely different from that of the learner. I have never considered who my pupils are and where they come from. I go to the classroom with my plan and teaching-learning materials, if there are any and impose on the pupils. I do not think i am at fault 'simple' because i do before i complain-the curriculum says to do that.
A 14yr-old boy is in basic one and cannot write his own name. Children in kindergarten walk more than one km to school and the most 'scariest' aspect is that these kids have bridged rivers to cross. They come to school at 9:30am when class should begin at 8:00am and i do not spare the rod. Why should i? Absenteeism is at its peak when it rains. I think i should understand them but i am myself a slave to the curriculum. Teach them ICT when no electricity and computers are available. Teach reproduction but the flower recommended cannot be found in Ghana. Supervisors come and ask you to use your laptop computer when you are yet to learn how to dnuble-click.
I do not think you will spank me if i say the Ghanaian is being educated on the concept of self-hate. The higher they go on the educational ladder the more they lose knowledge of who they are. There is the assumption that the rich will forever be rich and the poor the poorer. This is perpetuated by our educational system and i am one of such perpetrators. Education has divided our society into the dominant and the surbodinate classes; the former takes all they want by force while the latter has been condemned to everlasting poverty. In our local politics the tricksters usually incite the electorates to fight each other and all they get in return is a cup of sugar, rice and a bar of soap. The best is a television set. Go to the offices and the educated ask for brown envelopes, on our streets those in 4*4 are the worst of drivers.
If an 8yr-old child stands before the camera and disturbs the hips we call them 'talented kids' but if they were to to carry a bag of iced water to enable their parents take care of the family we label it 'child labour', etc. All these confirm the fact that we are lost. All aspects of our life have been contaminated. Our schools are merely indoctrinating us and this confirms what Martin L. King Jnr. said that our universities are becoming great doors of destruction. How long should it take for us to assert our real freedom and what form will it take! Our education is like a prostitute on the street. Any man in a pair of trousers sees her and do a night with her. Politricksters are flirting with our education and we are helpless like a sheep being led to the slaughter or rather standing in front of a bar of soap.
Our teachers are 'nobodies'. We are afraid to be called out because they are shown no respect but i thinj our job cannot be paid for. US$20m a month will not be enough.
Education does more than what we see with our eyes. But all we allow our eyes to see is the 1+1 and the ABCD. We need a revolution in what we learn...
Education cannot be done in vacuum; there should be learners and teachers and other materials. From my one-year experience as a primary (basic) one teacher, i think nothing has been and is being done to prepare our youngest generation. The teacher and the learner are two different people- each has his own uniqueness and as such co=operation is sometimes difficult if not impossble. Society does not exist without education and vice versa.
The point i am trying to make which might not be so clear is that Ghana is educating for no-thing! We seem to have educated men and women and not intelligent men and women. We are best described as aliens in our own homes. We do not know who we really are; we have not forgotten. Try telling me who i am and you become my enemy, a man living in coloquial/nial days.
A teacher comes to the classroom with his own set of values and attitudes which might be completely different from that of the learner. I have never considered who my pupils are and where they come from. I go to the classroom with my plan and teaching-learning materials, if there are any and impose on the pupils. I do not think i am at fault 'simple' because i do before i complain-the curriculum says to do that.
A 14yr-old boy is in basic one and cannot write his own name. Children in kindergarten walk more than one km to school and the most 'scariest' aspect is that these kids have bridged rivers to cross. They come to school at 9:30am when class should begin at 8:00am and i do not spare the rod. Why should i? Absenteeism is at its peak when it rains. I think i should understand them but i am myself a slave to the curriculum. Teach them ICT when no electricity and computers are available. Teach reproduction but the flower recommended cannot be found in Ghana. Supervisors come and ask you to use your laptop computer when you are yet to learn how to dnuble-click.
I do not think you will spank me if i say the Ghanaian is being educated on the concept of self-hate. The higher they go on the educational ladder the more they lose knowledge of who they are. There is the assumption that the rich will forever be rich and the poor the poorer. This is perpetuated by our educational system and i am one of such perpetrators. Education has divided our society into the dominant and the surbodinate classes; the former takes all they want by force while the latter has been condemned to everlasting poverty. In our local politics the tricksters usually incite the electorates to fight each other and all they get in return is a cup of sugar, rice and a bar of soap. The best is a television set. Go to the offices and the educated ask for brown envelopes, on our streets those in 4*4 are the worst of drivers.
If an 8yr-old child stands before the camera and disturbs the hips we call them 'talented kids' but if they were to to carry a bag of iced water to enable their parents take care of the family we label it 'child labour', etc. All these confirm the fact that we are lost. All aspects of our life have been contaminated. Our schools are merely indoctrinating us and this confirms what Martin L. King Jnr. said that our universities are becoming great doors of destruction. How long should it take for us to assert our real freedom and what form will it take! Our education is like a prostitute on the street. Any man in a pair of trousers sees her and do a night with her. Politricksters are flirting with our education and we are helpless like a sheep being led to the slaughter or rather standing in front of a bar of soap.
Our teachers are 'nobodies'. We are afraid to be called out because they are shown no respect but i thinj our job cannot be paid for. US$20m a month will not be enough.
Education does more than what we see with our eyes. But all we allow our eyes to see is the 1+1 and the ABCD. We need a revolution in what we learn...
2/23/2011
Poetra Asantewa: the HATEMAILER
This heading has been 'stolen' from Poetra Asantewa- she is a blogger on www.blogger.com- i think you should also start blogging. I have seen her on about two occasions and i suggest you also see her maybe on a face-2-face basis (come to TalkParty, log on to www.ghanawritersproject.com for more info). She says she writes about everything and anything- the good, bad, nice, ugly and all. Log on to her page:www.poetraasantewa.blogspot.com.
She is a murder/er as far as words are concerned; she hates the words but uses them. I had wanted to share her poem with you but that will loh- lots of hate.
In fact in actual fact, she dey beee! She is oooh_ no!
She is a murder/er as far as words are concerned; she hates the words but uses them. I had wanted to share her poem with you but that will loh- lots of hate.
In fact in actual fact, she dey beee! She is oooh_ no!
2/22/2011
The rains
It was 8:30pm and the rain started to pour. I was reading when the lights went off. About 93 million miles away i could see some kind of light across the sky. And i found myself writing this piece...
It winks at the earth
in darkness
And the earth beholds
its beauty
It cries in the loudest
voice
But the earth
comprehends not its
anger
Unto the dry slate it
descends
And the earth resents
Her nostrils are
covered
Her stomach is
punctured
To give way to air
fermented
It winks at the earth
in darkness
And the earth beholds
its beauty
It cries in the loudest
voice
But the earth
comprehends not its
anger
Unto the dry slate it
descends
And the earth resents
Her nostrils are
covered
Her stomach is
punctured
To give way to air
fermented
Church house
I stand in the pulpit
I look through in the
pews
I see a lot but a few
Washed in the blood
Redeemed from the
flood
Who are the righteous
I look through in the
pews
I see a lot but a few
Washed in the blood
Redeemed from the
flood
Who are the righteous
Our kids and cancer
It has been reported that every year over one thousand children in Ghana are affected by cancer. This figure only refers to reported cases at the medical centers- that is my assumption. It could be cancer of the breast, kidney, blood, skin, and any other part of the body. So say the 'experts'.
Personally I have a problem with those we call experts. Truly, they might be experts but... They tell us cancer is not curable but manageable, thus cancer patients 'need' to live with their condition forever and ever. With regard to our future leaders and this 'alpha & omega' disease, they say if it is diagnosed early enough it can be cured. Pure contradiction and consistent inconsistency! Whatever happens has a cause and must have a solution, this is pure LOGIC.
Our successive governments have been receiving grants from donor countries and various institutions including 'beauty salons' to help us prevent malaria and guinea worm infection. Come to think of H1N1 and elephantiasis (how many Ghanaians are suffering from elephantiasis?). From the maverick's point of view, i think outbreak of diseases (such as the H1N1, someone calls it hini flu), their cure and management have become a lucrative business for some people. Why can't the same people embark on a free distribution of cancer-management drugs with the help of donor agencies and countries? The government of Ghana has come out clearly that it failed to employ people as a result of some conditionalities that came with grants and loans. When this issue came up, it was vehemently denied by the government. It would not be far from right/rite if i openly say that the government is conniving, BIG TIME, with some organisations to promote their business. KICKBACKS!
I watched a film on health by the World's Last Chance (WLC). In this they said the sick do not intend to prevent or cure but take chemicals to suppress the very symptoms that tell them they are sick. Through education we have come to know what make us sick but we close our eyes to them. For instance, we know what breed mospuitoes and how, we are well aware of how HIV/AIDS is acquired; but... Don't you think we enter our tombs by our own wrong?
Whether cancer is curable or manageable, we are in charge of our bodies and control what go in. We only need a revolution and i do not mean that with a revolver. Our future leaders are being lost to the greed of some people. Only their mothers can do this. Why would a mother leave her one-month-old child at home for 12 hours and be at work? Why is she working and for whom? I sometimes pity our lady workers who resume work after at most three months of maternal leave. Research indicates that tin/ned food is the genesis of some of these diseases but we have never stopped giving them to our kids. What those of us in the villages eat, those of us in cities abhor. Food that is made for the African is no more a delicacy. Declare that you relish it and you are labelled 'coloquial'
All i want to say is that we can prevent cancer of any type if they tell us it is not curable. It starts with feeding our children and the so-called management can be done likewise to the extent that cure will be possible. The Almighty has given all a conscience. We do not need the Bible and Koran to know what is right or wrong. Some communities in the world have not heard of these books but they have the knowledge of what is good and bad.
Where do we go if our leaders are all cancer patients? Imagine an eighty-year old parent taking care of a thirty-or-so- year old cancer-patient son! I guess that will be an awesome home. I do not subscribe to the 'Yes, we can' slogan but i strongly believe that if you want to see a change, that change must begin with you. Someone defined politics as the authoritative distribution of resources. Governments do not cure diseases but they will distribute the nets, antiretrovirals, the condoms, etc. They are only fufilling their disease-management obligations and campaign promises.
Pressure and interest groups cannot do more than taking to the streets. The media can take sides with the politician to do pseudo-talks and promote unnecessary policies. You are worth much more than the campaign talks and their incitement.
The hositals are built, the morgue is furnished but who works there is a problem.
Conclusively, the Ghanaian must be up and doing. It is your life and no one takes responsibility for it.
Cancer or no cancer, liè must be!!!
This is not a matter of 'all die be die'
Personally I have a problem with those we call experts. Truly, they might be experts but... They tell us cancer is not curable but manageable, thus cancer patients 'need' to live with their condition forever and ever. With regard to our future leaders and this 'alpha & omega' disease, they say if it is diagnosed early enough it can be cured. Pure contradiction and consistent inconsistency! Whatever happens has a cause and must have a solution, this is pure LOGIC.
Our successive governments have been receiving grants from donor countries and various institutions including 'beauty salons' to help us prevent malaria and guinea worm infection. Come to think of H1N1 and elephantiasis (how many Ghanaians are suffering from elephantiasis?). From the maverick's point of view, i think outbreak of diseases (such as the H1N1, someone calls it hini flu), their cure and management have become a lucrative business for some people. Why can't the same people embark on a free distribution of cancer-management drugs with the help of donor agencies and countries? The government of Ghana has come out clearly that it failed to employ people as a result of some conditionalities that came with grants and loans. When this issue came up, it was vehemently denied by the government. It would not be far from right/rite if i openly say that the government is conniving, BIG TIME, with some organisations to promote their business. KICKBACKS!
I watched a film on health by the World's Last Chance (WLC). In this they said the sick do not intend to prevent or cure but take chemicals to suppress the very symptoms that tell them they are sick. Through education we have come to know what make us sick but we close our eyes to them. For instance, we know what breed mospuitoes and how, we are well aware of how HIV/AIDS is acquired; but... Don't you think we enter our tombs by our own wrong?
Whether cancer is curable or manageable, we are in charge of our bodies and control what go in. We only need a revolution and i do not mean that with a revolver. Our future leaders are being lost to the greed of some people. Only their mothers can do this. Why would a mother leave her one-month-old child at home for 12 hours and be at work? Why is she working and for whom? I sometimes pity our lady workers who resume work after at most three months of maternal leave. Research indicates that tin/ned food is the genesis of some of these diseases but we have never stopped giving them to our kids. What those of us in the villages eat, those of us in cities abhor. Food that is made for the African is no more a delicacy. Declare that you relish it and you are labelled 'coloquial'
All i want to say is that we can prevent cancer of any type if they tell us it is not curable. It starts with feeding our children and the so-called management can be done likewise to the extent that cure will be possible. The Almighty has given all a conscience. We do not need the Bible and Koran to know what is right or wrong. Some communities in the world have not heard of these books but they have the knowledge of what is good and bad.
Where do we go if our leaders are all cancer patients? Imagine an eighty-year old parent taking care of a thirty-or-so- year old cancer-patient son! I guess that will be an awesome home. I do not subscribe to the 'Yes, we can' slogan but i strongly believe that if you want to see a change, that change must begin with you. Someone defined politics as the authoritative distribution of resources. Governments do not cure diseases but they will distribute the nets, antiretrovirals, the condoms, etc. They are only fufilling their disease-management obligations and campaign promises.
Pressure and interest groups cannot do more than taking to the streets. The media can take sides with the politician to do pseudo-talks and promote unnecessary policies. You are worth much more than the campaign talks and their incitement.
The hositals are built, the morgue is furnished but who works there is a problem.
Conclusively, the Ghanaian must be up and doing. It is your life and no one takes responsibility for it.
Cancer or no cancer, liè must be!!!
This is not a matter of 'all die be die'
2/17/2011
Streets in Ghana
I woke up @ 3:30am just to get to Accra before 10:00am so i can listen to a lecture on filmmaking. The guest speaker was Mr. Kwaw Ansah, writer of 'Love Brewed In The African Pot', a movie produced in 1980.
From my village (where i teach) to Accra is about a hundred and ten (110) km. I spent more than one and a half hour on a Metro Mass Transit/port bus. The journey is less than 15km. These buses are a nuisance to me. BECAUSE WHY? Passengers are packed like tins of sardines. The most disgusting aspect is that driver and conductors do not respect their 'clients' and vice versa. Coupled with this is the state of the road. Vehicles squeak, creak and scream. As early as 4:30am when one should have their quiet time in the presence of their Creator, they are abused and used, but today they were not ready to loose and lose anything; simply because they are misunderstood.
* * * *
From Anyinam to Accra is about 100km but i spent 3 hours and 45 minutes. Why? The vehicle was slower than the snail. On the way the engine died down so the driver used a stone to hit the battery cable for god-knows-how-many times. The battery responded to our call for urgency and punctuality. Again we nearly lost the door, thank God there was a mechanic on board. Once again passengers began complaining- 'we are going to Aflao', 'driver, let us board another vehicle if you can't continue with the journey', 'your car is so old, it should not go such a long journey', etc.
I looked at my phone and the time was 8:35am. 'Oh, i can be there on time' i consoled myself. I got to Accra at 10:01am when the lecture was to start. The next was to board another vehicle to the venue and it took me close to 15 minutes to locate the station. I greeted the 'mate' (a name given to conductors on mini buses.
'I am going to Cantoments'. I said.
'The drivers have closed so board my car and get off at Danquah First Circle, there you board another car to the U.S Embassy and ask of where you are going. Everybody tbke you there' he told me.
But how and why, at 10:00am?
With this in mind i jumped into the car. At the Danquah circle the mate humbly told me to alight. Upon the mate's instructions and directions, i got to the embassy and asked of my destination.
There were so many people with brown envelopes sitting on the ground- others sat on their handkerchiefs to stay off the brown, or red sticky Ghanaian dust.
'Good morning, madam. Please i would like to be directed to the Goethe Institut, it is near NAFTI' I spoke 'officially'. She replied ' I am new here, but you can ask this man' she directed me to a man who sat about a millimeter (1mm) away from her. The man also asked me to cross the road and talk to the nearest credit vendor. They were freshmen at the area. I concluded that they had come for visa application; they have families to cater for and the GHC3.70 or less (minimum wage) is nothing. Why not go elsewhere in search of greener, browner and redder pastures?
The vendor who,i think has been there since 'nineteen-kwadwo-hoohoo' (time immemorial) so she can drill her oil from desperate visa 'needers' was kind enough to direct me. And that was where the problem of directions popped up. The bottom line is that Ghanaians must name their streets and stop asking strangers to ask the call credit vendor for directions.
Even where streets are named, we are so wise not to refer to them.
From my village (where i teach) to Accra is about a hundred and ten (110) km. I spent more than one and a half hour on a Metro Mass Transit/port bus. The journey is less than 15km. These buses are a nuisance to me. BECAUSE WHY? Passengers are packed like tins of sardines. The most disgusting aspect is that driver and conductors do not respect their 'clients' and vice versa. Coupled with this is the state of the road. Vehicles squeak, creak and scream. As early as 4:30am when one should have their quiet time in the presence of their Creator, they are abused and used, but today they were not ready to loose and lose anything; simply because they are misunderstood.
* * * *
From Anyinam to Accra is about 100km but i spent 3 hours and 45 minutes. Why? The vehicle was slower than the snail. On the way the engine died down so the driver used a stone to hit the battery cable for god-knows-how-many times. The battery responded to our call for urgency and punctuality. Again we nearly lost the door, thank God there was a mechanic on board. Once again passengers began complaining- 'we are going to Aflao', 'driver, let us board another vehicle if you can't continue with the journey', 'your car is so old, it should not go such a long journey', etc.
I looked at my phone and the time was 8:35am. 'Oh, i can be there on time' i consoled myself. I got to Accra at 10:01am when the lecture was to start. The next was to board another vehicle to the venue and it took me close to 15 minutes to locate the station. I greeted the 'mate' (a name given to conductors on mini buses.
'I am going to Cantoments'. I said.
'The drivers have closed so board my car and get off at Danquah First Circle, there you board another car to the U.S Embassy and ask of where you are going. Everybody tbke you there' he told me.
But how and why, at 10:00am?
With this in mind i jumped into the car. At the Danquah circle the mate humbly told me to alight. Upon the mate's instructions and directions, i got to the embassy and asked of my destination.
There were so many people with brown envelopes sitting on the ground- others sat on their handkerchiefs to stay off the brown, or red sticky Ghanaian dust.
'Good morning, madam. Please i would like to be directed to the Goethe Institut, it is near NAFTI' I spoke 'officially'. She replied ' I am new here, but you can ask this man' she directed me to a man who sat about a millimeter (1mm) away from her. The man also asked me to cross the road and talk to the nearest credit vendor. They were freshmen at the area. I concluded that they had come for visa application; they have families to cater for and the GHC3.70 or less (minimum wage) is nothing. Why not go elsewhere in search of greener, browner and redder pastures?
The vendor who,i think has been there since 'nineteen-kwadwo-hoohoo' (time immemorial) so she can drill her oil from desperate visa 'needers' was kind enough to direct me. And that was where the problem of directions popped up. The bottom line is that Ghanaians must name their streets and stop asking strangers to ask the call credit vendor for directions.
Even where streets are named, we are so wise not to refer to them.
2/15/2011
Eternity
Are you a christian and have you ever thought about life after death? Our Saviour has promised us one thing- read the Beatitudes(Matt. 5)
I read about what eternity is and i would like to share it with you.
There was this very intelligent boy who once lived. The king of the country wanted to examine so he asked him (boy) to tell him how eternity would be.
'Oh king, in a far off land there is a very high mountain made of brass whose peak reaches far above the clouds. Once every hundred years a little bird comes and whets its beak on the mountain. As soon as the mountain has been so worn down by this that it entirely disappears, then one second of eternity has passed' answered the boy.
If a hundred years, a century is equivalent to one second of a clock, imagine yourrelf in eternity
Mathematically, 100yr=1sec
2011yr=?
How many seconds has it taken you this?
I can only imagine...
I read about what eternity is and i would like to share it with you.
There was this very intelligent boy who once lived. The king of the country wanted to examine so he asked him (boy) to tell him how eternity would be.
'Oh king, in a far off land there is a very high mountain made of brass whose peak reaches far above the clouds. Once every hundred years a little bird comes and whets its beak on the mountain. As soon as the mountain has been so worn down by this that it entirely disappears, then one second of eternity has passed' answered the boy.
If a hundred years, a century is equivalent to one second of a clock, imagine yourrelf in eternity
Mathematically, 100yr=1sec
2011yr=?
How many seconds has it taken you this?
I can only imagine...
2/10/2011
Today's Woman
She was borne black
With a beautiful black blood
She was adorned in white
With a beautiful black back
Her back shone through the night...
With a beautiful black blood
She was adorned in white
With a beautiful black back
Her back shone through the night...
Beginning With Christ.
On 9th Feb; 2011, at around 23:00 GMT, I signed up to blogger.com. My spot is under construction; I need to personalise-designs and settings. But there is the urge to write something and I do not mean beginning my blog with Christ but that we need to begin all our life activities with Christ.
Jesus Christ, at the beginning of creation was with the Father and will be after the destruction of the world. The Bible says that with Christ all were created and for Him-Alpha and Omega. We cannot do without Him for our faith is built on this Rock. The difference is Christ! This Christ we know and hear of, who is he?
Basically Christ is the Saviour-He died on the cross to save you and me. What a world we were to have if He had not come on the scene! Man must be saved from the bondage of sin and the daily ritual of meeting priests to confess their sins (pray-for-me sessions).
The Israelites of old were not fed up with committing sins, after all they farmers who could offer on the altar the fattest of rams and best of foodstuffs.
Will you be able to confess all the sins you committed last night to a fellow man? No! Therefore in his own wisdom the Father sent his only Begotten, full of grace and truth, to come as a man but at first as a child, to save us. He was the Saviour, the King but he came as a child...
Jesus Christ, at the beginning of creation was with the Father and will be after the destruction of the world. The Bible says that with Christ all were created and for Him-Alpha and Omega. We cannot do without Him for our faith is built on this Rock. The difference is Christ! This Christ we know and hear of, who is he?
Basically Christ is the Saviour-He died on the cross to save you and me. What a world we were to have if He had not come on the scene! Man must be saved from the bondage of sin and the daily ritual of meeting priests to confess their sins (pray-for-me sessions).
The Israelites of old were not fed up with committing sins, after all they farmers who could offer on the altar the fattest of rams and best of foodstuffs.
Will you be able to confess all the sins you committed last night to a fellow man? No! Therefore in his own wisdom the Father sent his only Begotten, full of grace and truth, to come as a man but at first as a child, to save us. He was the Saviour, the King but he came as a child...
2/09/2011
Valentine
I woke up and stood up
Before then no need to know where my hand went
She was not there but she was not dead
On my pillow my mind went wallowing
No questions because such are not sanctioned
But the brains could not cut through the nostalgic memories
Because cat hunters were going in through the chimneys
I stepped out and truly she was out
At my door i stood looking for something she might post
But after an hour without power ploughing
I went in because the night was drawing nigh
Into my bed i hopped knowing no hope hopped in the halls
Finally cables fell and power drawled
Morn wasted, noon wasted, even unusable
At the power station the red turned to blue, real hard balls
On the streets the lights were red
Vehicles honked in red fury
Because everything was blur
Where was i to go?
How was i to go?
Where was i to search?
How was i to search?
On top of a white bottle it was
Wrapped in red a red rose
Written and signed in red
On a white sheet of paper
'It is over'
But i thought she was slender but a slanderer
My Cinderella, Rosalinda
A deceiver, a receiver
Not a giver, a scoffer
Through the window i peeped and this i saw
From hair to toe, red
The bra and godly-strings, red
Bedrooms to boardrooms, red
Is it a day of the red?
Yes!
The day when red saliva is spat out
When red teeth are shown
As the men scratch and the women grind
And say to each other in bed
Happy Val's Day
Before then no need to know where my hand went
She was not there but she was not dead
On my pillow my mind went wallowing
No questions because such are not sanctioned
But the brains could not cut through the nostalgic memories
Because cat hunters were going in through the chimneys
I stepped out and truly she was out
At my door i stood looking for something she might post
But after an hour without power ploughing
I went in because the night was drawing nigh
Into my bed i hopped knowing no hope hopped in the halls
Finally cables fell and power drawled
Morn wasted, noon wasted, even unusable
At the power station the red turned to blue, real hard balls
On the streets the lights were red
Vehicles honked in red fury
Because everything was blur
Where was i to go?
How was i to go?
Where was i to search?
How was i to search?
On top of a white bottle it was
Wrapped in red a red rose
Written and signed in red
On a white sheet of paper
'It is over'
But i thought she was slender but a slanderer
My Cinderella, Rosalinda
A deceiver, a receiver
Not a giver, a scoffer
Through the window i peeped and this i saw
From hair to toe, red
The bra and godly-strings, red
Bedrooms to boardrooms, red
Is it a day of the red?
Yes!
The day when red saliva is spat out
When red teeth are shown
As the men scratch and the women grind
And say to each other in bed
Happy Val's Day
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