Mrs Beatrice Lokko was born in 6th September 1949 in Accra to the late Mr Julius Evans Kwashie Awadzi and Madam Agnes Boli Awadzi.

She attended Mfantsiman  Girls Secondary school at Saltpond between 1963 and 1970 where she obtained her Ordinary and Advanced level Certificates of Education.  She proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon in 1970 and graduated with a B.A (Hons.) English in 1973.

In 1973, she was posted to the Accra Academy to do her National Service.  In 1974, she was appointed a permanent teacher of English in the Accra Academy.  For seven years, she taught in Accra Academy as an English Language and Literature tutor.

In 1981, she was appointed the Head of English Department, a position she held until 1990 when she was appointed an Assistant Headmistress (Administration) to the then Headmaster, Mr. V. B. Freeman.  She occupied this position until 1996 when Mr. V.B. Freemam went on retirement.

In 1996, she was appointed the Acting Headmistress to the Accra Academy.  Due to the good work she has been doing at the school, it was no wonder she was appointed the substantive Headmistress to the Accra Academy in 1997.

Mrs. Beatrice Lokko is married to Mr. C.B Lokko and she is blessed with four children, one male and three females.

I have decided to celebrate Mrs. Beatrice Lokko because, the Accra Academy, since its foundation in 1931 has been headed by a succession of old boys. It is a tradition of the Accra Academy that the school should be headed by only old boys. It was therefore a surprise to all, both old and non-old boys that, after the retirement of Mr. V.B. Freeman no old boy was readily available to succeed him.

Mrs. Beatrice Lokko was appointed as the acting Headmistress pending the search for a qualified old boy to head the school. The search got no result for over one year and therefore Mrs. Lokko was confirmed as the Headmistress and the first woman, non-old student to head the Accra Academy.

For the three years that she has been in office as the head of the school, she has performed creditably to the admiration of all.  She has competently held the Accra  Academy family together.  The School is an all-boys institution with a predominantly male teaching staff.  One could wonder how a woman could steer the affairs of such a school.  Mrs. Lokko has proved herself worthy to the task.  She has proved the saying that "what men can do women can do and even do it better".   I feel excited when I see her flanked at sport meetings by her students (all boys) chanting the appellation  ' Sweet mother, Sweet
mother '.  Really she is a Sweet Mother and I love her for that.  She is doing the job as if God Almighty called her at this particular time in history to do it.  She is a real role model for us young and upcoming girls.   Let us strife to be like her so that the men will not dominate us and push us to the background and probably to the kitchen.

Below is a personal message from Mrs. Beatrice Lokko to everybody:

"I am a hardworking person. I love helping people and I believe that teaching is a noble profession and women are born teachers. They know how to handle people, males and females and because they feel deeply they are able to relate better to the children they teach.

I see my students as my own children and I want to help them to discover the best in themselves.

I believe that good will always triumph over evil so I teach them to lead honest, faithful lives so that they will not have too many regrets in life.

I also encourage the youth to love hard work because that is the only antidote to poverty. Little efforts will later lead to great achievements. Nothing is trivial or useless so long as it
is done with the right motives.

Women are the life line in these stressful days so they must be supported, encouraged and given the chance to move in world affairs today".

Her hobby is poetry writing and this is a poem from her:

Celebrate womanhood with true, honest beauty
Not only of the skin but of the heart.
Womanhood is the gem of life, stain it not with falsehood.
Polish it and make it shine
Woman, give tender care to the babies.
Knowledge and guidance to the young
Wisdom to the erring ones
Make love the celebration wine and bring heaven down to earth.
Woman, you are the light of the world
So be it!

Written by:
Martha Boadi (SSS 3)
Outreach Student
Ebenezer Secondary School, Dansoman - Accra.

Born on the 24TH of February 1963, at Cape Coast to the late Kojo Johnny Botsio of Apam and Madam Sireboorkarikari of Koforidua ,Lady Tamara is the third born in a family of six.She began her schooling at Ola Girls Boarding at Cape Coast then onto the Larteh-Akuapim Girls School.

Lady Tamara had gone through difficult times during her childhood because her father did not provide for them and therefore her loving Mother had to do some menial jobs to keep the family. Her battle of survival took her to Lebanon and later to Holland to train as a dancer.When she returned  to  Ghana in 1975, she had an appointment with the management of the defunct State Hotels Corporation as guest entertainer. Through this arrangement, Lady Tamara had the opportunity to travel around the world dancing with her then manager, one Mr. Mofak.
After completion of the agreement she bought a building she rented out to expatriates and operated a chain of stores in Accra and other parts of the country. Tamara restaurant is the result of these development and very proud she is to be the sole brain behind them. Apart from that Lady Tamara has made some investments  to boost tourism in the Akuapim area, particularly Larteh in the Eastern region of Ghana and has assisted in the provision of some development projects in the area to make life better for the people of the area.

To crown this glorious transition from a bar room entertainer to a woman of virtue and substance, Lady Tamara has been made the Nkosuahemaa (honorary development queen) of the Guan traditional area under the stool name Nana Esi Koree I. She has offered a lot of services to the people of Akuapim and wishes to contest this year's parliamentary election as a candidate in the Akuapim North Constituency.  Additionally she maintains she would take advantage of  her new role as legislator to draw investors  into the country.

Lady Tamara likes to work very hard and hates to be cheated.  She encourages all women to resist attempts by others to cheat and exploit them. She has come a long way from the days of strip-tease dancing for nearly 15 years now to taking a breather and swinging the empire that stands before her.

Indeed Lady Tamara is a living legend who has set a wonderful standard for Ghanaian women and women the world over to follow.  She says, "with determination all heights can be reached and that means the one you intend to reach."

Seth Apreh
sapreh@academy.worldgh.net
Accra  Academy

Honesty, they claim, is no bad policy nor a commodity but its prices very dear if not priceless. Ken had remorsed exceedingly, of having told a lie he branded 'true lie' to his colleagues and to his teachers.    Gloriously, the academic year had begun on the campus
of Accra  Academy. Ken and  Fadel were rewarded for fetching performance put up
last year. Mr Bani, a new tutor seeing the performance of the two friends, was enticed to know about their family background.    Ken and Fadel were then arrayed before the school to speak about  their background as a substance of emulation to other students. exegetically, Ken not meek, but hoity-toity at the sight of his contemporaries told and fabricated a neat lie about his parents, thus his parent abode in the U.S.A.  On the contrary, Fadel nickname 'pastor' by his mates due to his missionalizing fashion said the
exact truth. Ken managed possibly to secret his abode. Through good lies, little did he
know that, it as a catalyst to his wittingness.  Lo  and behold, the  annual competition between schools had come, and luckily enough, Accra Academy was chosen for the first time . Internally the mantel could not afford to fall on any other student than Fadel and Ken.  Ken spuriously, knowing his background prepared fully and adequately to arrest that  golden opportunity to plane outside for further studies. Whilst the opponents had slept, Ken toiled up in the night blazing the midnight oil   that Wordsworth Longfellow,  when present could  have nodded at Ken and said advancely, "oh! Ken, a man to success"

Finally, Accra Academy emerged second to none and Ken was awarded scholarship to study abroad, and precisely in the U.S.A., the  virtual abode of his parents. Ken then broke the news to his parents with the warning not to go to the school, for it was not necessary. Ken  was then sent to his village to make his relative aware of the heart-warming news.
The inevitable happened.  The day for the flight was changed and an earlier day set. Ken was feverishly being wanted to give information  about the said parents living abroad, so that arrangements could be made to contact them.  Ken was nowhere to be found.  Where is Ken, where is Ken!.  All search was futily abortive. This proved and unlined the factual fact that: No man is an island entirely on itself,    Every man is a piece of the continent.
For everyman's death diminishes each other So, don't send to know whom the bell tolls for
 it tolls for thee!

I believe Ken would have bet his bottom dollar to say this is no fallacy.  No two ways about that, Fadel was given the chance in the absence of Ken.  Ken with much gaiety , only return to the school, to be told sorrowfully that, Fadel instead had gone when he could not be
traced when the new date was set.  Ken was shocked to the bone .  Ken was perplexed.  Ken was spellbound and mesmerised.  Ken was thrown to the world of despondency.  A faint voice from nowhere said "But your  parents are abroad".  Shamefully, he said it was far from the right, for his parents are farmers living in Kasoa. Ooh!!, sounded the standers-by, and with oneness of tone, said it really does not pay to lie.  A young chap among them, then said, but it prices to be honest like Fadel.

From the above occurrence, I have learnt to know that "little lies", though innocuous it may seem, should be out of  my life but honesty should be my daily bread.

Martha Boadi (SSS 2)
Outreach Student
Ebenezer Secondary School, Dansoman - Accra.

VALUES THAT HAS HELP SHAPE MY LIFE

Values that have helped shape my life and made me a responsible teenager are of wide range. Some I acquired unconsciously through parent guidance others through religious guidance. Some of which I have decided to live by, on my own at the unset of my teenage life include chastity, humility, respect, diligence, curiosity, meekness, courage, self-improvement, patience and self-control. Certain values which I acquired through parental guidance at home, like humility, respect and honour for the elderly, obedience, being serviceable and other ways of being submissive to authority  as a child will hardly die out of life. Though I acquired these unconsciously, they show up in me whenever I present myself among people, even in the classroom. An exceptional hallmark is pronounced about me considering how respectful and calmly I relate with both peers and teachers. These values won me many moral victories and unopposed nominations as a leader of my peers in school, at church and in many other youth organisation and groups. And I am always grateful to my parent for planting such moral fibres in me. Moral principles, beliefs and religion have helped mould my life to fit into society and be at peace with my creator. As the saying goes, a religious person is a principled person.
From these I have learnt to be at peace with all people around me and to respect and care about them. I always not to hurt or offend my neighbours in any way. I decided to live according to certain principles that will help me relate well with others. These include being self-confident, appreciating myself and practising self -improvement, being circumspective in selecting   friends. These have help me to encouncitate myself from many attitude of the youth which are uncalled for. To be able to overcome desires that crop up in teenagers, I had to strongly exercise my will-power. With determination, I identify what my peers do which I immoral and I have proposed in my heart never to behave as they do. This is actually not easy, but my strong optimism for being a good moralist and disciplinarian has always continued to urge me on. I eschew habits like womanising, sodomy, rioting, theft, and many others. I have always kept on saying to myself that, if these are the only things that can save me from my grave, then I will prefer going to the grave than to do these and be a thorn in the fresh of society. Over my dead body I say.  These values are hard to keep but with determination, courage, great sense of  purpose, circumspection and good role-model mindedness, I have allowed my lifestyle to be shaped this way. I know I will not grow to depart from these and I will be a responsible adult.

Samuel Tawiah Halm (SSS 3) 17 years
Accra Academy
Accra - Ghana.
 
 

LAWS OF LIFE ESSAY PROJECT - 2000

THE PRICE OF KINDNESS AND LOVE

This is an event of a poor family called the Appiah's  and how they became wealthy because of their  kindness and love to all people.
Mr. Appiah and Mr. Adomako were very good friends. They lived in the same street and their houses were opposite each other. They had  everything in common except one thing, and that is kindness. The lost of kindness from Mr. Adomako came by when he was duped by a confident trickster some years ago.  He became cruel to strangers and even to close neighbours.  The Appiah,s on the other hand continued with their kindness.

One Saturday night, an old man called Agya Yaw went to the residence of Mr. Adomako to spend the night when he was caught by darkness on a journey.  The Adomakos drove him out of their house and threw insults at him. The old man went straight to the house of Mr. Appiah. The househelp was about to sack  him when Mr. Appiah came to the scene.   He allowed the old man to enter the house. His wife, Mrs. Appiah, was not in
agreement at first but Mr. Appiah convinced her to accept the old man in.  Both of them welcomed the old man as their own father. The old man was very pleased with them and all the family also liked him. He told them stories and at times and cracked jokes in their conversation. The children especially, liked him because he told them Ananse stories and also narrated some of the incidents which happened in the past to them. One night, Mr. Adomako visited the Appiah's and found the old man with the children on their veranda. Is that your father? "Mr. Adomako enquired".  Mr. Appiah said no without hesitating.  Mr. Adomako tried to find out whether his friend knew the old man but he replied by saying, "he is a stranger".  "A stranger! I will advise you to send him out of your house" Mr. Adomako exclaimed.   His friend  replied by saying, "as long as I live, the man will stay until he decides to go". Mr. Adomako kept  quiet  but immediately he got back home, he told his wife. She said in a surprise  tone "are they out of their senses! ,they still trust strangers?".  She finally made a statement by saying "a word to a wise is enough."  The Appiahs continued to do the good things they were doing until one night Agya Yaw told them he was leaving the next day. The family was very sad that night but the old man
consoled them and  promised to come back someday. The old man left early the next day to  continue his journey. The Appiahs continued to show their kindness and love to people long after Agya Yaw.  Unfortunately, they were robbed one day.  Everything of theirs were stolen. All their friends deserted them since they did not take any advise from them. They became very poor as the church mouse.  Their children stopped schooling  to sell to help the house. The old man who had visited them some years back heard of them.  He came to visit them. He felt so sorry for them but advised them to continue with their love and kindness. Before he left them he pulled out a small box from his bag and handed it over to them.  He said good bye to them and returned to his unknown destination. He died an hour after he had reached home. They opened the box and it was full of Gold and money. They were very pleased with what the old man did and said to themselves,  "at long last we are back to our reaches". They became richer than they were at first. Their children continued with their schooling and became great men and women. They were the richest family in the town. Every body in the village became excited about how they had their fortune and it became a lesson to all the people in the town.

The above narrate may sound as a fairy tale but to me it is not.  Let me give you some accounts of how I have gained from the kindness and love I  have for people, especially my  teachers.  More often than not students or pupils these days have little regards for their teachers.  At the Junior Secondary School, I had a particular love and kindness for my teachers.  While some of my mates showed rudeness and arrogance towards their
teachers, I made sure that I was at their beckon call.  As a result, all the teachers in the school liked me.  It was no wonder I was appointed to the highest office as the Girls Prefect in the final year to the envy of all my colleagues.  At the time we were to register for the final Basic Education  Certificate  Examinations (BECE), my Parents had to travel to our hometown to attend the  funeral of a death uncle.  In their absence, we were asked to pay our registration fee of  twenty-five thousand cedis  within one week.  My parents were going to  be away for two weeks and the only money they left with me and my sister was our daily money for the period.  I was in a fix.  I  did not know  what to do.  I was too young to go borrowing, for nobody will lend money to a small girl like me.  I did not know the house of my father's  closest friend and he was also not visiting us although he  knew my father was away and had left us behind.  I gathered courage and mentioned  my plight to one of my female teachers in the school.  Before I could say lo, she opened her purse and counted the money into my hands to go and pay for my registration.  If I had been the arrogant and stubborn child like some of my friends I wouldn't have been able to register for the examination.

My second account was when the results of the Basic Education Certificate Examination were released. I had aggregate eighteen (18) which qualified me to enter High School.  But what happened?   The school of my choice was taking aggregates between six (6) and eight(8).  Where do I stand.  No High school for me.  Once again, my kindness and love for my teachers opened another door for me.  One of my teachers at the JSS met me and enquired from me the high school I was going.  I told him I have not got a High school yet. He held my hands, took me to his friend's house and told him about me and appealed to him to assist me get admission in the school he was teaching.   I sent my particulars to him and in less than one week my admission letter was in my hands.

My third account was with this lady hairdresser. This lady came to learn hairdressing in the house where I stayed.  I showed my usual love and  kindness towards her.  I was doing all her cooking, laundry and normal house chores for her.  During weekends when she get so busy I took her place at home and gave all the necessary service to her husband.  Her husband became so fund of me that they approached my parents and pleaded  with them to allow me to stay with them.  My parents obliged and I moved in to live with them. They have been so good to me.  Through the husband I became a computer literate as the husband is a Computer and a Mathematics tutor in the school where he teaches.   I got my e-mail and  internet services for this project and others through him.  Although my parents are not so poor, they would not have been able to pay the hundreds of thousand of cedis to make me a computer literate and to pay for the email and internet services I get as they have to contend with the huge fees of my senior brother in the university.

I am so grateful to all who have helped and are still helping me to climb the ladder of life through my kindness and love. I would like to advise all my friends, especially students, to show love and kindness towards their teachers because they can be of tremendous help in our times of crisis. To all mankind, I say, let us show a little love and kindness towards our neighbours.  The world can achieve great peace if we can all show a little love and kindness towards our neighbours.

Martha Boadi (SSS 3)
Outreach Student
Ebenezer Secondary School, Dansoman - Accra.
 

Honesty and Courage Saves Life

There are times when a person is tempted to sin, but the question comes back to him/her to decide whether he/she wants to go on with the plan or not.
Temptations sometimes come at crucial times that you can't control yourself.

This is how someone was saved for gathering the courage to be honest. A boy called Bismark stayed with his parents.  For as long as they stayed
in the house, they always returned home from their various daily destinations only to find out that something has been stolen from the house. One day Bismark returned home early from school very hungry that instead of controlling himself to avoid doing anything stupid, he was tempted to take food from his mother's refrigerator and had in mind that when his mother should ask of the one who ate the food he will claim that he is innocent because if he is caught he will be beaten and held responsible for all the things that had already got missing in the house.

When Bismark's mother came back to the house, her son was not yet back from school and the food she placed in the refrigerator had been eaten so she was happy until Bismark allegedly came home from school to find his mother happy, she was happy because the food was poisoned to take care of the thief who has been stealing from the house.  Bismark was asked when he came home whether he was the one who ate the food but he said he
didn't do that, which made his mother happy.

He had a second thought why his mother should be so happy about it and was not happy why his mother seeing in uniform indicating that he had
just returned from school and knowing that someone has been stealing from the house but still asking him about the theft made him ponder.

He decided to be honest to his mother and find out what was wrong no matter what would happen.  He was courageous enough to tell his mother that he did it but surprisingly to him, his mother pounced on him and off they went to the nearest hospital for him to be diagnosed before he was
informed that the food was poisoned.

Bismark was saved when he honestly told his mother that he took the food with a little courage not thinking that he will be beaten if he tells the truth. He would have died without the knowledge of his parents and the thief would not be stealing from them again.

Anthony Eshun-Rhule
Accra Academy (SS3)
age: 18yrs.

ASPECTS OF LOVE PROJECT

ANCIENT LOVE BORN NEW

In a hospital ward in the heart of the City, Accra, wringed a shrill loud cry from one of the hospital beds. This noise naturally signified the beginning of a new life. The newborn baby was his mothers pride and the sight of him gladdened her heart. His eyes so bright, his face wrapped in an innocent expression so palpable. One that would bring so much hope to a desperate World;  a mother's world.  Sarah Akoto was a royal, an Obaahemaa [queenmother], the wife of the chief of Akuapim. She had almost given up every hope of ever becoming a mother after her five-year-old marriage had failed to yield a single child. Both wife and husband had held on to this dream of becoming mother and father although many Doctors had confirmed her (Sarah) as being barren. Finally the much-awaited day came. It was an answer to their prayers granted by God. And it was a boy, what they had both wished for.

Beside her bed, a mother had also given birth to her first ever child just as in the case of Sarah. The only difference was that this mother's child was a girl. The two babies were put on the same bed each beside the other and lo and behold the two babies were seen playing with each other. Wonders they say will never end, were the words that came to mind as the two mothers marveled at the sight. The other mother, Diana Kumi, was the wife of a rich businessman. Almost instantly the two became friends and the two families rejoiced over seeing the two children grow  into young adults. John, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Akoto soon completed his tertiary education and had to be sent abroad, Australia to be precise to further his education as a public relations officer. Rose the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kumi had also been sent to Britain for further studies as Administrator. For the past 20 years that they had known each other, each of them had developed a special affection towards the other and they could not possibly be separated at this time. Each had come into contact with the opposite sex but none sustained an intimate relationship with the other sex. 12 years had gone by since the two saw each other. Surprisingly enough, Rose was to run into John where and when she least expected. She was on a business assignment to one of the company branches she was presently working with in Sydney. On meeting the manager of the company branch, she was hit by this strange feeling that made her feel as though she had known him prior to their meeting that day. After a few enquiries, the lovebirds rediscovered the seed of
love they had from Adam sown and were yet to reap the harvest. They soon tied the nuptial knot and the rest of the story as usual needs no reminder; heavenly bliss.

Seth Apreh (SS3 Gen Arts 1)
Accra  Academy - Ghana
sapreh@academy.worldgh.net

TOPIC: THE COMMONWEALTH HAS A CLEARLY EXPRESSED COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, TOLERANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS. ARE THESE VALUES SUFFICIENT AS AN ETHICAL CODE TO TAKE US INTO THE NEXT MILLENIUM?.

The commonwealth after its several years of existence has tried in Various forms to bring peace, democratic rule or governance and respect for
human rights to all its member countries and has relentlessly tried to sustain these fundamental principles to sustain peaceful coexistence among its member countries and within member nations. Despite all these efforts "one is forced to stand and think" if these ethical values are enough to take us into the next millennium, considering all the human right violations, military rules, and at times the ethnic cleansing or genocides that take place within its member nations.

Well, one may say that these ethical values are not enough to sustain us, or the commonwealth is just not doing enough to sustain its member nations.
Facts prove that, even though there is the need to add more values to the ethnic code, the ones which are already there are not being observed properly.  If this is the case then why then do we add more if we can not handle the little that is there.

Most member nations are democratically ruled or governed, but some are under military rule even though the common wealth clearly objects to military rule and as a result these are sanctioned and ordered to go back to civilian rule of which very few of these nations obey.  The same people who claim in such country that the nation is being mismanaged and therefore come into power by force do little to help the situation. Some come into power and soon start doing the same things and even worse things to their poeple. They abuse their rights and derail their standard of living and
even use their power to amass wealth for themselves which comes from the poor tax payer of such a nation.

But if all commonwealth nations were to observe democracy and value the importance in it then commonwealth countries would say no to military rule
and bloody coup d' etats.  Democracy is the basic pillar around which all the other ethical codes are built and like a chain, without it non of the other principles can exist in any nation. With democracy, all forms of human development can be developed which will enhance the respect for human rights improve the living standard of the member countries and within the individual countries, which promotes peaceful coexistence among member nations.

Another thing common wealth stands out clearly to promote and at times help provide is sustainable development, which clearly plays a vital role in
the development of the people of common wealth nations and the nation as a whole. The next millennium is one for the development of all the people and countries on the face of the earth. This aim is very difficult for some 3rd world countries because of their poor economies, debts and mishandling of affairs in such nations. In the common wealth some developed nations have achieved this aim and are on other things, so these nations help the 3rd world countries to also achieve this aim.  An example was in the 1980's when Britain wrote off some of Ghana's debts owed to them and this helped the country greatly in achieving its micro and macro economic programmes for those years and upon that foundation is Ghana building its vision 2020 project in which Ghana aims to attain a middle income status and provide all basic amenities for all rural areas in the country.

Equality is one of the instruments in the ethical code of the commonwealth. This means that all member nations and its governments have equal rights and responsibilities towards their people and other member nations.  Equality is an important instrument in maintaining peaceful coexistence among commonwealth nations and the world as a whole.  With equality no matter your colour, dialect, ethnic group or race we are all regarded as one people and should enjoy the same rights, freedoms and share equal responsibilities as people of common wealth nations.  With equality, member nations must have utmost respect for each other irrespective of their wealth, economic strength, size and status of the country.

In equality 3rd world nations should produce and determine the price of their produce and sell to who ever they wish to. Developed nations should
not their strong economies to determine the prices for these poor nations.   And in equality migrant citizens of the common wealth nations should be
treated with the measure of respect as the citizen of that nation.  In equality when structuring world economic programmes and schemes, it should
be done in such a way that 3rd world nations will benefit from it and in such a way that will enable the economies of such nations to grow.  Finally, in equality the gab between the rich and the poor should decrease and the wide gab between the powers of the world and 3rd world nations should also
decrease.  How is justice observed among member nations and within these nations.  Equality can never exist without justice and should be observed internationally.  Commonwealth again promotes justice in member nations, but one wonders how  justice prevail in some member countries, when there is grievance between the rich and the poor, when one nation wrongs another is there justice? How are the resources in some nations distributed, is there justice? Do we respect the rights of other people in different ethnic groups or different religion?  These are some of the basic rules for peace to exist between member nations and within  the nations.

One of the major things the common wealth seeks to promote is the respect for human rights irrespective of who ever they are. In member nations how we tolerate people of different tribes and observe their rights as a necessity.  How do we deal with and tolerate people with different customs and religion and do we respect their rights. Example, in some parts of Nigeria the Muslims and Christians do not tolerate each other and as for their respect for each other it is yet to be considered. In some parts of the world there are similar conflicts between people of different religions, e.g. in Indonisia.  Observation of human rights is one thing some countries in one way or the other have over looked. Rights like the right to vote, air their views on national issues, freedom of worship and the right to kick against any law in their nation and the right to have basic education should be strictly observed.

The commonwealth's ethical code is enough to take us into the millennium and even the next two millenniums if only member nations observe the ethical code.  Yes democracy, sustainable development, equality, justice, tolerance and respect for human right are very good values to send all common wealth nations into the next millennium, but if any of these values be left out then the rest will come down with it no matter how hard we try because when a chain is broken, it no longer serves its purpose any more.

If we want the commonwealth nations to be a happy  and peaceful place, a place where human development will exist then both the developed and the developing nations of the commonwealth should remember to observe and value the ethical codes of this irreplaceable organisation to the letter.

Emmanuel Yamoah <eyamoah@academy.worldgh.net>
Accra  Academy
Accra – Ghana.

VOICE OF THE EARTH (VOTE) PROJECT

  LOOKING TOWARDS THE 21st CENTURY
  WHAT I HOPE THE WORLD CAN BE IN FUTURE

Now we are in the 21st century, a century in which many think that things would be a lot better than they were in the centuries past.  All I hope is that the standard of living for all races on earth will improve greatly especially those in the 3rd world nations.
But one is forced to stand and think "if things happen the way they are prepared for then "then I fear what the future holds for us. The past century held a lot of gloomy and dark days, starting from the two world wars to the recent economic hardships all over the world.
I only hope that this new century will mark the end of wars, bloody conflicts and misunderstanding between nations, ethnic groups, people of different religions and individuals that has destroyed several millions of lives and has also derailed  standards of living in many parts of the world.
I hope that in this century wars would be a thing of the past and peace would be found every where, people will live in peaceful co-existence so that the world will be a peaceful place to be.
I strongly hope that there will economic stability in all parts of the world and the economies of 3rd world nations grow in strength and size, so that the standard of living in these nations will improve.
I also hope that this new century will be a century in which we can feed sufficiently every mouth in the world.
In addition good drinking water will be found every where and every one will have access to it .
In this new century cures for diseases like AIDS, cancer,  etc . will be found. Human rights will be respected worldwide and child abuse and child labour will be a thing of the past. In this new century  I hope that the environment would be given great attention so that pollutions and environmental degradation will be stopped or minimized.
 I know that all these things will be hard to achieve but once we set our minds on it we can achieve them.
Finally I hope that these things will be given great attention by our present world leaders.

YAMOAH   EMMANUEL
eyamoah@academy.worldgh.net
Accra  Academy
Accra - Ghana.

  WHAT  I HOPE FOR THE WORLD IN THE FUTURE
I see the world in the 21st century, and for that matter the future, as a place where people are going to find absolute peace. I want  to see the world in the future as a place where no one is going to feel hurt.
Everyone is going to feel happy and every one is going to give of his best to keep the world moving in the direction  we want. I am hoping that the 21st century is going to bring an end to the numerous wars  and misunderstandings  we have created.  I want to see the 21st century without violence and without harm to the environment . I will like to see the technological  advancement of the world spread to the 3rd world countries.
The world in future should be a place where every one would want to be. Even when there are wars the only thing people cry and pray for, is for peace to be reached.  But I realise that there can never be peace without justice, if the right things are not done , there can never be peace. I would therefore like see a world where justice prevails. A world where all are going to be treated fairly, a world where black and white will see themselves as one .This new world must be without racism. I would like to see a world where human beings will not even know about the word racism.
This world we are all looking for should be able to grow food to feed every single soul on earth so that people would not starve to death any more. I want that in 21st century we will find a cure for AIDS ,cancer and all other diseases that have on cure. I would want see AIDS being kicked out of the world for ever and for good.
The world should eliminate poverty.
The world in the future should be a place where no one will feel left out. Every one should feel loved by every one. Remember it takes a revolution to make a solution.
 

ERIC ANSAH
eansah@academy.worldgh.net
Accra  Academy

THE MOST UNIQUE CUSTOM IN MY COUNTRY

Thge most unique custom of my country is with a paticular tribe in my country which is called GA. The GAs celebrate a festival called "Homowo"

Homowo means “shame to hunger” which reflects back on how the ancestors of the Gas fought very hard to overcome a terrible famine that hit them when they migrated from Israel to their present traditional area with the help of corn.  According to history, when the Gas migrated from Israel they faced a lot of wars and conflicts on their way.  As a result before they arrived at their present settlement they had lost almost all their belongings and properties. They had no money and therefore could not buy any food from traders who come around.  They were actually dying from hunger. Their leaders had to organise them to cultivate large areas of maize.  They were blessed with rains and had a bumper harvest which ended their suffering.  Since then they made sure that such famine never came their way.  Not to forget this great achievement they celebrated the harvest period each year to commemorate this event.

Anthony Eshun-Rhule
eshun-rh@academy.worldgh.net
Accra  Academy
 

 LOOKING TOWARDS THE 21st CENTURY
 WHAT I HOPE FOR THE WORLD AND FUTURE

First of all I hope the 21st century is different from all other past centuries and most of all the 20th century.  Even though there were many good and historic things that happened in that century like the freeing of one of Africa's most prominent statesmen,Nelson Mandela from prison after spending over 20 years there and historic launch of the USA pathfinder mission to observe  and sample the surface of Mars in 1997.  The latter was a major milestone in the history in the study and implementation of science.

Even though there were good things happening in that century, there were also things which were unfortunate and still have their lasting effects up to date.  An example was the explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in the then USSR,now Russia and it's neighbouring countries.  This in particular, is one of most terrible things ever to happen to life on earth.  Notwithstanding all these things, this century, the 21st century I believe and hope will
different from the 20th century.

One major thing I hope would never happen like it did in the previous century is the occurrence of conflicts and wars in all parts of the world especially in Africa where there were  countless conflicts between natives of countries and others between countries and other countries.

If I may say, these wars in Africa were on the small scale because there were also wars which involved almost all the countries of the world. These were the 1st and 2nd World wars. These wars involved Germany led by their leader Adolf Hitler against the "Powers" of the world like Britain and USA.  Eventually, these wars grew not only to involve those so called powers of the world and Germany but also involve the nations like Ghana which were then under colonial rule from the powers of the world. These and many subsequent wars are things in the history of the world that would never be forgotten.
The occurance of wars I hope should never happen or come our way. In this, what I hope is for the world to be a PLACE OF PEACE where people live with each other without cause to engage each other in wars and conflicts, and this will certainly give room for the development of the world as a result of the enhancement of technology which the world needs especially the 3rd world countries and this can come by only when there is PEACE.

      By PATRICK AFARI.
    [pafari@academy.worldgh.net]
     Accra  Academy

WHERE MY COUNTRY IS LOCATED

Ghana is a country located on the African continent.  It can be found in West Africa and it is bounded by Cote D’Ivoire on the west, Burkina Faso on the north, Republic of Togo on the east and the Atlantic Ocean on the south.  All its neighbours are Francophone states although Ghana is an Anglophone state.  It lies between latitude 5o S on the south and 11oN on the north, longitude 30W on the west and 1oE on the east.  The longitude 0o or the Greenwich Meridian passes through the port city of Tema in Ghana.  The nation  covers  a total area of 238,539 square kilometres and has a total population of 18 million (1999 estimate).
 Ghana was once a British colony but it gained independence from Britain on 6th March, 1957.

Martha Boadi
mboadi@academy.worldgh.net
Accra  Academy
 
 

FESTIVALS AND TRADITIONS
                                              H o m o w o
                                         What is "Homowo"    How is it celebrated?

Homowo (pronounced as written) is an annual festival celebrated by the Ga, a tribe in the southern part of Ghana,
specifically the capital; Accra.

Homowo means shame on hunger; this came about because in the olden days, our forefathers faced famine but they were
relieved after their gods had shown them a remedy, that's by planting millet.

Some months before Homowo, the different zones in the Ga tribe plant millet, the sowing is done in turns, the oldest zone
first and so on. During this time, no one is supposed to clap drum or make noise because it is believed that the gods need a
quiet environment when they come into the midst of their people to bless them, for noise will drive them away.

After the millet has been harvested, a meal called kpokpoi is prepared from maize and eaten with palm-nut soup. There is
merry making during this time and families and people in disputes come together to settle all their differences, even those
who have travelled far, come home to celebrate this festival. In the long round, the people in the whole tribe come together in
unity and love to hoot at hunger.
 
 

Chris Andrew N. Yebuah
Accra Academy
Ghana
 

                                             THE GA TRADITTIONAL FESTIVAL

Ghana as known by people from different countries all over the world to be bestowed with all groups or to say all kinds of riches. It has also got many religious aspect in its culture. Thus to say the culture of the people, mostly referred to as their traditions runs through them like the waters of a stream.
In addition to the mineral wealth God the almighty bestowed upon Ghanaians, they also have their own forms of presenting or handing over their culture from one generation to another. Some times this is done through festivals. There are many different festivals in Ghana. One of these is the Ga traditional festival.
Ghana has also got many ethnic groups which may amount to about 46 in number. Well, all these ethnic groups celebrate their various festivals at different times within the year.
The Ga festival is one held towards the end of the year. This festival is called the "HOMOWO" festival. "Homowo" is simply explained as hooting at hunger. It is celebrated around the middle of August over a period of two weeks (this is mainly because of the different ways in which it is celebrated by the people). Basically the people celebrate this festival in various denominations. This is the main reason for the long period this festival takes.
Out of all the various forms of the festival, one, the biggest, starts on the last Thursday of the celebrations.
This begins with the welcoming of people from the initial Thursday. These people are people who are to take part in the celebrations.

The Friday is the day set aside to make preparations for the Saturday which is the day for the celebration.
The Saturday begins with the preparation of the traditional festival food. 'Kpokpoi', the traditional food, is prepared early in the morning.
In addition to this, other traditional foods are also prepared.
Late in the afternoon, while eating, drinking and dancing are going on,
the chief of the town comes passing through the streets with his gunmen firing here and there into the empty sky. This more often than not attracts people to the streets. As the chief moves through the streets, he sprinkles some 'kpokpoi' mixed with palm nut soup. In doing this he also prays to God and then to the lesser gods.
The day booms on with drumming and dancing throughout the rest of the time. During all this time, prayers are said for the whole Ga community on all matters of the people and also for the Nation as a whole.
The following day is a day set aside for church service. On this day all persons of all shades (not excluding the fetish priest) go to the church where blessings are asked for all the people. The whole festival ends with all the cults in the neighbourhood asking for blessing for the people.
I bet you it's always fantastic being part of any of the festival celebrations in the country and they are occasions one can never forget.

BY ISHMEAL OKU
ACCRA ACADEMY
P. O. BOX 501
ACCRA-GHANA