Day: April 12, 2023

Students from a special needs high school in Thika will benefit from the launch of a mentorship programme designed to develop their leadership skills. The Interact Club was launched at Joytown Secondary school by the Rotary Club of Thika, with the aim of sensitizing the students on the importance of community economic development and environmental conservation. Confirming the launch of the programme, Rotary Club Thika Secretary Mr. David Muli said the club would interact, mentor and guide the students and at the end of each school term, fund a project that would help their school or community. ‘Our club has partnered with the school in other projects before and therefore when the opportunity to launch Interact club that was specifically created for secondary school students arose, we were more than happy to associate with them again,’ Muli said. ‘As you know, Joytown is a school for the physically challenged and we saw the need to provide encouragement and financial support in order for the students to understand that their physical incapabilities should not deter them from excelling in projects at school or even serving their communities,’ he said. He further clarified that their primary area of focus was the environment and as such, a tree planting exercise was observed where the students, teachers and guests planted 80 trees within and around the school compound. ‘We are concerned about climate change and the general impact it will have on the future generations in Kenya. We want to make sure the younger generations appreciate the value of nature and trees and their impact on the well-being of the environment and this is why we encouraged them to plant the trees,’ said Muli. Speaking to KNA, Faith Wanja, a Form 2 student at the school said they were very happy about the club launch. ‘When you walk into the school you now spot many trees planted in the compound and this can be attributed to training conducted here today which will change the outlook of the school in a few months and years to come. We are happy that the club has taken interest in us and we are excited to work on this term’s project with the theme being environmental change for the community,’ said Wanja. The exercise was conducted in line with the government’s pledge to increase tree cover beyond farms and agricultural land and reduce carbon emissions by 32 per cent by 2030.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Public Health Directorate has committed to eradicating open defecation to improve the hygiene and sanitation standards in Turkana County. So far, 934 villages have been certified as Open Defecation Free thanks to efforts by public health stakeholders. This week, Kasogol Etom village, located in Naipelilim, Loima, Turkana County, was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). The village has 44 households, and all of them have been certified as practicing good hygiene and sanitation, making it the latest village in the county to achieve ODF status. Speaking during the celebrations, Deputy Director of Public Health and Sanitation Daniel Esimit pointed out that the village was fully WASH (Water, Sanitation and hygiene) compliant. The dispensary, school and community now have access to clean drinking water. ‘The villagers can attest that diarrhoea cases had reduced when they began building and using the latrines,’ he said. He said women now have the opportunity to engage in economic activities instead of spending most of their time looking for water. The community-led total sanitation strategy, funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) through UNICEF Kenya with Welthungerhilfe (WHH), sensitizes communities on the effects of poor sanitation. It helps communities to embrace social behaviour change leading to the use of latrines and promoting good hygiene practices. The partners involved in the project, including Director General – East Africa KOICA Ms. Hyewon Cho and UNICEF chief of WASH section, Mahboob Ahmed Bajwa who congratulated the villagers on their achievement and emphasized the importance of using latrines, including by young children. The event was attended by several representatives from WHH and health officers, including the County WASH Coordinator – Reuben Kibiego, Loima Sub-county Medical Officer of Health – Abdirahman Musa and Sub-county Public Health Officer – Elphas Maiyo.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Central Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has recorded an increase in fire outbreaks in the first quarter from 198 in 2022 to 225 in 2023.

Representing an 18 per cent increase, the surge was largely due to bushfires, which has gone up from 68 to 98.

Assistant Division Officer (ADO) 111 Abdul Wasiu Hudu, the Central Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GNFS, disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday.

Other fires, including domestic ones, rose from 50 to 69, institutional fires moved up slightly from five to seven, vehicular fires went up from 18 to 23, electrical fires from 13 to 15 and industrial fires also pushed from five to eight.

About 71 of the total fires were minor ones that were put out by the public before the arrival of fire personnel.

Particularly, he attributed the rampant fire outbreaks also to the delay in rainfall over the period and other human-caused land use activities such as farming, hunting, charcoal production, and burning of refuse among others.

For others, he blamed the situation on faulty electrical gadgets and negligence.

“People engage in multiple chores when they are at home; someone could be ironing and cooking at the same time, and when that happens, you may give more attention to one. This could easily trigger a fire,” he said.

The Central Regional PRO was worried that despite the intensified fire safety measures adopted across the region, there were still high incidents of fire outbreaks.

Notwithstanding, he said the Regional Command had scaled-up fire safety engagements using prime media, social media and the community information centres, particularly in the rural areas.

“The service in the region together with some media houses have regular fire safety education programmes apart from the fire safety inspection in premises and fire safety sensitization programs in schools,” he said.

He, therefore, called on the public to adhere to the fire safety precautions, adding that, fire safety was a shared responsibility.

“Make sure you put all appliances off before leaving your homes.

“You must embark on some basic general cleaning to clear all cobwebs and also decongest your homes to help reduce materials which could serve as fuel during an outbreak,” he advised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Seven African countries and diasporans from the United Kingdom through their High Commissions in Ghana have received the profiles of the 10 finalists for the coveted African Monologue Challenge (AMC).

Representatives of eight countries made it out of a group of 10 in the competition.

The 10-month competition has evicted over 400 participants in a fiercely contested monologue challenge.

With participation from across the continent and the Diaspora, the AMC aims to connect Africa’s creative industry and display the acting talent of the continent and its people in the diaspora.

Addressing theapress at Abokobi, in Accra, Mr Mawuko Kuadzi Chief Executive Officer, MK Casting, organizers of the AMC, revealed his outfit’s intention of strengthening cooperation among African countries and providing a catalyst for the growth of the arts and entertainment sector of the continent.

He said organizers of the AMC were on a mission to develop similar home support for the arts and creative industry.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we have submitted the profiles of all 10 finalists to their High Commissions in Ghana and have had the chance to meet some of the contestants to introduce them to their High Commissions and governments, and to rally home support for them in the competition.”

Mr Kuadzi said to create a level playing field for all finalists, they had to travel to the countries without High Commissions in Ghana. “The reception has been wonderful, and we look forward to doing more with them,” he disclosed.

He called on organizations across Africa to invest in such initiatives to drive Africa’s development agenda.

The AMC is an initiative of MK Casting, Ghana’s premiere, and astute casting company, with casting credit from award-winning projects such as Beasts of No Nation, Black Earth Rising, Azali, Treadstone, Borga, Aloevera, Terminus and many more.

With collaboration from the African Chamber of Content Producers, and the Ghana Film Authority, the Challenge was opened to all Africans and Africans in the Diaspora devoid of gender, colour, sexual orientation, religion, or age restrictions.

After over 400 entries from across Africa, 50 finalists were shortlisted representing different African countries and Africans in the diaspora.

Through intense bi-weekly monologue challenges on African issues and general trends, the challenge further evicted contestants to the current number of 10.

In an interview with Mr. Phil Efe Benard, the Nigerian judge for the competition, he revealed that the project had run for a period of 10 months online with the grand finale to be held in Ghana at the UPSA Auditorium on the May 27, 2023 with 10 finalists from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom.

He added that Ghana and Kenya both had two creative talents in the competition, and assured Pan-Africans and Arts patrons of a never seen before work of art.

“Expect a spectacular Pan-African Event in Accra on May 27. The date for the final event was chosen because of the AU Day which falls on 25th May. We want the Challenge to be an annual AU event which will celebrate the diversity, unity, and creative talent in Africa.

The panel of judges for the Challenge consist of nine industry professionals comprising of casting directors, directors and producers from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Germany, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom.

Speaking to the African Chamber of Content Producers on the significance of engaging with the local High Commissions, the Executive Director of the Chamber, Ambassador Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin said the Chamber was influenced by the African Union’s vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena, hence the need to seek the support of all African leaders on projects that seek to advance the cause of the African Union.

“According to a recent UNESCO report on the trend, challenges and opportunities for growth in the African Film Industry, about 5 million people currently work in the film sector in Africa, which contributes over $5 billion to the continent’s GDP.”

He said “we believe these are figures that we can work together to improve if we are interested in helping the youth of Africa. Now we expect the High Commissions to correspond with their local ministries of Arts and Culture to rally local support for the participants of the challenge.”

Ambassador Dwomoh-Doyen said as part of their commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) vision, the winner of the Challenge would become an Intra-African trade ambassador.

“The ambassador will have the responsibility of promoting intra-African trade and commerce, while also serving as an ambassador for the arts and entertainment sector in Africa.”

He revealed that the winning country would host the next edition of the AMC, which provides an opportunity for African brands to travel with the event, while boosting the tourism industry in Africa.

The organizers have met the High Commissions of Kenya, Zambia, and Nigeria.

The government of Tanzania and Uganda have also been met through their film board and their Communication Commission, respectively.

The UK High Commission, the South African High Commission and the Ministry of Tourism in Ghana have also scheduled various dates for a courtesy call.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Cameroonian student, Samuel Nkongho Tanyi, has been sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for importing 9.5 kilos of drugs to Cyprus from Cameroon. The verdict was passed on April 11th 2023.

The high court Judge Murat Soytaç together with two other judges noted that the accused came into the country as a student and imported 9.5 kilograms of cannabis-type drugs through the Ercan Airport because he did not have enough money to cover his education. He also stated that this portrays weaknesses in the student admission policy of foreigners by the state.

“It raises serious questions about the issue, and also points to serious weaknesses in the student admission policy of the State,” the North Cyprus News Agency reported.

He highlighted that importing drugs into North Cyprus, which is claimed to be the “country of universities”, through Ercan Airport also raises serious questions as to how well students can be protected.

“The fact that such a large amount of drugs can be brought into the country from Ercan Airport in a suitcase without taking any additional measures shows us a picture as grave as the crime committed.”

The High Court Judge has criticized the management of foreign students and says

urgent measures are needed to address the problem of African students who arrive in North Cyprus and become either the perpetrators or victims of crimes.

The online news for North Cyprus had reported in September last year that most African students, mainly from Nigeria, are lured to North Cyprus by agencies who promise them the opportunity to work while they study. There have been incidences where some have been kidnapped and forced to work as sex workers.

While Others have been unable to pay for their tuition because they cannot find employment to help pay for their studies and thus they resort to selling drugs.

Source: Cameroon News Agency