Meet three brothers without primary school education who are now University graduates

Meet three brothers without primary school education who are now University graduates 

It is true that complementary education plays an important role in helping a child to learn other languages in school. Through Non-Formal Education Program, three brothers of the same mother and father who never attended school from Day Nursery through to Primary Six are now University graduates.

The three brothers hail from Dalaanyili, a village in the Nanumba South District of the Northern Region. They started their formal education by enrolling in Junior High School form one at Central Junior Secondary School in Bimbilla. 

The three brothers: John Uwumborjeemi Nlenkiba, Emmanuel N-yajache Nlenkiba and Abraham Njonaan Nlenkiba mastered their local language - Likpakpaanl through non-formal education. Thus, what is popularly known as "evening teaching" and through the knowledge gained, they were able to read and write English language effortless, which helped them to enroll in what is now known as Junior High school to continue with formal education.

John Uwumborjeemi Nlenkiba is the 3rd born of the mother of nine children. He enrolled in Central Junior Secondary School from 1990-to-1993, where he became the Assistant School Prefect (ASP) and was able to emerge as the second best students with aggregate eight (08) in the Basic Education Certificate Examination. He proceeded to the Wesley Grammar Secondary School and after successfully passing SSSCE, he gained admission into Ghana Christian College and Seminary, where he pursued Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. 

He grew from there and became a pastor before proceeding to the University of Ghana where he graduated with Master of Arts in the study of Religion. He currently reads and writes in languages such as English, Likpakpaanl, Dagbani, Mampruli, Twi and Arabic.

He currently serves as a pastor and a part time lecturer at the Ghana Christian and Leadership Training Institute based in Tamale.

Emmanuel  N-yajache Nlenkiba is the second to last born. He also started his education at the Central Junior Secondary School from 2001-2004 and after becoming successful in the B.E.C.E, he gained admission into the Ghanata Senior High School but dropped out due to financial challenges. He re-enrolled in Fumbisi Preparatory J.S.S and came out with aggregate 11, gaining him admission into Nandom Secondary School where he read General Science. After WASSCE,he gained admission into Ankaful Mental Health Nurses Training College where he graduated with Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing. He served as a Psychiatric Nurse for seven years in the Presbyterian Health Center in Widana in Upper East Region.  He then proceeded to the University of Cape Coast where he is now in final year pursuing Bachelors Degree in Psychiatric Nursing.

Abraham Njonaan Nlenkiba is the last born of their mother, he and his immediate elder brother enrolled in J.S.S in the same year. Abraham got aggregate 10 and gained admission into Notre Dame Seminary Secondary school in Navrongo, where he offered General Arts Program and also served as the Development Prefect of the school. He gained admission into the University of Ghana where he read Bachelor of Arts Degree Program in Social work with Sociology. After graduating in 2014, he taught as a subject teacher in Holy Spirit Senior High School in Chamba from 2015-2018, and got an appointment with Ghana Education service where he was posted to the Bimbilla Senior High School as a subject teacher for one year. He took his transfer to Tamale Girls' Senior High School where he serves as a subject teacher till date. He is also currently pursuing Bachelor of Laws Program.

The story of these three brothers can only point to one thing; Non-Formal Education or teaching a child to read and write using the his own language can produce equal if not more results to formal education.

Source: Ananpansah Bartholomew Abraham

Lets revive lost spirit of communal labour, maintain good sanitation to prevent spread of diarrhoeal diseases - Assemblyman

Lets revive lost spirit of communal labour, maintain good sanitation to prevent spread of diarrhoeal diseases - Assemblyman

The Assemblyman for the Canteen Electoral Area in the West Gonja Municipal, honorable Ananpansah, B. Abraham has reiterated the need to maintain good community sanitation in order to prevent the spread of hygiene-related diseases. 

Commenting on the recent outbreak of poliomyelitis in parts of the Savannah Region on the Kareyanche Super Morning Show on PAD FM hosted by Anane Beatrice, the Assemblyman who doubles as the Founding Father of the Damongo Youth Parliament (DYP) said most of these diseases which are preventable, are directly linked to poor community sanitation.

He further stressed that poor sanitation can reduce human well-being and impede economic and social development with some 829,000 people in low and middle-income countries dieing as a result of inadequate water, poor sanitation and hygiene each year. 

Urging stakeholders to act as such,the young Assemblyman said access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation are human rights recognized by the UN General Assembly in 2010 and the Sustainable Development Goal Target 6.2 calls for adequate and equitable sanitation for all.

He said it was disheartening to hear about the outbreak of polio in the region at a time we were still battling with Yellow Fever and the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

According to him, the least we can do as stakeholders and community leaders to secure the future of the children is to join hands to ensure a clean and safe environment, since the reverse can lead to many diarrhoeal diseases, including polio virus which affects children.

Quoting from data, the youth advocate said more than 884 million people globally cannot access safe drinking water and nearly 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation facilities and hence resort to open defecation, a practice that can endanger the safety of drinking water and spread diarrhoeal diseases which mostly affects children.

Whilst calling on colleague Assembly Members, Chiefs and opinion leaders to join hands in reviving the gone spirit of communal labour, he impressed on the local Assembly to work through Zoomlion and other necessary agencies to collect heaps of garbage at the various dumping sites in the Municipality.

He urged the  general public to take the ongoing polio vaccination very seriously and get all children vaccinated by making time for the Ghana health service personnel who are doing the door-to-door vaccination

Throwing light on the topic of Teacher-Student relationship in schools,the Assemblyman who is also a Headmaster, indicated that it was against the GES code of conduct for a teacher to engage in any sexual activity with a student once the child is still a student under his care.

This he said, mostly cripple the students academically and emotionally and takes away the concentration of the child from the classroom anytime the teacher was around. He further stated, teachers get married to their student, no doubt about that,but in the course of your professional duty you don't allow your personal interest conflict with the performance of your official duties.

He concluded by challenging  parents to do more sex e

Source: Anane Beatrice

Staff of Jonokponto JHS holds educational durbar with chiefs and opinion leaders

Staff of Jonokponto JHS holds educational durbar with chiefs and opinion leaders

The staff of Jonokponto Junior High School in the West Gonja Municipal of the Savannah Region has held a durbar 'on ending child marriage/teenage pregnancies and improving learning outcomes' with the chiefs and opinion leaders of the Jonokponto community.

Aimed at encouraging parents to allow their children, especially the girl child to stay at school,the durbar brought together key players in the educational sector, the Assemblyman for the area, chiefs, school pupils,religious and opinion leaders of the community.

The headmaster of the school, Ananpansah Bartholomew Abraham, in an address said the durbar forms part of measures by the school to court community support towards improving teaching and learning in the school and augment efforts by World Vision Ghana to end child marriage among school going pupils in the Municipality and Savannah Region at large.

He said the school was privileged to be part of eight schools selected to participate in this year's soccer clinic organized by World Vision with the main goal of ending child marriage in the West Gonja Municipality and it was therefore, necessary to hold this durbar on our own to call on parents to join hands in safeguarding the future of the children.

"Infact, we have organized this durbar today as a way of consolidating the gains our girls made at the just ended soccer clinic. It is our hope that they and others will be motivated by this gesture to stay in school and learn their books. We also intend to use this platform to appeal to parents and opinion leaders to help us improve the enrollment situation of the school, and have a first hand interaction with community members on how we can collaborate to improve teaching and learning outcomes".

The honorable headmaster expressed gratitude to the Assemblyman for the area, the executives of both the ruling New Patriotic Party and the opposition National Democratic Congress for coming together to support the ceremony with assorted drinks, adding that,"it gladdens my heart to see executives of both the NPP and NDC joining hands to support the common goal of seeking better education for their wards".

He called on the Assemblyman for the area,the Parent Teacher Association and School Management Committee to take Keen interest in the running of the school and see to the renovation of the dilapidated teachers quarters, whilst commending them for the support they have been rendering to his administration over the period.

He pledged the commitment of he and his working staff towards improving teaching and learning in the school.

The Assemblyman for the area, hon. Kipo Yakubu pledged his continuous support for the school, stressing the need for parents to support the teachers in bringing up the children in the best possible way.

He thanked World Vision for selecting Jonokponto Junior High School for this year's soccer clinic and commended the leadership of the school for taking a step forward in rallying the community to give a brief on the outcome of the games.

 The Assemblyman use the occasion to advise parents to take the education of their children very seriously as his office work around the clock to lobby for opportunities and development prospects for the community.

The chief of the community thanked the teachers for the dedication and sacrifice, lauding the initiative as a worthy one. He said together with the Assemblyman,they will continue to support the school to take care of their children.

The chief Imam of the community offered special prayers to end the durbar with a call on the children to the religious in their dealings.

Source: Ananpansah Bartholomew Abraham

Damongo weekly market to be relocated to Canteen to pave way for ungradement works

Damongo weekly market to be relocated to Canteen to pave way for ungradement works

The Damongo weekly market in the interim, is to be relocated to the newly constructed Canteen market to pave way for construction work to commence.

This was agreed upon at a stakeholder consultative forum held at the premises of the Damongo Agricultural College to deliberate on the upgradement plan of the the Damongo weekly market from its current dilapidated status to a more befitting state. 

The forum brought together Assembly members,chiefs, market women,staff of the West Gonja Municipal Assembly and the Regional Coordinating Council,youth groups and the media to discuss and adopt a temporal roadmap to relocate the market for continuous economic activities for construction work to begin on the weekly market.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Musah Karim Kusubari explained that the newly built canteen market is safer and spacious enough with the necessary essentials of a market to accomodate the large population market women in the interim.

He pleaded with the market women to try and contain the temporal inconvenience that may come with the temporal relocation exercise as effort is put in place to give a facelift to the age-long Damongo weekly market.

The honorable MCE called on the traders to consider the decision of the Assembly and take advantage of the facility at canteen for their economic activities, adding that the necessary steps would be taken to make the temporal market location a conductive place for the market women.

Before settling on the Canteen market, there were varried opinions as to where the weekly Damongo market should be relocated with some leaders of the market women suggesting the Damongo daily market as a temporal fix to the inconvenience. But considering safety concerns raised coupled with congestion challenges and vehicular traffic that would be created in the Damongo township should the daily market be considered, it was widely agreed that the Canteen market shouldz be the temporal location for the Saturday weekly market.

The MCE with some officials from the Assembly later visited the Damongo Daily Market and the Canteen market to interact with the market women and to assess the situation on the ground.

Source: Ananpansah Bartholomew Abraham