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Current Feed ContentParents and Their ResponsibilitiesFriday, May 09, 2008 Children are born to parents to be cared for and well protected, fed and educated by them. Many parents strive tremendously to empower and show ownership of their children. Life is not a bed of roses and so poverty often makes parents overlook certain responsibilities. Many parents make sure they develop a close relationship with their children to enable them grow in peace and in a relatively conducive environment for growth and proper development and survival. On the other hand, we also see some parents, either because of poverty or their temperament, man-handle their offsprings for very minute issues. Schools have rules that guide teachers to treat children in a more humane way. Parents do not allow abuse meted on their children by others, like teachers or elders in their neighbourhood. The irony about it all is seen at play when we see parents themselves meting out the worst on their own children. This is compounded by a hard heartedness at all levels! One hardly knows why some mothers or fathers become negatively charged against their children. There are laws in force against child abuse but many parents are not in line with such laws for the betterment of their kids. Many think the child abuse laws are meant for teachers alone because the latter are usually charged to train children. Parents should take up their responsibility, and love their children the way God loves them unconditionally. Many parents appear in courts on charges of unlawfully hitting their children, others for dumping their newly born babies, others for bodily harm to their children; others split and break their bonds over minute issues. Children are defenceless and need their parents’ support to let them grow; dehumanising treatment makes our children useless. Children are like empty vessels, parents need to fill them with all the good values for a better society. What they receive today is what they will give tomorrow. Reflection on Haile SelassieFriday, April 11, 2008 The facts of his life are well known. Haile Selassie's influence on the world is his most enduring legacy. Born Tafari Makonnen in 1891, Haile Selassie came to be identified inextricably with Ethiopia. Only rarely in the modern world does the story of a man become so closely linked to the story of a nation. It is said that great events beget great men, but they beget failures as well, and the boundary between the two is often defined by singular acts of courage. These the Ethiopian Emperor did not lack. Not surprisingly, the fortitude of the man sometimes referred to as "The Lion" inspired Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and even Malcom X, each of whom corresponded with Haile Selassie --who advocated civil disobedience when it was necessary to remedy fundamental social injustice or restore freedom to the oppressed. The Emperor's presence at President Kennedy's funeral is still remembered. One speaks of leaders of men as though their public lives were completely divorced from their private ones. For a hereditary monarch, this should not be the case. What his children think of him is as important as what everybody else thinks. Haile Selassie was a devoted husband and father. His wife, Empress Menen, died in 1962. His sons, Sahle Selassie, Makonnen, and Asfa Wossen, had a great sense of duty to their father and to their people. Of his daughters, Princess Tenagne, in particular, excercised various official duties. Haile Selassie ascended the throne in the era of polar exploration and slow communication. Africa's oldest nation was little more than a footnote to the great stories of the day --something that Americans and Brits read about in the pages of the National Geographic. Some people still called the country Abyssinia. In certain countries far beyond Ethiopia's borders, segregation and apartheid were long established and little questioned. Most other African "nations" were colonies. Even at home, slavery was technically still legal. In such an era, words like "pan-Africanism" and "civil rights" were little more than esoteric philosophical notions entertained by an enlightened few. That a country as backward as Italy, whose widespread poverty prompted the emigration of millions, would seek to devour a nation like Ethiopia, was an irony too subtle to raise eyebrows outside the most sophisticated intellectual circles. With British backing, Haile Selassie returned to defeat the Italian army which, in the event, the Allies never viewed as much more than a nuisance. The British themselves considered the Ethiopian campaign in its strategic context --as a way to free the Red Sea from possible Axis control-- as much as the liberation of a sovereign nation. To the Ethiopians, it was as much a moral victory as a military one. The Emperor's speech to the League of Nations denouncing the Italian invasion is remembered more than the aggression itself. It prompted essentially ineffectual international trade sanctions against a European nation but, like the Battle of Adwa four decades earlier, represented in a tangible way one of the few occasions in the modern era that an African nation defied the arrogance of a European one. There were very few world leaders of the post-war era who had actually led troops in combat. Haile Selassie and Dwight Eisenhower were exceptional in this respect, which partially accounts for their close friendship. Even when the foe is truly formidable, courage has a psychological side that has little to do with combat or physical victory. One may seem defeated materially without being defeated morally. Perhaps it's a question of confidence, values or knowledge. Haile Selassie's greatest strength was as a builder of bridges --across rivers but also between cultures. His travels took him to many countries, and he became one of the most popular heads of state, and one of the most decorated men in the world. It was during one such voyage, in 1960, that he had to rush home to confront an attempted overthrow of the existing order. This perhaps served as a reminder that the most dangerous revolutions are found in one's own house. The sovereign who was once known as a reformer now found himself resented by many members of the very social class his economic and educational policies had helped to create. Internationally, however, his prestige did not suffer. The Emperor established the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, with a headquarters in Addis Ababa. The revolution of 1974 was supported by outside forces, and while its roots were domestic, its covert objectives cannot be said to have been supported by more than a small fraction of Ethiopians. Truth be told, administrative practices which worked well in 1950 were terribly inefficient by the 1970s, and a series of problems were cited as a pretext for a full scale coup d'etat. Ethiopia's pre-industrial economy was no better prepared for Marxism than Russia's had been in 1917. Communism's ultimate social and economic failure, in Ethiopia as well as in Russia, certainly indicates democracy's superiority, whether that democracy is embodied by a republic or a constitutional monarchy. The Derg's alliance with the Soviet Union made Ethiopia the instrument of a foreign power, precisely the thing Haile Selassie resisted. He had a Solomonic pedigree, but Haile Selassie was a man of the people. Perhaps that's how he should be remembered. Author: DO A Young Seafarer Seeks SupportWednesday, April 09, 2008 Matarr S. Okafor, 24, was born in Matarr Okafor has worked onboard a tanker ship of 4,000
gross tonnage, travelling to The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in the Matarr is therefor seeking support from the Government of Dr. Alhagie Yahya AJJ Jammeh, public or private companies, philanthropists, NGOs, Embassies, financial institutions and individuals to finance his OOW Nautical Science Study Course. Matarr S. Okafor is a member of the Association of Gambian Sailors and The Gambia Maritime Training Institute Students Union. He is also a member of the Banjul Green Boys and Girls. According to Matarr, if given this support he wishes to continue his maritime career to become a ships captain and he hopes to be useful when The Gambia starts exploring her oil and other minerals. He also aims to provide a recruitment company for recruiting and training young people to work onboard foreign going vessels instead of risking their lives going the backdoor route in search of greener pastures. He can be contacted at 4227309, 7601726 Author: By Pa Modou B. O. Bojang German project sponsors heart patient
Friday, February 29, 2008 West Africa German Project e.v has pledged to sponsor Amie Njie, a two year old child with congenital heart disease from Churchills Town, to under heart operation in Germany. Amie Njie, who was said to be born with congenital heart disease known as Ventricular Septal Defect, was admitted at the RVTH in Banjul. According to Gabriele Zachau, chairman of the project, the project will cover the travel and operation cost. Upon her return to The Gambia, Amie Njie will also benefit from a six years medical insurance from the project. He added that the project is looking forward to receiving Amie and her mother in Germany as soon as possible for the heart operation.According to Gabriele Zachau, Amie is the fourth patients that the project has sponsored. Author: by Assan Sallah Dakar APRC militants felicitate JammehWednesday, January 30, 2008 Militants of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, have felicitated President Yahya Jammeh on the birth of his new born baby boy, Mohammed Yahya Jammeh. This message was conveyed on behalf of the militants by Jarreh Bojang, the party mobiliser in Senegal during an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer. He on behalf of the membership of his branch prayed for long lasting health and wellbeing for the Jammeh family and all Gambians. Mr Jerreh Bojang who is currently in town also reaffirmed their commitment and continuous support for President Jammeh and the APRC government. According to him, President Jammeh’s love for The Gambia has been manifested in the unprecedented development changes in the country in his 13 years of leadership. He also commended the Gambian leader for his major breakthrough in the cure for Hiv/Aids, Asthma and other disease, which according to him manifests his love for humanity. This service for humanity according to him, is another plus for President Jammeh, Gambians and Africans saying that African’s are proud of President Jammeh. Author: by Ebrima Jatta SOUTH AFRICA: Too many babies die Tuesday, August 28, 2007 Every year almost 23,000 South African babies die in their first month of life, yet one in five of these deaths could be avoided with better education, and relatively inexpensive and easily implemented changes in healthcare, says a new study by the Medical Research Council (MRC). "The bad news is that, according to the report, 'one in five deaths could have been clearly avoided', and inequalities are also highlighted, with avoidable deaths being twice as common in rural areas," said Joy Lawn, Senior Policy and Research Advisor at Saving Newborn Lives, a programme run by Save the Children, an international non-governmental organisation for children's rights, in the foreword to the report. "The good news is that these deaths are not complex or expensive to prevent - improving the quality of care during childbirth is a top priority that would also save mothers' lives and reduce long-term disabilities in children," Lawn commented. The report, 'Saving Babies 2003-2005', was compiled the MRC, based on data voluntarily submitted by healthcare workers across the country to the Perinatal Problem Identification Programme, and covers about 20 percent of births in South Africa. The data shows that each year, out of every 1,000 babies born alive, 21 will die within four weeks. This is better than the neonatal mortality rate of 41 babies per 1,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, but still nothing to be proud of. Infant mortality in South Africa is higher than other countries with a similar per capita income, such as Mauritius, where only 12 babies per 1,000 die. Worldwide, approximately four million babies die within their first month of life. In Africa it is estimated that half a million babies do not survive the day of their birth, which often takes place at home and is not included in official statistics. Missing the goal Over the last two decades there has been almost no improvement in the chances of survival of a child born in Africa, but some individual countries have managed to cut the death toll among infants. A 2006 World Health Organisation report, Opportunities for Africa's Newborns, found that six countries: Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Eritrea and Burkina Faso, had managed to reduce infant deaths - by 47 percent in Eritrea, and 20 percent in Tanzania and Malawi. In South Africa there has been no evidence of a decline in either neonatal or perinatal (neonatal deaths plus stillbirths) mortality rates since 2000, although there is a dearth of fully representative national information. The authors of the study said the number of newborn deaths would have to be cut if South Africa is to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing the mortality rate of children under five by two-thirds (MDG Four). The MDGs are a set of development goals agreed in 2000 by 192 UN member states, to be achieved by 2015. Mortality among mothers is also to be reduced by three-quarters over the same time period (MDG Five). "Achieving MDG Four and MDG Five necessitates significant improvements in the coverage and quality of care received by pregnant women and their infants, as well as ensuring that the health system is appropriately structured and functioning properly," the report said. "The lack of progress towards achieving MDG Four in South Africa is disturbing ... Similar progress towards MDG Five is not on track and is being retarded by the HIV epidemic." Something can and should be done A "striking feature" in the data was the number of avoidable stillbirths. The most common perinatal cause of death (the period before and immediately after birth) was unexplained stillbirths, which accounted for just under 21 percent of all deaths among babies weighing more than 1kg at birth. "Almost all women who gave birth to fresh stillbirths, identified as being caused by intrapartum asphyxia [a lack of oxygen during birth] and trauma, were admitted with live babies and probably failed by the health system. Similarly, examination of causes of neonatal deaths shows a significant contribution by intrapartum asphyxia and birth trauma," said the report. The MRC's Prof Anthony Mbweu said educating mothers, communities and healthcare workers would be key to reducing the death toll: patient-associated factors, such as ignorance about monitoring foetal movement, were the biggest contributors to preventable infant deaths, followed by factors related to healthcare workers, such as failure to monitor a mother's progress during labour, and "administrative" issues, such as a lack of facilities and staff. Mbweu pointed out that there were "really glaring disparities between provinces, with the Eastern Cape, Mpumulanga and Limpopo having child death rates that are much higher - twice as high in some cases - as the Western Cape and Gauteng [the two richest provinces]. Issues of socio-economics and education are key to child survival." In response to 'Saving Babies 2003-2005', a national Department of Health official commented: "We welcome the report and have noted its contents, and that it involves 20 percent of babies delivered in the country. We will discuss it, as the Department of Health, to identify areas that require further attention." Source: IRIN |
