20.04.2015 Views

Me2moro Magazine

The Official Edu-Inspirational High School Magazine

The Official Edu-Inspirational High School Magazine

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

ISSUE NO. 002 MAR-APR 2015<br />

6 IDEAS FOR WHEN YOUR TEEN SEEMS DEPRESSED BUT VAL’S DAY IS 23RD APRIL<br />

T H E O F F I C I A L E D U - I N S P I R A T I O N A L H I G H S C H O O L M A G A Z I N E<br />

ALPHA PLUS EDITION


FROM THE EDITOR<br />

will simply be in awe.<br />

<strong>Me2moro</strong>, your official<br />

edu -inspirational<br />

high school magazine<br />

is here with a bang. This<br />

edition is a masterpiece. Well<br />

crafted, deeply thought of<br />

and created just for you as<br />

we start 2015 together. With<br />

content that will unveil to<br />

you, your limitless abilities.<br />

Help you envision your<br />

future as a change maker<br />

and yet keep you entertained<br />

by the one and only Miss<br />

Jeremie Van Garshong. You<br />

Have you ever wondered how the Good Old Days<br />

could have been for our Mr. Music Man, Kojo Antwi..?<br />

Well, we have got the answer for that. For our career<br />

bowl we bring you an exclusive from the Head Of<br />

Safety Monitoring and Clinical Trials at the Food And<br />

Drugs Authority- a pharmacist. P.E.A. is also poised,<br />

answering mind boggling and helping to solve the<br />

dilemmas of students. Our pic gallery in this session<br />

features Accra Girls High School’s activities organized<br />

in the past term. You will be educated on the rich<br />

culture of the people of Akuapem Traditional Area and<br />

be blown away with chic designs from Inspire-F.O.G.<br />

There is simply so much for you in <strong>Me2moro</strong>. So just,<br />

Buckle up your seatbelt and Prepare to Flyyyyyyy!<br />

Y.T. Aggrey<br />

Copyright subsists in all work published in this magazine. The<br />

magazine or any part thereof may not be reproduced or adapted<br />

without written emission of the publishers. Failure to obtain<br />

permission constitutes an infringment of copyright and may<br />

constitute a criminal offence. <strong>Me2moro</strong> magazine welcomes<br />

material submitted for publication but retain the unrestricted<br />

right to edit any received copy. <strong>Me2moro</strong> magazine assumes<br />

no responsibility to return unsolicited material. The opinions<br />

expressed in the magazine are not considered those of the<br />

publishers who accept no liability of any nature arising out of or in<br />

connection with the contents of this magazine. While reasonable<br />

care has been taken to ensure the advice given in this magazine,<br />

the editor and publisher cannot accept responsibility for any loss,<br />

damage or inconvenience that may arise therefrom.<br />

CONTRIBUTORS<br />

MANAGING EDITOR<br />

Yvonne T. Aggrey<br />

ARTICLES EDITORS<br />

Pst. Susanna Asare<br />

Pst. Ebenezer Komey<br />

Ebenezer Pobee<br />

JOURNALIST<br />

Daphne Addison<br />

WEB/GRAPHIC DESIGNER<br />

Felix Offei<br />

SALES & MARKETING<br />

Godwin Namboh(Head)<br />

Email: gnamboh@myrtleeagle.com<br />

Mina Adu-Baffour<br />

Email: mbaffour@myrtleeagle.com<br />

PHOTOGRAPHY<br />

SpeakLife Photography<br />

PUBLISHER<br />

MyrtleEagle Company Limited<br />

CONTACT US<br />

info@myrtleeagle.com<br />

MyrtleEagle International<br />

+233 (0) 302-337-285


WELCOME<br />

CONTENTS<br />

Page 27<br />

06 PREPARE TO FLY<br />

08 UNLIMITED ABILITIES<br />

10 ACRES OF DIAMOND<br />

12 QUALITIES OF A CHANGE<br />

MAKERS VISION<br />

15 BUT VAL”S DAY IS<br />

23RD APRIL<br />

16 FROM THE MOUTH OF A<br />

PHARMACIST<br />

Page 26<br />

23 MELON BALLS<br />

24 UNI-DI-VERSITY<br />

(FOCUS ON UG)<br />

27 FRUITIFY,VEGEFY,NOURIFY<br />

YOUR SKIN<br />

28 FASHION BY INSPIRE<br />

29 THE AFRICAN BEAT OF SOCCER<br />

31 STRAIGHT TALK WITH P.E.A<br />

33 JOKES,SHORT STORIES<br />

37 WASSCE NO BE RUMOUR<br />

41 SHOUT-0UTZ<br />

43 MEET YOUR MINISTERS<br />

45 IT’S PREACHIE COOL WITH<br />

49 JEREMIE CULTURE-RICH-STIC<br />

Page 29<br />

53 GALLERY<br />

55 6 IDEAS FOR WHEN<br />

YOUR TEEN FEELS<br />

SAD OR DEPRESSED<br />

58 GENESIS OF THE<br />

MAESTRO<br />

60 AGGREGATION OF<br />

MARGINAL GAINS<br />

65 POWER BANK<br />

Page 49 Page 12 Page 24 Page 24 60


Entrepreneur Extraordinaire<br />

DR. STRIVE<br />

MASIYIWA<br />

Strive Masiyiwa is a well-known<br />

international business leader whose<br />

principles for business and living<br />

has inspired many leaders and<br />

educationists all over the world. He<br />

has won numerous international<br />

recognition and awards. Some of his<br />

awards include the following:<br />

“10 Most Outstanding Young<br />

Persons of the World” (Jaycees 1999<br />

– Business Category)<br />

“15 Global Influential’s of the Year”<br />

(CNN/Time <strong>Magazine</strong> Poll -2003)<br />

Builders of Modern Africa (2010 –<br />

Winner)<br />

“25 Leaders of Africa’s Renaissance”<br />

(Times of London – 2011)<br />

“20 Most Powerful Business People in<br />

African Business” (Forbes <strong>Magazine</strong> –<br />

2011)<br />

Invited by President Barak Obama to<br />

attend G-8 Summit at Camp David<br />

(G-8 Summit, Camp David - 2012)<br />

Prepare to fly<br />

A<br />

woman sat on a park bench over lunch<br />

one hot afternoon. And while she did,<br />

she noticed a butterfly trying to come<br />

out of its cocoon. She watched it struggle for<br />

over an hour. Eventually, feeling sorry for the<br />

poor creature she reached for a small scissors and<br />

gently used it to clip open the cocoon. To her<br />

surprise, the butterfly that was released did not<br />

fly away. It just lay there totally crippled.<br />

You see, what she failed to realize was that the<br />

struggle a butterfly goes through is what pumps<br />

blood into its wings so that it may be able to fly.<br />

Isaiah 40.31 but they that wait upon the Lord<br />

shall renew their strength<br />

They shall mount on wings as eagles<br />

They shall run and not be weary<br />

And they shall walk and not faint<br />

The eagle is an unusual bird; it has mustered<br />

the ability to fly into a storm. It mounts strong<br />

winds as though going up a staircase. It is the<br />

only bird that you will find flying during a<br />

storm. From today, you have got to approach<br />

life with the majesty of an eagle. Do not be afraid<br />

of headwinds or opposition. Mount them like a<br />

ladder unto success.<br />

You might be struggling to get your grades<br />

through, you might be struggling to pay your<br />

school fees, or you might be finding it difficult<br />

to combine all the pressures coming at you from<br />

6


every side. You might even be going through<br />

viscous persecution that threatens your very<br />

life.<br />

The use of the word wait comes from the<br />

Hebrew word qawah which means to serve.<br />

Thus, you must learn to actively serve. As a<br />

student, serve all those in authority. Serve your<br />

teachers, serve your seniors serve your prefects,<br />

and serve even your friends and your mates.<br />

that we live to please God not man, and your<br />

life should be lived to the glorification of the<br />

one who created and sustains your life.<br />

Start thinking about your challenges differently.<br />

No matter how dark, no matter how pressing,<br />

you are not going under. You are more than a<br />

conqueror in Christ. It cannot be stormy all the<br />

time…the sun will rise.<br />

It does not matter if you are of the same age<br />

or perhaps even older than them because your<br />

greatness lies in your service. Always remember<br />

“Dont you give up. Joy comes with the morning.<br />

No situation is permanent.<br />

It cannot be stormy all the time”<br />

This article was culled from Strive<br />

Masiyiwas’s blog post on facebook.<br />

Follow Dr Strive on<br />

www.yookos.com/strivemasiyiwa<br />

www.facebook.com/strivemasiyiwa<br />

7


Teevo<br />

Unlimited<br />

Abilities<br />

(Be Audacious)<br />

God has granted you ability<br />

in Christ. Therefore be<br />

determined to do big things<br />

for him.<br />

To the bible! Philippians 4:13 NIV “I can<br />

do everything through him who gives me<br />

strength”<br />

Let’s talk<br />

Have you ever been reluctant to stand up<br />

to speak in front of your class or address a<br />

crowd, because you thought they’ll shout<br />

you down and ridicule you? Well, I want<br />

you to know today that there’s absolutely<br />

nothing you can’t do as a child of God. Paul<br />

had a powerful revelation of the Gospel of<br />

Jesus Christ and the difference it made in his<br />

life. He said, “I can do everything though<br />

Christ who gives me strength.” Notice he<br />

didn’t say, “Some things” but “everything”;<br />

that’s talking about unlimited abilities!<br />

Romans 5:6 say, “You see at just the right<br />

time, when we were still powerless, Christ<br />

died for the ungodly” (NIV). Without<br />

Christ, you may have been spineless and<br />

timid; you may have given up easily and<br />

turned tail at the slightest opposition. But<br />

now that you’ve embraced the gospel of<br />

8


Jesus Christ you’re strengthened from<br />

within by God’s divine power. Now you’re<br />

bold and courageous; you’re audacious in<br />

faith and can face any crisis and win.<br />

Always be conscious of God’s mighty<br />

power at work in you. No matter the<br />

opposition you face, you can activate<br />

that miracle-working power by speaking<br />

fervently in other tongues. When you<br />

speak in tongues, you build up yourself<br />

from within and are strengthened to do<br />

the impossible. Be resolute to do big things<br />

for the lord, for he’s given you unlimited<br />

abilities in Christ.<br />

Go deeper- Ephesians 6:10, Colossians<br />

1:10-11<br />

Speak<br />

Dear father, I thank you for strengthening<br />

me with might by your spirit. I declare<br />

that I can do all thing through Christ, who<br />

strengthens me in Jesus’ name. Amen.<br />

Act<br />

Always be conscious of<br />

God’s mighty power at<br />

work in you. No matter the<br />

opposition you face, you<br />

can activate that miracleworking<br />

power by speaking<br />

fervently in other tongues.<br />

Is there any task you’ve given up on? I<br />

encourage you to go back to it today<br />

and tackle it boldly with the i-can –do<br />

mentality, and you will succeed!<br />

This article was culled from Rhapsody of<br />

Realities Teevo<br />

9


Acres of Diamonds<br />

by Russell H. Conwell<br />

There was a farmer in Africa who was<br />

happy and content. He was happy<br />

because he was content and he was<br />

content because he was happy. One day a wise<br />

man came to him and told him about the glory<br />

of diamonds and the power that goes along<br />

with them. The wise man said, “If you had a<br />

diamond the size of your thumb, you could<br />

have your own city. If you had one like your<br />

fist, your own country.” And with that this wise<br />

man went away. That night the farmer couldn’t<br />

sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent.<br />

He was unhappy because he was discontent<br />

and discontent because he was unhappy.<br />

The next morning he made arrangements to<br />

sell off his farm.He took care of his family and<br />

went in search of diamonds. He looked all over<br />

Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all<br />

through Europe and couldn’t find any. When<br />

he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically<br />

and financially broke. He got so disheartened<br />

that he threw himself into the Barcelona River<br />

and committed suicide.<br />

Back home, the person who had bought his<br />

farm was watering the camels at a stream that<br />

ran through his farm. Across the stream, the<br />

rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made<br />

it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would<br />

look good on the mantle piece. He picked up<br />

the stone and put it in the living room. That<br />

afternoon the wise man came and saw the<br />

stone sparkling. He asked, “Is Hafiz back?” the<br />

new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” the<br />

wise man replied, “Because that is a diamond.<br />

I recognize one when I see one. “The man said,<br />

No, that’s just a stone I picked up from the<br />

stream. Come, I’ll show you. There are many<br />

more. “They went and picked some samples<br />

and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the<br />

stones were diamonds. They found the farm<br />

was indeed covered with acres of diamonds.<br />

MORAL OF THE STORY<br />

When our attitude is right,we realise that we<br />

are all walking on our own acres and acres of<br />

diamonds. Opportunity is under your feet all<br />

you need to do is to recognise it.<br />

10


From The Depths Of My Heart<br />

Qualities of a Change-Maker’s Vision<br />

(As far as your eyes can see..)<br />

OMG!!!……It seems almost impossible<br />

to believe. In just a few months you<br />

will be walking out the School Gates<br />

for the last time as a student. No more exeats or<br />

chits for you to go outside these once seemingly<br />

imprisoning walls. Just a few months ago, you<br />

had just checked the BECE results and waited<br />

anxiously for your school placement. Nino’s<br />

Day seemed just like this morning and in what<br />

seems to be a blink of an eye, you will be an<br />

SHS Graduate. Then what?? I am pretty sure<br />

you think you have it all figured out. I will go to<br />

University...Most likely Tech or maybe Legon.<br />

Then What?? I will graduate with honors and<br />

do my National service. Impressive. Thank You.<br />

OK?? What then?? I will work in a Reputable<br />

Institution, Continue my Education or marry<br />

my SHS sweetheart and then raise a Family<br />

together, whichever comes first. Nice, What<br />

then…….?? …….Erm, Erm, Erm……….<br />

What do you mean???<br />

You see, the plan for most people stops HERE.<br />

Few people ever think of living beyond<br />

themselves. They are satisfied with living the<br />

so called “ideal” life of the majority, hoping<br />

for a mass attendance at their funerals and an<br />

occasional floral tribute at their tombstones.<br />

If this is the life you intend to live, please be<br />

advised to stop reading. You have got to live<br />

your life to the fullest. Like every grain of<br />

sand in an hourglass, make your time count.<br />

Every day, hour, minute to the last second and<br />

micro second. It must all count for something,<br />

because purpose-filled seconds add up to a<br />

purposeful life. And for this, you need to have<br />

the rare ability to see beyond sight. You need<br />

to have VISION. You need to Define Your<br />

Purpose and Start Creaming Your Dream. No<br />

worries, unlike the countless pieces of literature<br />

out there that simply state what you should do,<br />

this one actually stretches a friendly hand and<br />

does it along with you. Just like a Friend.<br />

So, you are almost 18 or past it. What would<br />

you want to accomplish in the next five years?<br />

What about the next ten years? Ok, when you<br />

12


are 40? Who would you be? What would you<br />

be known for?<br />

At your age, it’s imperative that you have a<br />

plan, a vision of the kind of life you want to<br />

live. You are not too young to start creating<br />

your future. If it never occurred to you, your<br />

present is already a 13 year Old’s future. It is<br />

well said that “failure to plan is planning to<br />

fail”. And we not want to fail. Do we?? So let’s<br />

eliminate that option. Did we just change the<br />

rules?? YES!!! Why?? Because we can. This is<br />

one secret a lot of people don’t know about<br />

life.<br />

Most people spend their lives choosing from<br />

the options life gives them never realizing<br />

that you can give Life your own option; The<br />

Option of Success. Just so we are clear, let’s get<br />

a few things out of the way<br />

Driving the Range Rovers, Living at the<br />

Trasaccos, Manning the conglomerates<br />

etc. can all be ultimately be considered as<br />

Success…… NOT!!! A life without a God<br />

centered purpose with impact is a wasted life<br />

even if littered with all the fancy and classy<br />

adornments money accessorizes the elite with.<br />

Now for a bit of long overdue controversy and<br />

play of words, GOD IS NOT INTERESTED<br />

IN WHAT YOU HAVE, He is interested in<br />

WHO YOU BE-come. Life is a gift from God<br />

meant to be lived and enjoyed. Look at it as<br />

God’s present to you. NOW, your present will<br />

only have a future if you present your present<br />

to God as a present. Stay with me. Then and<br />

then only can your present have a pleasant<br />

future. God is more keen on who you become<br />

than what you have. He wants you to have the<br />

best but not at the expense of who you are…<br />

Maybe that’s why we are rightly identified as<br />

Human BEings not Human HAVEings.<br />

Okay, Now that I have your attention.<br />

Qualities of a Change Makers<br />

Vision<br />

1. Be Big<br />

Your dreams should be big enough to<br />

require supernatural help. Do not dream of<br />

something you can acquire or accomplish on<br />

your own or with the help of men. That’s just<br />

dreaming within ability, which is quite lazy if<br />

I might add. Why waste your time dreaming<br />

of something that can be accomplished by<br />

yourself. Your dream should be big enough<br />

to contain God #truetalk. Dream of being<br />

greater than Bill Gates or even King Solomon.<br />

Dream of being the best brain surgeon or<br />

heart surgeon. Whatever you are thinking of<br />

doing, dream of being so excellent in your<br />

field that you are studied as a course in Ivy<br />

League Schools…<br />

NOW THAT’S A DREAM!!!!!<br />

High Five Pal! The sky is definitely not your<br />

limit. It’s your starting point.<br />

Take out time, Close your eyes and begin to<br />

see you. See you at 25, See you at 30 and at<br />

40, See you2moro. Don’t just be a dreamer.<br />

Be a change maker and Go for what you see.<br />

It’s your birth right.<br />

Watch out for Part II.<br />

CHOOSE to BE YOUR BEST, LIVE YOUR<br />

BEST AND HAVE THE BEST while doing<br />

so. BE A CHANGE MAKER.<br />

13


...But Val’s Day is 23rd April<br />

Right after Christmas and New Year, the<br />

breeze of love continues to heighten<br />

as the month of love draws near. It’s<br />

FEBRRRRUUUUUARY! Valentine becomes<br />

the new craze, a day having been specially set,<br />

the 14th of February becomes one savoring<br />

good and bad memories, for lovers both far and<br />

near. The guys just dread it, and the girls can’t<br />

wait for it. lol. The shops are flanked with gifts<br />

wrapped in red, couples parade the streets in<br />

style, showing off ‘what they deem to be love.’<br />

Love huh? Is it that holistic feeling that<br />

consumes the heart and sends happy vibes<br />

down the spine? That uncontrollable drive<br />

within you that makes you go “giddy googoo<br />

gaga” over that special someone?Is it that thing<br />

that consumes your mind and your very being<br />

with his very presence?That causes you to miss<br />

her even when she has not left yet …Is .that the<br />

L. O. V. E?????<br />

Absolutely not! Love is that driving force,<br />

that overwhelming nature of God in you that<br />

causes you to reach out from deep within<br />

for another’s sake. Love is that constant state<br />

of being and mind that propels an infinite<br />

change and lightens up a gloomy day. It is the<br />

connection with the divine that brings you<br />

heaven on earth. Love is our nature, love is a<br />

decision. It is the decision to heal instead of to<br />

hurt. The decision to give life instead of to kill;<br />

to lift instead of to tread upon, to give freely,<br />

instead of holding back.<br />

The power of love and its attributes have<br />

been greatly underrated and misconstrued.<br />

Its significance has been tied to lust,<br />

infatuations, sex and materiality. But no, love<br />

is the expression of God in us that flows out to<br />

EVERYONE around us EVERYDAY and not<br />

just on 14th February. It can be 21st March or<br />

even 23rd April. Heck! If there was 32nd May,<br />

it would still be a day to love and celebrate<br />

unconditional love. This selfless show of<br />

affection, loyalty, friendship, and trust between<br />

individuals. This force, this nature; simply can’t<br />

be bottled up in a day. It’s Impossible. you<br />

were born of Love to love anyone and everyone<br />

despite the odds. Just a day for love is pitiful.<br />

A month would not be enough. A year would<br />

not suffice. This thing called love is a lifetime<br />

“kinda” thing. For EVERY-“Kinda”-ONE.<br />

Not just one special one. So if love is expressed<br />

on Valentine’s Day, then I hereby declare every<br />

every day Valentine’s Day.<br />

15


Career Bowl<br />

From the mouth<br />

of a Pharmacist...<br />

In a meeting with one of Ghana’s finest<br />

and most recognized personalities in<br />

the field of Pharmacy, hidden but open,<br />

Mrs. Mimi Darko is one of the engines<br />

behind Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority.<br />

A professional by all standards, Mrs. Darko<br />

graced our magazine with her first ever<br />

interview, and guess what, it wasn’t on<br />

phone, via Skype or in passing, it was one<br />

on one, and you get the chance to read as<br />

it all unfolds…a journey into the world of<br />

Pharmacy<br />

Q<br />

How did it all start?<br />

Completing school in 1991, working for<br />

23 years and still vibrant, I am currently<br />

the head of Safety Monitoring and Clinical<br />

Trials, at the Food and Drugs Authority,.<br />

I worked with the Pharmacy Board from<br />

1991-1994, where in 1998 a law was passed<br />

to separate the ‘Regulation of Practice’ from<br />

the ‘Regulation of the Product’ previously<br />

called Food and Drugs Board, and currently<br />

changed to the Food and Drugs Authority.<br />

Q<br />

Growing up, did you<br />

always want to be a<br />

Pharmacist?<br />

Originally, No! I wanted to be a pediatrician;<br />

back then pharmacy wasn’t a well-known<br />

profession. I did my 6th form in UK, there<br />

you get the opportunity to combine subjects,<br />

16


Career Bowl<br />

and it’s a lot easier to maneuver around the<br />

educational system, it’s not as rigid as in<br />

Ghana,. It was after I finished school and doing<br />

my service for one year at the Police Hospital<br />

that pharmacy became lucrative to me; I<br />

realized I could do everything in Pharmacy even<br />

related to Medicine in ‘regulatory’, taking into<br />

consideration community practice, clinical,<br />

and patient safety, there and then I knew there<br />

was more to it than just counting drugs behind<br />

a counter.<br />

Q<br />

What are the perception<br />

people have about<br />

pharmacy?<br />

Most people think ‘pharmacy’ is “just a place<br />

to go buy medicine” but it’s more than that.<br />

A doctor listens and gives diagnosis and the<br />

pharmacist finds out which drug is good for<br />

you; they direct you to take the right drug that<br />

best suits your immune system, based on test<br />

results and prescription issued to you at the<br />

hospital. A community pharmacist per say has<br />

all your records and medical history so he/she<br />

can detect if there’s any mishap in your body<br />

and will keep you on course as to the dosage<br />

of drugs to take and a change of prescription<br />

where necessary.<br />

Q<br />

What do you like about<br />

doing pharmacy?<br />

I used to do drug registration, which is before<br />

anyone brings a drug into the country, we check<br />

the conditions of manufacturing but now I do<br />

drug development which is in three (3) phases;<br />

one, we test the drugs on animals before testing<br />

on people, secondly, if it’s safe and ready we<br />

introduce the drug onto the market. Finally,<br />

we look at how the drugs work when it’s used,<br />

that’s assessing the side effect on 20 to 1000<br />

people by carefully monitoring them. What I<br />

love about this is the opportunity to participate<br />

in something that will save lives.<br />

Q<br />

Everything comes, with its<br />

set of challenges, what will<br />

you say are the Challenges<br />

you encounter in your line<br />

of work?<br />

We have pressures from the industry to circulate<br />

drugs and make them readily available, but it’s<br />

my job to make sure the drug is tested first<br />

before it is released onto the market, so that’s<br />

the challenge, if the drug goes wrong we have<br />

to re-draw it, and tell the industry to withhold<br />

circulation because of the effects and reactions<br />

people might have had with it. It usually tends<br />

to be difficult holding them off. Lots of people<br />

also do not know about the importance of our<br />

work and tend to disregard it. However, our<br />

work is important so that they can get the best<br />

out of our services and their health.<br />

Q<br />

Still full of youthful<br />

exuberance - a CEO<br />

and married how do you<br />

combine family and work?<br />

Its only by grace, I have two children, one<br />

in the University and the other about to go<br />

to the University. You have to make time for<br />

everything; you can’t put everything into your<br />

career and neglect your family, I don’t know<br />

how I do it, I believe it all by the grace of<br />

God, He orders my steps. My work involves<br />

a lot of travelling, I have a lot of meetings<br />

with the World Health Organization, doing<br />

presentations on experiences in Ghana, what I<br />

do amongst others, I am barely in Ghana, and<br />

for instance this year since September I have<br />

been in Ghana for just a week. This makes me<br />

strongly believe that it’s all by the grace of God<br />

18


Career Bowl<br />

that I balance family and work and other<br />

responsibilities so successfully.<br />

Q<br />

What advice will you give<br />

someone who wants<br />

to pursue a career in<br />

pharmacy? Academics,<br />

Character wise<br />

You need to be very diligent in what you do,<br />

you need to have patience to be a pharmacist,<br />

you need patience in handling patients, you<br />

need to be meticulous because you have to<br />

observe patients and monitor their health. You<br />

must keep in mind that you are dealing with<br />

products and how they concern people’s health<br />

and in effect their lives. For instance when<br />

someone walks into a shop and asks to buy two<br />

‘amoxicillin’ drugs, you don’t just give it to him<br />

/her, directly refusing to dispense the drug can<br />

also cause them to go elsewhere for the drug, so<br />

as a pharmacist you have to step in and question<br />

them, you need to be able to balance business<br />

and the patients wellbeing, because clearly<br />

other business minded / unqualified dispensers<br />

will sell to them without caring.<br />

Academically, the person should develop an<br />

interest in chemistry and biology. Some have it<br />

naturally; others will have to grow it. There are<br />

schools of pharmacy in all the top universities<br />

in Ghana. Students should do well in their<br />

WASSCE exams in order to be admitted<br />

into these schools if they have the interest in<br />

pursuing a career in pharmacy.<br />

model, so far as pharmacy is concerned, I have<br />

friends who are pharmacists, whom I learned<br />

a lot from growing into the profession, like<br />

Thomas Appiah Adjei, he was as strict as he<br />

was kind, he had patience to listen to you. To<br />

him if anything is to be done it must be done<br />

properly, integrity is key to him, he always says<br />

“If you do it do it well.”<br />

Q<br />

Describe Pharmacy in one<br />

word?<br />

One word, hmm, I will say pharmacy is<br />

‘Fulfilling’, the work I do is fulfilling, deep<br />

down my heart, I love what I do and I do my<br />

knowing I have done it.<br />

Q<br />

What is the next level for<br />

you?<br />

I want to move pharmacy from being just a<br />

business to being a profession. I always say the<br />

pharmacy profession is going down; I want<br />

to re-vamp the pharmacy profession to move<br />

pharmacy to where it’s supposed to be, to a<br />

place where ‘to do pharmacy but not just sell<br />

medicine’.<br />

Q<br />

Growing into the<br />

profession, were there<br />

people you looked<br />

up to, role models?<br />

I don’t really have mentors, I am my own role<br />

20


Health & Lifestyle<br />

is an ideal fruit to eat during menstruation.<br />

In men, water melons help fight prostate<br />

cancer,erectile dysfunction and hypertension.<br />

Melon Balls<br />

Large, round and green, water melons are<br />

a delicious delicacy. Scooped up and<br />

eaten raw, this green ball opens<br />

up to a red mesh of fiber that when<br />

consumed topples up to provide the<br />

essential nutrients for growth and<br />

vitality.<br />

Water melon, just as the name suggests<br />

contains 90% water and 10% of fiber. Due<br />

to its water concentration, juiced up, it provides<br />

a refreshing drink which quenches the thirst,<br />

making it a natural substitute for water.<br />

The flesh of the water melon contains essential<br />

nutrients that helps improve blood flow in and<br />

around the heart, it improves bone formation<br />

and it is very good for your lungs and hearts.<br />

It helps in reduction of cramps and replenishes<br />

the body with water and blood, water melon<br />

22<br />

Most frequently, when one buys water<br />

melons from a fruit shop, the concentration is<br />

basically on its juicy red fibrous mesh whiles<br />

ignoring the seeds; now this is the secret,<br />

water melon seeds contain iron and zinc! Yes<br />

they do. Surprised, well, now you know! To<br />

attest to this fact and more in a recent study<br />

done by food scientists, to compare the<br />

nutrient content from the flesh of different<br />

melon species, it was discovered that large<br />

amounts of concentrated nutrients such as<br />

(phenolic antioxidants, flavonoids, lycopene<br />

and vitamin c). Oops, these terms may be<br />

unfamiliar but in a nutshell, they are essential<br />

to your bodies’ growth and development!<br />

So get yourself a handy fruit squeezer or a<br />

blender and make yourself a healthy fulfilling<br />

melon drink to flash out the toxins in your<br />

body, quench your thirst and savor your<br />

hunger cells.<br />

Water<br />

Melon is<br />

an ideal fruit<br />

to eat during<br />

menstruation<br />

Whether scooped up for a fruit<br />

salad, or a glass of freshly<br />

squeezed melon juice, a daily<br />

intake of water melon pays off<br />

offering you a wide range of<br />

nutritional benefits. Let’s get<br />

healthy and healthier!


Uni-Di-Versity<br />

Uni-Di-Versity<br />

-Focus on UG<br />

Founded in 1948 as the University College of<br />

the Gold Coast, the university was founded by<br />

Ordinance on August 11, 1948 for the purpose<br />

of promoting uni¬versity education, learning and<br />

research, and has lived beyond expectation.<br />

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the University of Ghana’s<br />

first chancellor. Churning out many great men and<br />

women in the society, the university is prided as<br />

Ghana’s alpha university. Having grown over the years,<br />

it currently houses over 30,000 students, and lectures<br />

in a world-class learning environment, mak¬ing it one<br />

of the best in Africa and the world as a whole.<br />

Faculties/ Schools/ Colleges<br />

College Of Health Sciences<br />

Medical School<br />

Dental School<br />

School Of Allied Health Sciences<br />

School Of Public Health:<br />

Noguchi Memorial Institute For Medical<br />

Research<br />

School Of Nursing<br />

College Of Agriculture And Consumer<br />

Sciences<br />

Faculties<br />

Arts<br />

Law<br />

Science<br />

Social Studies<br />

Business School<br />

Engineering Sciences<br />

Programs Offered<br />

NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE<br />

FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH: An<br />

institute for research into Medical and<br />

paramedical issues.<br />

SCHOOL OF NURSING: Community<br />

Health, Maternal & Child Health,<br />

Mental Health, Adult Health, Research,<br />

Education and Administration.<br />

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE:<br />

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness,<br />

Agricultural Exten¬sion, Animal Science,<br />

Crop Science, Home Science and Soil<br />

Science.<br />

Faculties<br />

ARTS: Classics, English, Language<br />

24


Centre, Linguistics, Modern Languages<br />

(Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, and<br />

Swahili), Mathematics, Philosophy, and Study<br />

of Religions and the School of Performing Arts<br />

(with Departments of Dance Studies, Music<br />

and Theatre Arts).<br />

LAW: Law (non-departmentalized).<br />

SCIENCE: Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry,<br />

Computer Science, Fisheries and Oceanography,<br />

Geology, Mathematics, Nursing, Nutrition and<br />

Food Science, Psychology, Physics, Statistics<br />

and Zoology.<br />

SOCIAL STUDIES: Archaeology, Economics,<br />

Geography and Resource Development,<br />

History, Information Studies, Mathematics,<br />

Nursing, Political Science, Psychology,<br />

Sociology and Social Work.<br />

BUSINESS SCHOOL: Accounting, Public<br />

Administration & Health Service Management,<br />

Marketing & Consumer Management, Banking<br />

& Finance, Organization & Human Resource<br />

Management and Management Information<br />

Systems.<br />

ENGINEERING SCIENCES: Agricultural,<br />

Biomedical, Food Process, Materials Science<br />

and Engineering (Ceramics Option) and<br />

Computer Engineering.<br />

Halls/ Hostels<br />

Mensah Sarbah Hall<br />

Volta Hall (Females Only)<br />

Commonwealth Hall (Males Only)<br />

Akuafo Hall<br />

Legon Hall<br />

Hilla Liman Hall<br />

Alex Kwapong Hall<br />

Frances Elizabeth Sey Hall<br />

Jean Nelson Hall<br />

Africa Union Hall<br />

Evandy<br />

Bani<br />

Tf<br />

Admission Requirements for a<br />

Bachelor’s Degree<br />

The general requirements for entry to LeveL<br />

100 of the bachelor’s degree programmes are as<br />

follows:<br />

i. Senior Secondary School Certificate/ West<br />

African Senior School Certificate Examination:<br />

Credits in the four core subjects, namely,<br />

English, Mathematics, Integrated Science and<br />

Social Studies and Three Elective Subjects,<br />

in the Senior Secondary School Certificate<br />

Examinations (SSSCE) or West African<br />

Senior School Certificate Examination<br />

(WASSCE). This is however subject to review<br />

by the Academic Board.<br />

ii. Other Qualifications : Other qualifications<br />

include International Baccalaurette (IB),<br />

IGCSE, GCSE, the American Grades 12<br />

and 13 examinations and other external<br />

qualifications which have equivalences to<br />

the SSSCE or the WASSCE. Candidates<br />

with external qualifications are admitted to<br />

Level 100,.<br />

iii. Direct entry to the next higher level is possible<br />

if a course of approved content has been taken<br />

in a recognised institution. Additional Faculty<br />

and Departmental (Subject) requirements must<br />

be satisfied. Bachelor’s degree courses<br />

(BA, BSc, BMus, BFA) are of an 8-Semester (4-<br />

year) duration for all candidates.<br />

25


Beauty<br />

Once a while, you want to hang out with friends and gnaw on a few nuts and crackers,<br />

chit chat over pizza and drinks and order plates of French fries and fried rice. Totally cool,<br />

but… Aiming at that plush, beautiful skin? Then you need to avoid fried and greasy foods<br />

that have less nutrients, give acne/pimples and will eventually affect your immune system<br />

when you’re older. Give yourself a double treat; get nourished inside by feeding your body<br />

right and enjoy the beautiful healthy glow it produces on your face. What’s more, there are<br />

certain foods that can be applied outwardly on the face to nourish your skin.<br />

You eat the right foods to keep a healthy and fit body. But are you aware that certain foods<br />

can literally nourish and beautify your face?<br />

Well, here’s a simple guide on what foods to eat and which ones to use for masks and other<br />

facial applications that will leave you with a beautiful glowing face, always.<br />

• Eat foods that are rich in essential vitamins<br />

and minerals to enhance your facial skin and<br />

give it a youthful healthy glow.<br />

• A natural sweetener for your beverages,<br />

porridges and bread, honey is also a unique<br />

beauty ingredient.<br />

• Feeding your skin with a healthy dose<br />

of Mangoes and citrus fruits will naturally<br />

enhance your facial complexion.<br />

• Oysters are a rich source of zinc that help<br />

in fighting pimples, preventing acne, and<br />

keeping the facial skin moist and supple.<br />

• Want a scar- free face? Mushrooms in your<br />

diet are essential in cell regeneration and<br />

tissue repair, of scars gotten during injuries,<br />

and surgery.<br />

• Milk, yogurt, cheese, and other foods rich<br />

in calcium have skin-nourishing properties.<br />

• Regular doses of broccoli, cauliflower, dark<br />

leafy green veggies, and citrus fruits in your<br />

diet will help to give your skin a healthy<br />

tone.<br />

• Inculcating nature’s undisputed miracle<br />

foods like soy products, fish oil, flaxseed oil,<br />

kale, pomegranates, and avocados into your<br />

meals will leave you with a very radiant facial<br />

skin.<br />

Beyond eating right, there’s more:<br />

• Raw honey, yogurt and banana have<br />

superb healing properties that are effective<br />

for cleansing and toning the facial skin, and<br />

removing dead skin. After washing your face, use<br />

your hands to smear honey, yoghurt or mashed<br />

bananas on the face for 15minutes, then carefully<br />

rinse it off. Do this regularly and watch your skin<br />

clear up and begin to give off that radiant glow<br />

Ageing is no longer scary, you can now maintain<br />

your youthful glow at all times by eating right.<br />

Give your skin a treat; fruitify, vegefy and nourify<br />

your body, for healthy glowing facial skin,<br />

always.<br />

26


Fashion<br />

With inspire F.O.G<br />

(pronounced<br />

en-spee-ray), we<br />

acknowledge that<br />

what you wear comes from your<br />

heart. true fashion in essence is<br />

inspired, a daily expression of who<br />

you are, your ideals, your values<br />

without the need to utter a word.<br />

Inspire F.O.G has designs<br />

in clothing and accessories<br />

customized right to the person<br />

you. We know that there is no<br />

other you on the face of this earth<br />

and we intend to highlight this<br />

with inspiration. tell us what you<br />

are, what you do, and why you<br />

do what you do and give us the<br />

opportunity to blow your mind by<br />

showing the you in fashion. like it<br />

or not we intend your fashion to<br />

be more of an inspiration, the kind<br />

that’s full of grace.<br />

Contact<br />

baabafrunesis@gmail.com<br />

inspirefog<br />

+233 54 698 6213<br />

27


Sports<br />

The Africa Cup of Nations 2015<br />

champions, The Elephants of Ivory Coast.<br />

Photo Credit: mirror.co.uk<br />

The African Beat of Soccer -<br />

The day Dede cried “Maamaa”!!!<br />

On a continent like Africa, soccer is<br />

the one game that merges us as one, a<br />

common language spoken by all, both<br />

young and old, males and even the females. No<br />

one is left out. Soccer affords us one opportunity<br />

to show the world what we are made of.<br />

Held every two years since its inception in 1957,<br />

the African Cup of Nations is ranked 3rd after<br />

the FIFA World Cup and the European Nations<br />

Champions leagues in terms of its cumulative<br />

TV audience. This year’s tournament came in<br />

full display with Equatorial Guinea hosting<br />

the tournament after other countries declined<br />

to do so for fear of Bad New Ebola! With<br />

Participating teams and football lovers from all<br />

walks of life; some trooping into stadia whilst<br />

other stayed glued to their television sets, this<br />

year’s tournament was poised to be a thrilling<br />

experience no one was willing to miss.<br />

Sixteen qualifying teams from Algeria, Burkina<br />

Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Togo, Cote<br />

d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana,<br />

Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal,<br />

South Africa, Zambia and Tunisia all took their<br />

turns in the group matches. The teams lambasted<br />

their opponents on the field of play. Qualifying<br />

teams progressed as expected from their group<br />

stages to the quarter finals, semi-finals, 3rd place<br />

play offs and then…. THE FINALS.<br />

When two elephants fight, the grass suffers. This<br />

was the situation in the final match between<br />

Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Elephant here were<br />

of Cote d’Ivoire but the Black Stars of Ghana<br />

were also determined to blind the elephants<br />

with the brightness of their rays. Being closer to<br />

28


taking home the Cup than ever before, players<br />

played their hearts out, supporters cheered<br />

their voices hoarse, and emotions run amok as<br />

several chances were missed<br />

all through 120 minutes of<br />

energetic football.<br />

The pulse of<br />

onlookers raced like<br />

Vin Diesel’s car in<br />

Fast &Furious 7.<br />

With Cote d’Ivoire<br />

conceding two goals in<br />

their first shoot out, the<br />

game left loyal Ghanaian<br />

supporters bloating with<br />

joy as though Issa Hayatouthe<br />

CAF President, had just presented the Cup<br />

at Flagstaff House. The Elephants with a loud<br />

thump however, recovered quickly as our dear<br />

Acheampong and Afriyie Acquah decided to put<br />

the ball everywhere else but in the goal post. The<br />

deciding shots would be that of the goalkeepers.<br />

The pulse of onlookers raced like Vin Diesel’s car<br />

in Fast &Furious 7. Cote d’Ivoire Goal keeper<br />

led the team to victory with a shot that sent<br />

Ghanaian goal keeper flying so out of reach that<br />

even his Spiderman could not web that ball out<br />

of the goal post. Dede wailed uncontrollably,<br />

Asamoah Gyan was saddened and Yaya Toure<br />

was floating on cloud nine. Shockingly and sadly<br />

Ghana’s dream of becoming a five<br />

time AFCON champions<br />

faded away in what seemed<br />

to be a bitter turn of events<br />

as the Elephants of Ivory<br />

Coast stampeded their way<br />

to victory.<br />

Yet another gallant<br />

tournament history has<br />

nevertheless been written, with the flame of<br />

soccer still blazing in the hearts and minds of<br />

both supporters and players alike. Disappointed<br />

and fulfilled teams disperse with the hope of<br />

fighting another day, poised for another thrilling<br />

experience of dancing to the beat of rich African<br />

soccer.<br />

SOCCER AT ITS RICHEST!!!<br />

SOCCER AT ITS RICHEST!!<br />

Ghana celebrates<br />

DR Congo Medals<br />

KaraMbodji in action<br />

29


Straight<br />

Talk<br />

with P.E.A<br />

Hello P.E.A; I am an SHS Graduate, all my<br />

friends have boyfriends and I feel left out.<br />

They keep laughing at me for still being a<br />

virgin, and call me funny names, the pressure<br />

to get a boyfriend is too much, what should<br />

I do? #GLADYS<br />

Hello Gladys, it’s quite an interesting<br />

thing that your friend’s laugh at and scorn<br />

your honor. Its however neither surprising<br />

nor uncommon. The fact that all your<br />

friends have boyfriends doesn’t mean you<br />

should get one too. You do not need a boy<br />

to complete you or make you fit in. Maybe<br />

you’re trying to fit into the wrong crowd.<br />

First of all, you need to define yourself for<br />

you. Who are you? What have you got in<br />

you? What are your potentials? What’s your<br />

future like? And therefore; what are your<br />

standards? Your standards, based on the<br />

Word of God, must not be compromised<br />

for anyone or anything. You are beautiful,<br />

special and very unique as a person.<br />

You don’t need to be anyone’s girlfriend<br />

to fit in, you just need to be you. That’s<br />

completeness… That’s perfection.<br />

Hello P.E.A I am a guy of 17 years,<br />

unfortunately I have become addicted to<br />

porn, a day doesn’t go by, that I do not<br />

watch, I masturbate all the time, what can<br />

I do to stop? I need to stop this. Because I<br />

am aware it will not help me. Also it does<br />

not please God. And I really want to please<br />

Him. #RICHARD<br />

Heya! Richiee dear, I think your desire<br />

to please God with your life at this age is very<br />

remarkable. However, as you may very well<br />

know, desire does not always culminate in<br />

results, it requires deliberate action. What do<br />

you need to do to stop? Simple- JUST STOP!!!<br />

Watching porn is not a passive, but rather an<br />

active deed. So just stop. Don’t do it. Anytime<br />

you feel the strong desire to watch porn and<br />

masturbate, HOLD YOURSELF IN!!! Also,<br />

one way to get rid of old habits is by replacing<br />

them with good ones. Get yourself involved<br />

in positive activities that would enhance your<br />

potentials. You should also begin to regulate your<br />

thoughts. Culture your mind to navigate away<br />

from thoughts that would arouse a desire for<br />

porn in you. The more you do this, the less the<br />

desire for the wrong things will become and you<br />

will overcome that addiction. More so, as you<br />

pray in the Spirit, your spirit will be edified and<br />

you’ll subdue the negative tendencies of the body.<br />

Be strong. You’ve got this.<br />

Hello P.E.A; I am a lady of 18 years of age and<br />

recently completed SHS. I recently found out<br />

my best friend was going out with a married<br />

man. This man showers her with gifts and a lot<br />

of money. She has financial challenges at home.<br />

However I do not think that is reason enough for<br />

her actions. I have tried talking to her severally,<br />

but to no avail. Of late she avoids me totally<br />

saying she doesn’t want me to “preach” to her.<br />

Her attitude has changed considerably. And I feel<br />

like I am losing her, and yet I am to do something<br />

to help her. Please help me out here. I am at my<br />

wits end. #ALBERTA<br />

First of all, Alberta, take a deep breath,<br />

30


smile. From what you are communicating<br />

now, I’d say you are a good friend and you<br />

sound like a Christian too. Firstly, no matter<br />

the circumstances surrounding her, going<br />

out with a married man is totally wrong; it’s<br />

non-negotiable. Doing this is partaking in<br />

adulterous practices, which God is strictly<br />

against. However, it may be very difficult for<br />

your friend to hear you because she may be<br />

consumed by both her needs and the lavish<br />

supply by this married man. You do have some<br />

options though. You can talk to someone elderly<br />

who she respects, to talk to her. I think it would<br />

also be necessary to inform her parents about<br />

this, so they can take the appropriate actions.<br />

Most of all however, you need to pray for her,<br />

so that her eyes will be opened to see the reality<br />

of the situation and she can adhere to counsel<br />

and also for the Holy Spirit to guide her on<br />

what next to do. Finally, to aid her financial<br />

situation, you can come together with a group<br />

of friends and discretely put some funds together<br />

to help her gain some grounds and establish<br />

something lasting. You’re a good friend.<br />

Hello P.E.A; I am a 16 year old lady in form<br />

3, I fell in love with a guy because of his inner<br />

qualities, he is funny and smart but he is not<br />

handsome, so I cannot introduce him to<br />

my friends. What should I do? I think I am<br />

embarrassed about his looks, I do not want to be<br />

looked down upon and laughed at…you know<br />

how friends talk? Hmm #ANITA<br />

Wow. This is actually quite funny. First of all,<br />

Anita what are the indicators of love? If you<br />

love someone for his inward qualities, does it<br />

really matter how he looks? Answer is, YES!!<br />

It matters how he looks, not how he looks to<br />

others though, but to you. Even the Bible lets<br />

us know, beauty is fleeting. The true beauty<br />

of an individual is seen on the inside. If you<br />

have been able to spot that quality of beauty in<br />

anybody, trust me, it doesn’t matter what they<br />

look like on the outside, their inner beauty will<br />

always shine right through. Remember, our<br />

faces will not remain the same forever, first<br />

will come the wrinkles, then the folds and<br />

the dimmed eyes and weakened muscles.<br />

What would you have to hold on to then?<br />

Never be ashamed of what a friend, family<br />

or anyone you love looks like. Be proud of<br />

the investments of their personalities and<br />

showcase them to the whole world. Ever<br />

wondered why supermodels aren’t the<br />

richest people in the world? Be real, enjoy<br />

beauty that’s concrete and lasting. Enjoy<br />

love<br />

Hello P.E.A, I am a 17 year old boy in<br />

the boarding house, in my first year, I just<br />

realized that my school father is gay, and he<br />

keeps trying to convince me to have sex with<br />

him, I fear I will be raped one day by he and<br />

his friends. I want to leave the school and tell<br />

my parents, but I am afraid. What should I<br />

do? #BRIGHT<br />

Hello Bright. I’m truly sorry to hear that<br />

you have to go through such an ordeal.<br />

It’s a good thing that you’ve been able to<br />

stand against his advances so far. However,<br />

you’ll have to report this matter both to<br />

your parents and to the school authorities.<br />

Truth is, you’re not the only one, even in<br />

your school, going through this. Somebody<br />

will have to get this out so that others can<br />

also be saved from the ordeal. Moreover,<br />

even if you leave this school to another,<br />

what’s to say that you won’t meet the same<br />

situation where you’re going? This is what<br />

you need to do; Say NO, report the matter<br />

to the authorities and keep away from such<br />

relationships. Now, reporting them is not a<br />

means to get them punished, but rather, a<br />

means to get them the help they need. In so<br />

doing, you’ll save yourself, others like you<br />

and even those trying to get you to do the<br />

wrong thing. So, my dear, be bold, stand<br />

out and stand up for what’s right. Don’t<br />

let fear dominate you. You can do this. For<br />

you and for everyone else.<br />

31


Jokes & Stories<br />

Akpos enters into a pharmacy<br />

reaches into his pocket and takes<br />

out a small bottle and a tea spoon. He pours<br />

some liquid onto the tea spoon and offers it to the<br />

chemist’s assistant, “Could you taste this please? Says Akpos.<br />

The chemist assistant takes the tea spoon, puts it in his mouth,<br />

swills the liquid and swallows it. “Does it taste sweet? “Says Akpos”, “No,<br />

not at all” says the chemist assistant. Good, says Akpos “The doctor told me<br />

to come here and get my urine tested for sugar.<br />

There were two old guys, Akpos<br />

and Emeka sitting on a bench outside<br />

Emeka’s house and talking about football just like<br />

they did every day. Akpos turns to Emeka and says, “Do<br />

you think there’s football in heaven? Emeka thinks about it for a<br />

minute and replies, I don’t know Akpos. But let’s make a deal: if I die first<br />

I will come back and tell you, and if you die first you come back and tell me if<br />

there is football in heaven. ”They shake on it and, sadly, a few months later poor Akpos<br />

passes on. One day soon afterward, Emeka is sitting on the bench by himself when he hears<br />

a voice whisper, “Emeka…Emeka…Emeka responds, “Akpos! Is that you? “Yes it is me,<br />

Emeka,” “whispers the spirit of Akpos. Emeka, still amazed asks, “So is there football<br />

in heaven?” “Well” say Akpos, “I got good news and I got bed news. “Give me<br />

the good news first,” says Emeka. Akpos says “Well… there football in<br />

heaven.” Akpos sighs and whispers, “But you re playing<br />

on Friday.”<br />

32<br />

Send your articles, poems, short<br />

stories and questions for P.E.A to<br />

me2moro@teenzgh.com. You can call<br />

us on 0302337285, whenever you need<br />

somebody to talk to.


A: Hello are you there?<br />

B: yes, who are you please?<br />

A: I’m Watt.<br />

B: what s your name?<br />

A: Watt is my name.<br />

B: yes, what s your name?<br />

A: My name is John Watt.<br />

B: John what?<br />

A: Yes, are you Jones?<br />

B: No, I’m Knott<br />

A:Will you tell me your name then?<br />

B: Will Knott<br />

A: Why not?<br />

B: my name is Knott<br />

A: Not what?<br />

B: Not Watt, Knott.<br />

A: what.<br />

A Nigerian lady who married a Chinese guy<br />

gave birth to a baby girl, after nine months<br />

of marriage. But after three months, the baby<br />

died. The mother of the Nigeria lady came to<br />

visit them. She started shouting, “I knew it! I<br />

knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it...” And<br />

so on and then a man that noticed her shouting,<br />

now called her outside and asked her what<br />

she knew. She replied, “I knew China products<br />

don’t last.<br />

John and Akpos were arguing whose father<br />

was stronger.<br />

John said, “My father is stronger. Well you<br />

know the Pacific Ocean? My father was the<br />

one who dug the hole for it.”<br />

Akpos not impressed said, “Do you know the<br />

dead sea? It was my father who killed it!<br />

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One<br />

asked the other: “Do you believe in life after<br />

delivery?” The other replies, “why, of course.<br />

There has to be something after delivery.<br />

Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what<br />

we will be later. “Nonsense,” says the other.<br />

“There is no life after delivery. What would<br />

that life be?” “I don’t know, but there will be<br />

more light than here. Maybe we will walk with<br />

our legs and eat from our mouths.” The other<br />

says “This is absurd! Walking is impossible.<br />

And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous.<br />

The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life<br />

after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical<br />

cord is too short.” “I think there is something<br />

and maybe it’s different than it is here.” the<br />

other replies, “No one has ever come back<br />

from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in<br />

the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness<br />

and anxiety and it takes us nowhere.” “Well, I<br />

don’t know,” says the other, “but certainly we<br />

will see mother and she will take care of us.”<br />

“Mother??” You believe in mother? Where is<br />

she now? “She is all around us. It is in her that<br />

we live. Without her there would not be this<br />

world.” “I don’t see her, so it’s only logical that<br />

she doesn’t exist.” To which the other replied,<br />

“sometimes when you’re in silence you can<br />

hear her, you can perceive her.” I believe there<br />

is a reality after delivery and we are here to<br />

prepare ourselves for that reality.<br />

These are men for you. We sometimes even<br />

doubt the existence of God and Heaven. But<br />

we forget that it is in Him that we live n have<br />

our being. The mere fact that we can’t see God<br />

doesn’t mean that He doesn’t exist.<br />

33


“WASSCE No Be Rumour”<br />

Copy and complete the multiplication table modulo 5 on the set {1, 2, 3, and 4}<br />

* 1 2 3 4<br />

1 1 3<br />

2 4 1<br />

3 3 2<br />

4 3 1<br />

b). from the table<br />

i) Solve the expression 2n × 4 = 3<br />

ii) Find the value of n for which 2 × (3 × n) = 2<br />

c). The function f and g are defined as: f:x ->x−2 and g:x->2x 2 −1<br />

Solve: i. f(x)=g(-½)<br />

ii. f(x)+g(x)=0<br />

Solution<br />

a).<br />

* 1 2 3 4<br />

1 1 2 3 4<br />

2 2 4 1 3<br />

3 3 1 4 2<br />

4 4 3 2 1<br />

b. i. Let 2n = x ii. 2 × (3 × n) = 1<br />

x × 4 =3 2 × 1 =2<br />

x = 2 2n = 2 n = 1 3 × n = 1<br />

3 × 2 = 1<br />

n = 2<br />

c) i) g(-½) = 2(-½)² − 1 ii. f(x) + g(x) = 0<br />

= 2 × ¼ − 1 = -½ x − 2 + 2x² − 1 = 0<br />

f(x) = g(-½) 2x² + x - 3 = 0<br />

x = 2 − ½ = 1½ = 1.5 (2x + 3)(x − 1) = 0<br />

I. What is meant by dairy cattle?<br />

ii. Give three body confirmations characteristics of dairy cattle.<br />

b. i. Draw and label the mammalian eye.<br />

ii. Explain how the eye focused distant objects on the retina.<br />

x = -3/2<br />

c. i. what is salt? Write balanced equation to show the reaction between each of the following<br />

pairs of substances.<br />

ii. HCL and NaoH iii) H 2<br />

SO 4<br />

and Cu (OH) 2<br />

d. Explain the importance of wearing seat belts in vehicles.<br />

36


Solution<br />

1. Dairy cattle, it refers to cows raised to produce milk<br />

a) They have wedge shaped bodies<br />

b) Body is lean not fleshy<br />

c) Legs are long and slender bodies<br />

d) They have a well-developed udder<br />

e) Wide space between the hind legs<br />

b. I)<br />

1. Rays from distant objects travel parallel to the eye.<br />

2. The rays go through the transparent cornea<br />

3. The rays reach the lens via the pupil<br />

4. Rays pass through the lens focused by the lenses refracted, by the lenses, aided by the aqueous<br />

and vitreous humor converge the lens on the retina<br />

C. I) Salt is a substance formed when the hydrogen atom of an acid or part of hydrogen atom is<br />

replaced with a metal or ammonium ion in a reaction<br />

Or it is the main product formed when an acid reacts with a base<br />

Or a salt is a compound whose cation comes from a base and anion from an acid<br />

II). HCL+NaOH -> NaCL+H₂O<br />

H₂ SO₄+Cu(OH)₂ —> CuSO₄+2H₂O<br />

d. i. when a moving vehicle breaks suddenly/accident<br />

ii. Passengers continue to move at the speed at which the vehicle was travelling<br />

iii. This may cause passengers to hit their heads/slash bodies against objects in front of them or<br />

thrown out of the vehicle<br />

iv. Seat belts hold the passenger firm to the seat to avoid injuries<br />

37


Contact<br />

KeeBee Phones, Accra Near UTC, Tel: +233 (0) 243 011 299


SHOUT<br />

OUTS<br />

From: Zainab Mohammed [Agiss]<br />

To: Hassan Babs Khalid [Aquinas]<br />

Message: Shark hard! And be a good boy<br />

Track: wrecking ball [miley cyrus]<br />

From: Manuuella Okletey [Agiss]<br />

To: Dela Edem Atatsi [P.J]<br />

Message: Boo….hope u good, just missing you<br />

and want to check up on you. Keep the midnight<br />

candle burning. Love you bunch.<br />

Track: Dorobuccci<br />

From: Iris & Durga [Agiss]<br />

To: Emmanuel Addae [Pojoss]<br />

Message: We miss you bunch, shark hard and<br />

stay blessed. We love you.<br />

Track: Nathaniel Bassey [is your name in the book<br />

of life].<br />

From: Curtis Millson [Botwe]<br />

To: Chelsea Noltinson [Agiss]<br />

Meesage: I miss you bunh. All the best, marry<br />

your books and god loves you.<br />

Track: Dangerous love [fuse ft sean paul]<br />

From: Jane Alisah Babi [Agiss]<br />

To: Oko Yemo-Booba [Academy]<br />

Message: Yo, Sup….. Hope you good. Charley,<br />

i wish you the best of luck in achieving your<br />

dreams okay. Remember this bible verse, James<br />

1:5, stay blessed always.<br />

Track: Wonder God [sonie badu]<br />

From: Dhayana Aubeng [Agiss]<br />

To: Gabriel Ahiable [Ketasco]<br />

Message: Love you big bro, shark hard<br />

and keep the midnight candle burning.<br />

Stay blessed.<br />

Track: MHB 12<br />

From: Nayanka Binda [Agiss]<br />

To: Priscilla Ahu [Ola girls, Ho]<br />

Message: Long time ooh! Just wanted to<br />

say hi, keep the candle burning but don’t<br />

burn your dorm. Stay blessed.<br />

Track: john legend [all of you]<br />

From: Ethel Hehetor [Agiss]<br />

To: Delali Gbekle [Gey Hey]<br />

Message: missing you badly. I love you,<br />

shark harder.<br />

40


Current Affairs<br />

Prof. Jane Nana Opoku<br />

Agyeman<br />

(Minister of Education)<br />

Ms. Hannah Tetteh<br />

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs<br />

and Regional Intergration)<br />

Mark Owen Woyongo<br />

(Minister of Interior)<br />

Mr. Seth Terkper<br />

(Minister of Finance)<br />

Dr Kwabena Donkor<br />

(Minister for Power)<br />

Nana Oye Lithur<br />

(Minister of Gender, Children<br />

and Social Protection)<br />

Mr. Emmanuel Buah<br />

(Ministry of Energy and<br />

Petroleum)<br />

Ekwow Spoi-Garbrah<br />

(Minister of Trade and<br />

Industry)<br />

Benjamin Bewa-Nyog<br />

Kunbuor<br />

(Minister of Defence)<br />

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini<br />

(Minister of Roads and<br />

Highways)<br />

42


Dr. Edward Omane Boamah<br />

(Minister of Communication)<br />

Dr. Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah<br />

(Minister for Water, Works<br />

and Housing<br />

Fiifi Fiavi Franklin Kwetey<br />

(Minister of Food and<br />

Agriculture)<br />

Mrs. Marieta Brew Appiah-<br />

Oppong<br />

(Minister of Justice and<br />

Attorney-General)<br />

Alhaji Collins Duada<br />

(Minister for Local<br />

Government and Rural<br />

Development)<br />

Mr. Akwasi Oppong-Fosu<br />

(Minister of Environment<br />

Science and Technology)<br />

Nii Osah Mills<br />

(Minister of Lands and<br />

Natural Resources)<br />

Mrs. Dzifa Attivor<br />

(Minister of Transport)<br />

Haruna Iddrisu<br />

(Minister of Employment and<br />

Social Welfare)<br />

Hanny Sherry Ayittey<br />

(Minister of Fisheries and<br />

Aquaculture Development )<br />

Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare<br />

(Minister for Tourism, Culture<br />

and Creative Arts)<br />

Alhaji Dr. Mustapha Ahmed<br />

(Minister for Youth and Sports<br />

Arts)<br />

43


Entertainment<br />

M2M: Who is Jeremie?<br />

To sum that up, Jeremy is the only child of her<br />

parents, I’m crazy about God, He is everything to<br />

me, I’m 100% Christian, I love what I do, I love<br />

music, I love shoes and hey, my love for shoes is<br />

on a different level, that’s me in a nutshell.<br />

M2M: How was life in Aburi girls?<br />

I am a different person now, hmmm, , Jeremy<br />

in Aburi girls, I was the ‘beauty queen chic’, I<br />

won five different pageants in school, I was<br />

always a good talker, it was easy to talk my way<br />

through stuff, I saw pageants as ‘please is that<br />

the question you have for me’? (Laughs) I was<br />

a little bit of a bad girl then, I was the chic who<br />

will roll my house dress like 4times and sew on<br />

it, I had a click in school called the Ice Clan,<br />

I was vanilla ice, and there was chocolate ice,<br />

hahaha gosh, when I think about it, I feel so silly,<br />

(giggles) but we thought it was cool. Everyone is<br />

all grown up now; most of them are married and<br />

have kids. Am the only one that ended up in this<br />

space (entertainment) but we are still very good<br />

friends.<br />

M2M: How would you describe the Showbiz<br />

Industry in Ghana?<br />

I think the showbiz industry is two things. Firstly,<br />

it is good but could be better; there are certain<br />

things that are a little mediocre, and especially<br />

when it comes to shows. I strongly think we<br />

44


elieve we can improve a lot on them. I believe<br />

our sets need improvement. I think it’s about time<br />

Ghanaians are able to put out international quality<br />

standards that people can see and go ‘o wow that’s<br />

from GH, cool’ we are en route there actually, I<br />

have seen some amazing productions on TV and<br />

some astounding<br />

people do incredible<br />

stuff, so I think in a<br />

way it’s cool. Most<br />

shows on TV and<br />

other events that I<br />

think we need to do<br />

a little better;<br />

“If you don’t have<br />

God in this industry,<br />

you will be lost”<br />

Secondly, I want to say that the entertainment<br />

industry is getting a little scary, because there are<br />

certain unsaid things. If you don’t have God in this<br />

industry, you will be lost. It makes you wonder<br />

what goes on behind the scenes but then again I<br />

really don’t care because I have God, I’m covered<br />

by the blood of Jesus.<br />

M2M: Would you advice the young ones to<br />

venture the Entertainment Industry?<br />

I think it depends on what you want to do in the<br />

industry, if you know exactly what your purpose is;<br />

it makes it so much easier. Let me blow my own<br />

horn, I came into the industry as the chic with a<br />

nice voice, before I even went on television had.<br />

Stuff happen in the industry. But I think if you<br />

know who you are. You know whose you are and<br />

know what your purpose is. I was actually talking<br />

to someone today, the person came to see me in<br />

the studio, and said “I actually followed you for all<br />

these years and I admired you and want to be like<br />

you and I was hoping I could learn from you,”. I<br />

felt that was cool; what you should know is that<br />

anything that you see on me, around me is God,<br />

so if you want any of these, I can give you some<br />

pointers and all, but if you want anything you see<br />

on me and really have it, then you have to go to<br />

God, because He is the one to really help you out<br />

way beyond your imagination. At the end of it all,<br />

there really cannot be another Jeremie.<br />

M2M: Anything under the pillow you<br />

think we should know?<br />

I am working on a brand that I call<br />

‘UNASHAMED’, I used to be ashamed but<br />

I am not ashamed anymore and I am going<br />

to be telling a lot of truth<br />

that are going to shock a<br />

lot of people but the word<br />

says ‘we overcame by the<br />

lamb and the word of the<br />

testimony’. Everybody<br />

struggles to be what they<br />

are, some people think we<br />

don’t go through any of that but the truth<br />

is, we do.<br />

M2M: What do you think is the challenge<br />

most young people face in GH?<br />

Every young person struggles with purity; I<br />

think the biggest thing God sees as a sacrifice<br />

for every young person is purity; this is<br />

because it’s not as easy as we may think, that<br />

is the hardest thing to keep. I guess that the<br />

reason why God started me from where He<br />

did was for me to come out of a relationship<br />

and then cut out the sex and all other worldly<br />

things. Back then I didn’t understand what<br />

was going on, but now I totally get it.<br />

Woow, this is impressive, So Jeremie what’s<br />

your last word for all high school students<br />

and others reading this?<br />

“Aaww,” “Gotta” go so soon? ok I’ve actually<br />

said it all, it’s God over everything, be<br />

UNASHAMED.<br />

M2M:Nice one Thank you Jeremie! Catch<br />

you sooner!<br />

47


Our Culture<br />

Culture-Rich-Stic<br />

The Odwira Festival<br />

Besides graceful ceremonies and<br />

occasions on the yearlong calendar of<br />

Ghana, festivals and durbars are yet<br />

another occasion to meet distant relatives,<br />

make new friends and re-live history.<br />

The ‘Odwira’ festival is the main festival of the<br />

Okuapeman Traditional Area, constituting of<br />

about 18 towns on the ridge. It is celebrated<br />

in ‘Akropong’ where the paramount seat of<br />

Okuapeman is situated. ‘Odwira’ meaning<br />

‘purification’ is a celebration of the cleansing<br />

and purification of the people, town and its<br />

chieftaincy stools. It lasts for a week (7days),<br />

with activities lined up for each day.<br />

The week-long celebration extends from Monday<br />

to Sunday with friends, family, the people on the<br />

ridge, royals, dignitaries, etc. all assembling to<br />

grace the occasion.<br />

Below are the days and their specific activities that<br />

are usually outlined;<br />

To begin the celebration, a forty day period<br />

known as ‘adabutum’ is set aside for resting<br />

and meditation. The people and ancestors<br />

require these days off to spiritually prepare<br />

themselves before the seven day ‘Odwira’<br />

festival begins. During this period, a ban is<br />

placed on drumming, singing, and dancing<br />

on the ridge.<br />

The‘Mawerehene’<br />

of Akuapem graces<br />

the celebration by<br />

holding a grand yet<br />

special durbar as part<br />

of the Odwira<br />

Festival.<br />

48


Monday<br />

This is the first morning, ushering in the celebration for the<br />

week. The morning is actually the beginning of the Odwira<br />

festival, it is filled with both anguish and excitement. Men<br />

from the three royal families in the town go and clear the path<br />

to their ancestral burial grounds. This is the sacred cemetery<br />

or “Ammamprobi”. This is symbolically done to invite the<br />

(ancestors) to join in the festivities.<br />

Tuesday<br />

This is one of the busy days for the executioners. The Bamu<br />

Hene and Adum Hene are guarded by executioners or ‘abrafo’,<br />

who would sing, chant and shoot fire arms on this day. The<br />

men from the royal family go to the sacred cemetery to get the<br />

ancestors’ permission to begin the festival. On their arrival,<br />

the entire towns coupled with other surrounding towns gather<br />

along the streets to welcome and cheer them. A message from<br />

the Abrafo hene is then sent to the paramount chief to begin festivities. The ban<br />

is lifted on the eating of the new yam; which is usually bought and kept ahead of<br />

time. The new yam is introduced to the people, and the strongest men in the town<br />

“battle” against each other to grab one of these new yams to take home to cook.<br />

One yam is introduced at a time until all six of them have been exhausted. This<br />

yam game shows who the strongest man is in the town.<br />

Wednesday<br />

This is referred to as a mourning day; it is reserved for mourning. The day begins<br />

on an empty stomach, mostly amongst the royals of the town. On this day,<br />

49


Our Culture<br />

ancestors and all loved ones who passed away<br />

are remembered. This is also the day to bury all<br />

those that died during the six week ban. This<br />

is a sad day and usually people wear red/black<br />

clothes to mourn the dead.<br />

Thursday<br />

The feasting begins on Thursday; the royal<br />

families prepare mashed yams with eggs to<br />

be sent to a shrine for the ancestors to eat.<br />

This food is carried on the head by women<br />

guarded by men through the principal streets<br />

to the shrine. These women, who look drunk<br />

and tired, walking and staggering in an<br />

uncontrollable manner, are believed to be at<br />

this moment “possessed” by the ancestors.<br />

On the Thursday, people exchange foods and<br />

other gifts. Some people also pay homage to<br />

the chief and queen mother and give them all<br />

sorts of presents.<br />

Friday<br />

Friday marks the climax of the Odwira Festival.<br />

A Grand Durbar is held. This is targeted at<br />

all participating towns and their chiefs. This<br />

brings together inhabitants, dignitaries, chiefs<br />

and queen mothers from all over Ghana. It is a<br />

colorful event full of glamour; at this moment,<br />

the Okuapehene and Queen mother wear<br />

their full traditional regalia, flanged with gold<br />

ornaments. They dance and exhibit meaningful<br />

gestures whiles the bounce in the air, they are<br />

carried by their attendants in a palanquin (a<br />

boat-like chair). Guns are fired by the ‘Abrafo<br />

and the chief is then sent to the durbar grounds<br />

to be seated. On the durbar grounds, the chief<br />

and queen mother receive homage from all sub<br />

chiefs, queen mothers and dignitaries amidst the<br />

drumming, dancing and ritual performances.<br />

Miss Odwira Beauty Contest is held, with the<br />

Odwira state dance being held in the evening.<br />

Saturday and Sunday<br />

Saturday and Sunday is all about fun, fun<br />

and more fun and culture. Soccer matches,<br />

scrabbles competitions and other field games<br />

are held on Saturday. Sunday is actually the end<br />

of the entire celebration; the ‘Manwerehene of<br />

Akuapem graces the celebration by holding a<br />

grand yet special durbar as part of the Odwira<br />

Festival. On this day, you would witness the<br />

trouping in of tourists, young folk from the<br />

cities etc. to partake of the fun activities that<br />

are organized.<br />

50


Dramafest<br />

A c c r a G i r<br />

AGISS choir leading the dignitaries to<br />

the ceremonial grounds<br />

AGISS Cadet<br />

Azonto time<br />

GES Greater<br />

Accra Regional<br />

Director graced the<br />

event<br />

52


Drama group of Accra girls performing at<br />

the state house<br />

l s i n P i c s<br />

DJ Black giving a talk to students<br />

Selfie time with<br />

DJ Black<br />

53


Parent Network<br />

Six Ideas for When<br />

Your Teen Seems Sad or<br />

Depressed<br />

Teens get down just like adults do. They<br />

feel sad, miserable and depressed. For<br />

some teens these times pass fairly quickly.<br />

For others, they last a long time. In either case,<br />

parents are crucial in helping sad teens cope.<br />

Here are six ideas to consider.<br />

1 Sympathize and don’t try to “talk<br />

them out of” being sad<br />

It is hard to see teens feeling sad. We feel upset<br />

to see them suffering. And because they often<br />

act irritably when they are feeling sad, we get<br />

frustrated. For both of these reasons, we often try<br />

to “jolly them out of feeling bad” or minimize<br />

their sadness. We say things like “you’ll be okay”<br />

or “don’t be upset”, “it’s not that bad” or similar.<br />

Unfortunately while meant well, these kind of<br />

statements can make teens feel worse. It can<br />

suggest to the teen that it’s not okay that they<br />

are upset, which makes teens feel like no-one<br />

understands or cares. Instead, we should be<br />

frequently saying things like, “I’m so sorry you<br />

are feeling so disappointed”, “I know you are<br />

feeling hopeless, and I’m sorry it feels sad right<br />

now”, “I don’t know exactly how to help you but<br />

I care a lot about you feeling so sad”. And skip<br />

the “but….here’s the lesson” comments at the<br />

end. At least for now.<br />

2 Try to keep sad teens talking and<br />

being with others<br />

When we feel sad, we have a strong instinct to<br />

withdraw from others. We don’t want to talk, be<br />

around other people, share our thoughts nor to<br />

listen to others. Unfortunately, being apart from<br />

people makes us feel worse in the long run. On<br />

the other hand, research is clear that when we are<br />

socially connected to people, depression is more<br />

likely to lift. Sad teens need to be with and be<br />

communicating with friends, talking to adults<br />

they trust and spending time with family – not<br />

shut in their room constantly. Because they often<br />

don’t feel like doing this, we need to encourage<br />

and facilitate this social activity. This might mean<br />

helping them to organise outings with friends,<br />

54


quietly asking people to call them, facilitating<br />

actitivites with peers, engineering longer drives<br />

in the car to prompt conversation and so on.<br />

This is tough, requires persistence and patience<br />

– but don’t give up. The longer a teen spends<br />

on their own, the more depressed they will get.<br />

3 Try to keep sad teens fairly busy<br />

When we feel sad, we also have a strong instinct<br />

to stop doing things, to become less active and<br />

sit around more. Unfortunately, as is the case<br />

with withdrawing from friends, withdrawing<br />

from activity almost always makes people feel<br />

worse. We must support teens to keep doing<br />

the things they used to care about, even if they<br />

don’t feel like doing it right now. They must<br />

be doing something most of the time: going<br />

to school, playing sport, being physically<br />

active, socialising with friends, going to a<br />

part time job, reading, playing games, and so<br />

on. Sometimes we need to break it down into<br />

manageable chunks (“I know you don’t feel<br />

like going to netball; let’s just go for the warm<br />

up and then decide if you want to play”). But<br />

however it happens, we need to minimise the<br />

time spent doing nothing and just thinking and<br />

feeling sad.<br />

4 Invite them to engage in problem<br />

solving and planning<br />

It’s very tempting to give sad teens advice and<br />

try to solve issues for them. The problem is<br />

not just that we get it wrong, but also that we<br />

deny teens the learning and “depression-lifting”<br />

experience of making plans and problem solving<br />

themselves. A better approach is to spend 80%<br />

of conversations about problems asking them<br />

questions rather than offering opinions. It<br />

might be questions such as, “what would make<br />

this a little better?”, “what are your options do<br />

you think?”, “have you considered where to<br />

next?”, “do you have any ideas what might help<br />

you feel more positive?”, “how you cope with<br />

this”, “what might you say” and so on. Invite<br />

the teen to put these ideas in writing, or to have<br />

a three point plan<br />

that they create.<br />

You can also<br />

direct the teen<br />

to books, articles<br />

and people who<br />

can help them.<br />

Look for articles<br />

on the net about<br />

sadness, difficult<br />

times in life or<br />

depression. Email<br />

We must support<br />

teens to keep<br />

doing the things<br />

they used to care<br />

about, even if<br />

they don’t feel<br />

like doing it<br />

right now<br />

them a link to these resources. Sometimes teens<br />

will be more open to ideas which come from<br />

other places other than parents. For example,<br />

you send them to headspace.org.au or go to my<br />

e-bookWhen Life Sucks For Teens: Strategies to<br />

Deal with 40 Teen Crappy Life Situations<br />

5 Keep boundaries in place<br />

Just because a teen is unhappy, does not mean<br />

allowing them to be rude, disrespectful or treat<br />

themselves or others badly. It is important to<br />

keep roughly the same boundaries in place as<br />

you have always done (a little latitude in the<br />

short term is fine). It is essential to be really<br />

compassionate in the way you enforce these<br />

boundaries, (“I’m sorry but if you say that to<br />

me again I’m going to have to leave the room”,<br />

“I know you are sad and so I feel for you, but<br />

I can’t let you speak to your brother like that.)<br />

6 Get help from a professional if it<br />

continues or if you need support<br />

If you have any doubts at all as to whether<br />

your teen is unsafe, seek immediate help from<br />

a health professional such as your GP. Even<br />

if safety does not appear to be an issue, never<br />

hesitate to get an extra opinion or advice from<br />

other parents, teachers, GPs, counsellors or a<br />

psychologist in how to care for a sad child/teen.<br />

This article was culled from www.<br />

developingminds.net.au. Author:<br />

kirriliesmout@developingminds.net.au<br />

57


Genesis of the<br />

Maestro<br />

With an exciting and successful musical<br />

career spanning over two decades,<br />

Kojo Antwi ‘Mr Music Man’ has<br />

established himself as a consummate vocalist; a<br />

prolific songwriter, producer and arranger; and<br />

an enigmatic performer, making him arguably<br />

the best Ghanaian muss alive. Over the years,<br />

he has delighted lovers of good music with his<br />

clear and flawlessly seductive voice that radiates<br />

through his massive repertoire of smooth and<br />

sultry ballads. His music defies categorization<br />

and is often a blend of West Africa’s highlife,<br />

Caribbean’s lover’s rock and a dash of Afro-<br />

America’s soul and R&B.<br />

Life In The Middle School<br />

Kojo Antwi had his middle school education at<br />

Odorkor 1 and 2,from age 13 through to age 17.<br />

Interestingly; it was a middle school then. At the<br />

time, the separate shift was in operation; some<br />

came in the morning and others in the afternoon<br />

shift. To go to school, teenaged Kojo Antwi<br />

had to walk from Darkuman to Odorkor every<br />

day because he wasn’t residing in the boarding<br />

house.<br />

Whilst in middle school , Mr. Music Man had<br />

several nicknames that kept changing because he<br />

was into music. One of them was “Nas Turner<br />

Black Tornado”, a name Footballer Steven<br />

Appiah eventually started using. My friends<br />

also used to call me ‘Nash’ after my single called<br />

Jonny Nash”, He said.<br />

You will be amazed but The “Afrafranto”<br />

orchestrator was a shy guy whilst in school; “I<br />

was even shy to approach girls”, He said. There<br />

‘Kojo Antwi’<br />

was one girl whom he had a crush on. So,<br />

after mustering some courage and gathering<br />

vim, He went in to make his move…But<br />

boy, did it backfire! In the end she spilled the<br />

whole thing to the class and even the whole<br />

school heard about it. Everyone made fun of<br />

our Music Man….Hmmm. If only she knew<br />

his future, she would have jumped at the<br />

opportunity. Lol<br />

He reminisces about things that imparted his<br />

personal life whiles in High School. “I had<br />

58


a music teacher called Mr. John; this teacher<br />

was known to be very strict; we even believed<br />

he could whip the whole school three times<br />

and wouldn’t get tired. We all dreaded being<br />

in his class, when I was in JHS 3, I was sent to<br />

his class, I managed to move to the next class<br />

but he was moved to that class too. (Laughs).<br />

However, in the long run it became more like<br />

a blessing in disguise, because he was also the<br />

music teacher, so he kept forcing the music<br />

on us, knowing the basic sulfa s in music, and<br />

terms like crescendo and other musical terms<br />

like Tempo, rhythm, etc. Sir John was very<br />

strict and that act of discipline really helped<br />

me and it actually shaped my life. I had a<br />

better life as a result of adhering to most of Mr.<br />

John’s advice. This meant a lot to me because<br />

everybody knew I could sing; because I was<br />

always making noise. They regarded it as noise;<br />

they didn’t know it was something I could use<br />

in the future”. Kojo, the Maestro goes ahead<br />

the lament on how his talent could have gone<br />

waste if he heeded to the directions of his<br />

parents, especially, his father. He feels that<br />

His father simply failed to discover his talent<br />

or even identify that his noise was worthy.<br />

Parents/guardians may want something else<br />

for the child even though that may not be the<br />

child’s wholesome desire or field. He stated “we<br />

all want to take our kids to school and we want<br />

the best for our kids but sometimes we lose out<br />

on the talent of the child.<br />

The Challenge<br />

“I am willing to share with you my utmost<br />

challenge. I was very bright in school and even<br />

in form 3, I sat the common entrance exam<br />

and passed with distinction. I even had a<br />

scholarship in Ebenezer School; I had a father<br />

who was from a tribe that didn’t really regard<br />

education. In form 4, I sat common exam<br />

again and passed with distinction. I went to St.<br />

Paul’s and had to do manual labor at a certain<br />

point in time. I continued to pursue music,<br />

and along the way I started getting some kind<br />

of education on my own, those where the<br />

challenges, I could overcome them, but some<br />

of my siblings couldn’t do it.<br />

I believe life itself is a form of education<br />

and education has no end. If I had pursued<br />

education further, it could have enhanced<br />

some of the things I’m doing now”. This reveals<br />

how important it is to pursue education to at<br />

least a certain level where you can boast and<br />

enhance your circle in which you operate and<br />

have greater influence.<br />

The Regrets<br />

The music part is what I wish I had taken more<br />

seriously in middle school. Discipline in music<br />

is what people take for granted. There are notes<br />

you have to hit in a certain way, there are notes<br />

you have to hit with the microphone far away<br />

from you, those discipline when you learn<br />

them lives with you forever.<br />

Music Today<br />

Music is sweet, Music is good and finally, Music<br />

is the food for the soul! This is what seems to<br />

be coming out of the Maestros mouth every<br />

second, however, he has a concern. Kojo says<br />

“the introduction of technology is keeping us<br />

apart; we are not making music in harmony/<br />

groups anymore, it doesn’t feel like it used to<br />

feel. Music has to be made in groups, orchestra,<br />

symphonies, now gadgets are been brought in,<br />

if you sing bass, there are instruments that<br />

can play it, so that’s the challenge, separation,<br />

divide.”<br />

To do good music, one needs to stay healthy,<br />

have a sound and positive mind to write and<br />

compose, arrange and orchestrate. This serves<br />

as caution for up-coming musicians who see<br />

the Music man as their Mentor in the music<br />

industry in Ghana, Africa and the world at<br />

large.<br />

59


Get Inspired<br />

The Aggregation<br />

of Marginal<br />

Gains<br />

In 2010, Dave Brailsford faced a tough job.<br />

No British cyclist had ever won the Tour de<br />

France, but as the new General Manager<br />

and Performance Director for Team Sky (Great<br />

Britain’s professional cycling team), Brailsford<br />

was asked to change that. His approach was<br />

simple.<br />

Brailsford believed in a concept that he referred<br />

to as the “aggregation of marginal gains.”<br />

He explained it as “the 1 percent margin for<br />

improvement in everything you do.” His belief<br />

was that if you improved every area related to<br />

cycling by just 1 percent, then those small gains<br />

would add up to remarkable improvement.<br />

They started by optimizing the things you<br />

might expect: the nutrition of riders, their<br />

weekly training program, the ergonomics of<br />

the bike seat, and the weight of the tires. But<br />

Brailsford and his team didn’t stop there. They<br />

searched for 1 percent improvements in tiny<br />

areas that were overlooked by almost everyone<br />

else: discovering the pillow that offered the best<br />

sleep and taking it with them to hotels, testing<br />

for the most effective type of massage gel, and<br />

teaching riders the best way to wash their hands<br />

to avoid infection. They searched for 1 percent<br />

improvements everywhere.<br />

Brailsford believed that if they could successfully<br />

execute this strategy, then Team Sky would be<br />

in a position to win the Tour de France in five<br />

years’ time.<br />

HE WAS WRONG. THEY WON IT IN<br />

THREE YEARS.<br />

In 2012, Team Sky rider Sir Bradley Wiggins<br />

became the first British cyclist to win the Tour<br />

de France. That same year, Brailsford coached<br />

the British cycling team at the 2012 Olympic<br />

Games and dominated the competition<br />

by winning 70 percent of the gold medals<br />

available. In 2013, Team Sky repeated their<br />

feat by winning the Tour de France again, this<br />

time with rider Chris Froome. And now for the<br />

important question: what can we learn from<br />

Brailsford’s approach?<br />

The Aggregation of Marginal Gains<br />

It’s so easy to overestimate the importance of<br />

one defining moment and underestimate the<br />

value of making better decisions on a daily<br />

basis.<br />

60


Almost every habit that you have — good or<br />

bad — is the result of many small decisions<br />

over time. And yet, how easily we forget this<br />

when we want to make a change.<br />

So often we convince ourselves that change is<br />

only meaningful if there is some large, visible<br />

outcome associated with it. Whether it is losing<br />

weight, passing your WASSCE exams, or any<br />

other goal, we often put pressure on ourselves<br />

to make some earth-shattering improvement<br />

that everyone will talk about.<br />

Meanwhile, improving by just 1 percent isn’t<br />

notable (and sometimes it isn’t even noticeable).<br />

But it can be just as meaningful, especially in<br />

the long run. This pattern works the same way<br />

in reverse. (An aggregation of marginal losses,<br />

in other words.) If you find yourself stuck<br />

with bad habits or poor results, it’s usually not<br />

because something happened overnight. It’s<br />

the sum of many small choices — a 1 percent<br />

decline here and there — that eventually leads<br />

to a problem.<br />

In the beginning, there is basically no difference<br />

between making a choice that is 1 percent<br />

better or 1 percent worse. (In other words, it<br />

won’t impact you very much today.) But as time<br />

goes on, these small improvements or declines<br />

compound and you suddenly find a very big<br />

gap between people who make slightly better<br />

decisions on a daily basis and those who don’t.<br />

This is why small choices don’t make much of<br />

a difference at the time, but add up over the<br />

long-term.<br />

The Bottom Line<br />

Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced<br />

every day; while failure is simply a few errors<br />

in judgment, repeated every day. —Jim Rohn<br />

You probably won’t find yourself in the Tour<br />

de France anytime soon, but the concept of<br />

62<br />

aggregating marginal gains can be useful all the<br />

same. Most people love to talk about success<br />

(and life in general) as an event. We talk about<br />

losing 50 pounds or building a successful<br />

business or winning the Tour de France as if<br />

they are events. But the truth is that most of<br />

the significant things in life aren’t stand-alone<br />

events, but rather the sum of all the moments<br />

when we chose to do things 1 percent better<br />

or 1 percent worse. Aggregating these marginal<br />

gains makes a difference. There is power in small<br />

wins and slow gains. The system is greater than<br />

the goal. You need to master your habits. This is<br />

what determines the outcome in the long run.<br />

So… Where are the 1 percent improvements<br />

in your life? How much time do you spend in<br />

getting ready for class?<br />

How effective is your current mode of studying?<br />

How much time do you spend on chores at the<br />

boarding house?<br />

Can the tools you use help you reduce the time<br />

and increase the effectiveness of your work and<br />

study?<br />

GET STARTED ON THE 1 PERCENT<br />

IMPROVEMENTS IN YOUR LIFE….IT’S<br />

JUST 1 PERCENT ANYWAY<br />

A version of this article first appeared at<br />

JamesClear.com. This article was culled from<br />

www.entrepreneur .com


Power Bank<br />

Status Update<br />

Living in a time like this has definitely got<br />

its perks. From the use of mobile phones<br />

to electronic banking. Everything seems<br />

so easy and simple. Only God knows how<br />

our people of old managed to survive without<br />

all these luxuries we enjoy today. From your<br />

room, you can know what all your friends are<br />

thinking, doing and even see what they are up<br />

to with just a click of a button or as the case<br />

is now, a touch of a screen. Why visit a friend<br />

when we can chat on WhatsApp? Who needs<br />

to be with one friend at a time when I can see<br />

64


what they are all doing at the same time. God<br />

bless Instagram and Facebook.<br />

And for the bunch of us who are just not<br />

satisfied with pictures, Skype provides the<br />

almost near ultimate experience with video<br />

calling. Hey I said near ultimate, there is the<br />

occasional internet malfunctions but hey,<br />

I am sure we can live with that. BOY!!! One<br />

could say that it’s almost possible to live your<br />

entire life in your room and never miss out or<br />

anything or be missed.<br />

Life in the 21st century definitely rocks. Or<br />

almost definitely rocks. If only Facebook could<br />

make an account for God that would just about<br />

seal it. I would never have to go to church,<br />

or endure the never ending lectures from my<br />

parents. I could just mail or private message<br />

God directly but am sure I might probably be<br />

too busy to reply immediately. Hmmm, or I<br />

could send Him pictures or what I am up to<br />

but then again He sees everything anyway so<br />

what is the point. He would probably not even<br />

accept my friend request anyway. Let’s face<br />

it; what would he want with a friend like me<br />

when His Friend’s list would probably include<br />

the likes of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Sarah and<br />

Simon Peter and all these other Great Men<br />

and Women of Faith that they talk about in<br />

Church.<br />

Besides, I am not pure enough for Him, we<br />

probably have nothing in common, what we<br />

would talk about, and I know almost nothing<br />

about the bible. He would probably get bored<br />

hearing me recite John 3:16 every time we<br />

spoke. Let’s face it; God does not need me and<br />

I would probably just get in His way. I think<br />

it’s safe to just keep things the way they are.<br />

Its best for both of us. An occasional church<br />

appearance should just about be enough for<br />

both of us. I’ll get serious about God when I<br />

grow up.<br />

The truth is, many of us have found ourselves<br />

in this condition before or are presently in this<br />

condition. We make way too many excuses for<br />

God. He this and He that and I this and I can’t<br />

that. The excuses are just our way of making<br />

ourselves feel better about the emptiness<br />

inside and the insatiable desire we can’t seem<br />

to fill up with anything outside. But no matter<br />

how many friends you have on Facebook,<br />

WhatsApp, Skype or telegram, their messages<br />

are not there when u feeling all alone and lost.<br />

Their pictures don’t answer the question of your<br />

purpose in this life and no matter how close<br />

they seem, they will never come close enough<br />

to understanding the real you.<br />

Ok so you make mistakes occasionally, alright<br />

a lot. You are not the most punctual person<br />

when it comes to church, and the bible doesn’t<br />

seem so interesting to you. You talk too much<br />

or too little and don’t like everyone around you.<br />

In your opinion all these things disqualify you<br />

from God but the truth of the matter is they<br />

actually qualify you for Him.<br />

God is not looking for perfect people but for<br />

willing ones whom He can perfect. He wants<br />

just as you are. John 3:16 says that “For God<br />

so loved the world (everybody) that He gave<br />

His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever<br />

(that’s you) believes in Him should not perish<br />

but Have ever lasting Life.” You see, God loved<br />

you before you even knew He existed. In fact<br />

He loved you before you even existed. He loved<br />

you knowing all you could do wrong. He loved<br />

you knowing all you could become. He loved<br />

you believing you could love Him back and the<br />

truth is, He loves you even now.<br />

He sent His Jesus to die and as He hang on<br />

the cross with arms stretched as wide from<br />

each other, it were as though He was saying ’’I<br />

love you this much’’. God is never too busy for<br />

you. As a matter of fact He has all the time in<br />

the world for you.Do you?Every second with<br />

him....IS A STATUS UPDATE.<br />

65


1. Identify one quality of a change maker’s vision.<br />

2. What does the Bible say concerning you in Phil 4:13?.(Quote the Scripture)<br />

3. How can you activate that miracle working power in you?<br />

4. Love is a decision not a feeling. True/False?<br />

5. Water melons contain 90% water and 10% fiber. True / false?<br />

6. Name three chronic signs of Ebola.<br />

7. Odwira means………………?<br />

8. Mention an attribute one must have to be a great pharmacist.<br />

9. What is the mantra for Jeremy’s program ‘Unashamed’?<br />

10. State two lessons to be learnt from the article “ Aggregation of Marginal Gains.<br />

11. What was position of the Host Country’s in the AFcon 2015 Tournament ?<br />

12. Name 5 fruits and vegetables that ‘fruitify’, ‘vegefy’ and ‘nourify’ the skin.<br />

13. Who is CAF President?<br />

14. Who are the publishers of <strong>Me2moro</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>?<br />

Send correct answers to<br />

me2moro@teenzgh.com to<br />

win amazing prizes including<br />

credit vouchers, movie tickets<br />

and KFC vouchers<br />

Criteria<br />

Must follow our teenzgh and<br />

me2moro facebook pages<br />

66

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!