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A 13-year-old girl drops out of school and goes into farming to earn money for sanitary pads

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The retired educator also provided a beehive cage and enrolled Khadija and her grandmother in bee-keeping training, along with 60 other women, as part of the intervention to help them create a company and raise their income. MyJoyOnline investigations in that enclave revealed that many young girls are forced to drop out of school and are coerced into early marriages.

A 13-year-old class five student at Saint Francis Primary School in Dakompilayiri, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, Savannah Region, has put her schooling on hold in order to earn funds for sanitary pads.

Khadijatu Bawuma, who lives in Dakompilayiri with her 68-year-old paternal grandmother, told Myjoyonline.com in an interview that she was forced to temporarily leave school to raise money and buy enough sanitary pads to avoid staining her outfits – an incident that had happened to her many times while in school.

“I don’t have anybody to help me financially. At first, it was my grandmother but now, she says she doesn’t have. So, she (grandmother) asks that I use a piece of cloth but I can’t wear it and go to school with it. Because from experience, it will disgrace me again.”

“So, anytime my flow is due, I stay away from school and now, I’m tired of doing that because friends are all aware and some even gave me names. But once I’m here on the farm with my grandmother, our focus is to get money to enable me to buy enough pads and fend for ourselves,” Khadihatu Bawumah said.

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Felicia Bawumah, the teenager’s grandma, said her biological mother abandoned her when she was four years old and left her marriage.

She also stated that Khadijatu’s father left following his wife’s actions and has not returned after nine years.

“See how weak I am with this young one. What else can I do; I don’t have a husband. I’m a widow and my children are not here too. So, she is here with me on the farm because she started having her monthly flow and said she wouldn’t wear clothes. But me too I can’t afford the pads. And it’s always like this every month but this time around, she wouldn’t go back,” the grandmother indicated.

Our news crew discovered Khadijatu Bawumah while weeding on a two-acre corn patch.

Madam Felicia pleaded with everyone who could help to come to her grandchild’s aid.

“If we get help from anywhere for her, I’ll be very happy because I need her to be better than me tomorrow,” Felicia added.

Little Khadijatu Bawumah told MyJoyOnline that she aspires to be a professional nurse or teacher since she enjoys both occupations.

Following our news team’s report on the teenager’s distress, a retired educationist and the chief of Dakompilayiri and Kunkuya, Eku-Ewilawura Amos Seidu, visited the farm and contributed an unknown sum of money to Khadijatu through her grandmother in order for her to obtain the pads.

“She needs to get back to school. At least, she can buy sanitary pads that might last for two months or so.
I’ll also try and visit you anytime I come to the community, but use the money very well,” he said.

The retired educator also provided a beehive cage and enrolled Khadija and her grandmother in bee-keeping training, along with 60 other women, as part of the intervention to help them create a company and raise their income.

MyJoyOnline investigations in that enclave revealed that many young girls are forced to drop out of school and are coerced into early marriages.

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Premix explosion in Anomabo injures two people

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"Recognising the urgency of the situation, firefighters immediately deployed foam solution to combat the premix fuel induced blaze, effectively containing the fire and preventing its further spread," the statement went on to say. Concerned neighbours brought the injured to the Anomabo hospital for medical care. An investigation is presently underway to determine the cause of the fire.

A fire devastated a premix station in Anomabo in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region, injuring two persons and destroying many structures.

The event occurred at about 8:05 a.m. on Thursday, May 2, 2024.

The quick response of the firemen stopped the fire from spreading to neighbouring regions and causing damage.

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) stated that two pumps were despatched from the ManKessim and Cape Coast Metropolitan Fire Stations.

“Recognising the urgency of the situation, firefighters immediately deployed foam solution to combat the premix fuel induced blaze, effectively containing the fire and preventing its further spread,” the statement went on to say.

Concerned neighbours brought the injured to the Anomabo hospital for medical care.

An investigation is presently underway to determine the cause of the fire.

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Government to open the Kumasi International Airport on May 10

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With a capacity to accommodate over 800,000 people per year, largely from the northern and central belt areas, the airport is well-positioned to fulfil the growing demand for airline travel. Contractors have announced intentions to enlarge the runway and destroy obsolete infrastructure once the new terminal is operating. During a recent tour of the project, Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah expressed satisfaction with the development, as did Ghana Airport Company Limited management and Board Members. However, he expressed worries about the facility's long-term upkeep and emphasised its significance to the socioeconomic growth of the Ashanti Region and Ghana as a whole.

Expectations are high as the government prepares to open the Kumasi Airport, officially Nana Agyemang Prempeh I International Airport, on May 10, 2024.

President Akufo-Addo will commission the project alongside the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, and the Managing Director of Ghana Airport Company Limited, Yvonne Nana Afiriyie Opare, among other dignitaries.

The Kumasi Airport is expected to begin full operations in June of this year, after its inauguration on May 10.

The facility, presently managed by the Ghana Airport Company Limited, is now undergoing equipment testing that is required for both domestic and international flights.

With a capacity to accommodate over 800,000 people per year, largely from the northern and central belt areas, the airport is well-positioned to fulfil the growing demand for airline travel.

Contractors have announced intentions to enlarge the runway and destroy obsolete infrastructure once the new terminal is operating.

During a recent tour of the project, Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah expressed satisfaction with the development, as did Ghana Airport Company Limited management and Board Members.

However, he expressed worries about the facility’s long-term upkeep and emphasised its significance to the socioeconomic growth of the Ashanti Region and Ghana as a whole.

He said that the airport’s arrival will relieve the burden of foreign travellers from Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, and the Northern and Upper Regions of the country, as they will no longer need to go to Accra to access an international airport.

During a recent courtesy call to the Manhyia Palace by the Transport Minister and the Board and Management of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II congratulated the government on the project’s completion.

He stated that given the Ashanti Region’s active economic activity, a project such as the International Airport will surely create jobs and strengthen the region’s local economy.

Phase II of the project, which began in 2018, comprises the construction of a new terminal building capable of handling one million passengers per year, two boarding bridges, a road network, a perimeter fence, a substation, and a parking lot, among others.





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The traumatic experience of a Ghanaian bisexual

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According to him, these attacks have become more intense this year as a result of Ghana's parliament passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Ibrahim was attacked just as arguments around the passing of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill heated up, and he was attacked again shortly after the bill was passed in February. The first incident happened on January 22nd, about 5 p.m., near the Sen Cinema Mosque in Alajo North, Accra. Ibrahim was the target of another violent attack four months later, on April 12, 2024, during the 3music Sallafest Concert at Alajo T Junction in Accra.

A Ghanaian man, using the alias Ibrahim for safety concerns, has boldly told his tragic story of being repeatedly assaulted in his community because of his sexual orientation.

Ibrahim, a Muslim, has described being targeted several times by assailants in his community over the years.

According to him, these attacks have become more intense this year as a result of Ghana’s parliament passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Ibrahim was attacked just as arguments around the passing of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill heated up, and he was attacked again shortly after the bill was passed in February.

The first incident happened on January 22nd, at about 5 p.m., near the Sen Cinema Mosque in Alajo North, Accra.

Ibrahim was the target of another violent attack four months later, on April 12, 2024, during the 3music Sallafest Concert at Alajo T Junction in Accra.

Ibrahim claims that the assaults were motivated by his sexual orientation, which had previously gone unnoticed in his society.

Ibrahim has resorted to secluding himself within for protection since he lives in constant fear of additional attacks.

He laments the absence of a support network in his village, with just a few understanding people living outside its borders.

However, the dread of repercussions keeps him from finding consolation or company outside of his close environs.

In an exclusive interview, Ibrahim described his terrible sense of loneliness and the psychological toll of the ongoing danger of violence.

He must navigate his everyday existence beneath the shadow of dread, unable to freely interact with the world around him for fear of serious bodily damage.

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