What-what?!
First Shaggy, now John Legend?! Unbelievable, eh?!
Nope, it's true! My boy came to perform here in Accra on October 28!!
The purpose of his journey to Ghana was to raise funds to aid the flood victims up North. This is the worst year for record flood levels all across this part of Africa... from this side all the way East to Kenya.
So Legend performed his entire album 'Get Lifted' and some new releases he has! It was fantastic and a real treat for me to finally catch him live!
See, I tried to get tickets to see him and Alicia Keys when they came to Casino Rama, Orillia but they sold out at $30.00CDN, so it's unbelievable that I saw him for just $2.00CDN!!!!
It has to be one of the highlight's of my time here so far in Accra!!
As well, the claim is that Africans are producing too many children for what they can actually provide for, because they are so 'promiscuous'. The sociological issues surrounding this topic are almost always overlooked to appease audiences/donors.
Perhaps they should have focused more on the latter issue I raised concerning people being able to actually afford bringing more babies into this world-- here in Africa. Or how such a dense amount of people in one place is contributing to global warming...
anyway, that is just what the UN does best and it was interesting anyway to attend the documentary on his behalf because of the focus they gave to fistula's.
Miss Ghana 2007 has taken it upon herself to advocate for raising funds/awareness on obstetric fistula's affecting young, Ghanaian women here in rural area's predominantly.
For those unaware, an obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal caused by prolonged labour without prompt medical intervention, usually a Cesarean section. The woman is left with chronic incontinence and, in most cases, a stillborn baby.
This is a condition that urgently requires more attention to be paid to it, and more money needs to be channeled into the minor surgery required to repair these fistula's.
The smell of leaking urine or feces, or both, is constant and humiliating, often driving loved ones away. Left untreated, fistula can lead to chronic medical problems, including ulcerations, kidney disease, and nerve damage in the legs. A simple surgery can normally repair the injury, with success rates as high as 90% for experienced surgeons. The average cost of fistula treatment and post-operative care is just US $300. Sadly, most women with the condition do not know that treatment is available, or they cannot afford it.
Like maternal mortality, fistula is almost entirely preventable. But at least 2 million women in Africa, Asia and the Arab regions are living with the condition, and some 50,000 to 100,000 new cases develop each year. The persistence of fistula is a signal that health systems are failing to meet the needs of women. Obstetric fistula occurs disproportionately among impoverished girls and women, especially those living far from medical services.
I first heard about fistula's years ago affecting young, Ethiopian women and their stories deeply moved me...
imagine having no other choice but to get married at age 10 or so to bring your family some income to sustain them, then getting pregnant in your loveless marriage and not having your tiny, undeveloped body able to push through a baby unto this world. These young girls will often go through labor for days... even weeks.
Then once they develop these fistula's, they are shunned by family and friends because of the stench smell they can't control. Some families even build separate huts, yards behind where they are living for their young, rejected daughter to just suffer alone because she is disgracing the family because of her uncontrollable medical condition.
Imagine actually having to suffer through this yourself if you can...
just another reason to give Thanks for what we do have readily available in our own lives.
First Shaggy, now John Legend?! Unbelievable, eh?!
Nope, it's true! My boy came to perform here in Accra on October 28!!
The purpose of his journey to Ghana was to raise funds to aid the flood victims up North. This is the worst year for record flood levels all across this part of Africa... from this side all the way East to Kenya.
So Legend performed his entire album 'Get Lifted' and some new releases he has! It was fantastic and a real treat for me to finally catch him live!
See, I tried to get tickets to see him and Alicia Keys when they came to Casino Rama, Orillia but they sold out at $30.00CDN, so it's unbelievable that I saw him for just $2.00CDN!!!!
It has to be one of the highlight's of my time here so far in Accra!!
On November 3, I went to a wedding with my co-workers for the daughter of one of our zone leader's at HelpAge Ghana. It was at an Anglican church in Korle Gonno and they had Canadian colours-- red and white!
It was very similar to our weddings back home I found.
On November 6 (Happy Birthday Wondy!), I was asked by my boss to attend the debut of a UNFPA (UN's Population Fund branch) documentary on overpopulation.
Overpopulation in Africa is one of those funny myths... if you look at the land mass as compared to the amount of people living here in Africa, you see that the problem is not that Africa is in fact overpopulated, but instead that because of industrialization, so many are migrating to city metropolis', thus making the living conditions in these cities challenging (lack of electricity, water, pollution, poor road conditions, housing shortages, etc.) which can appear as 'overpopulation' in some way I suppose.As well, the claim is that Africans are producing too many children for what they can actually provide for, because they are so 'promiscuous'. The sociological issues surrounding this topic are almost always overlooked to appease audiences/donors.
Perhaps they should have focused more on the latter issue I raised concerning people being able to actually afford bringing more babies into this world-- here in Africa. Or how such a dense amount of people in one place is contributing to global warming...
anyway, that is just what the UN does best and it was interesting anyway to attend the documentary on his behalf because of the focus they gave to fistula's.
Miss Ghana 2007 has taken it upon herself to advocate for raising funds/awareness on obstetric fistula's affecting young, Ghanaian women here in rural area's predominantly.
For those unaware, an obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal caused by prolonged labour without prompt medical intervention, usually a Cesarean section. The woman is left with chronic incontinence and, in most cases, a stillborn baby.
This is a condition that urgently requires more attention to be paid to it, and more money needs to be channeled into the minor surgery required to repair these fistula's.
The smell of leaking urine or feces, or both, is constant and humiliating, often driving loved ones away. Left untreated, fistula can lead to chronic medical problems, including ulcerations, kidney disease, and nerve damage in the legs. A simple surgery can normally repair the injury, with success rates as high as 90% for experienced surgeons. The average cost of fistula treatment and post-operative care is just US $300. Sadly, most women with the condition do not know that treatment is available, or they cannot afford it.
Like maternal mortality, fistula is almost entirely preventable. But at least 2 million women in Africa, Asia and the Arab regions are living with the condition, and some 50,000 to 100,000 new cases develop each year. The persistence of fistula is a signal that health systems are failing to meet the needs of women. Obstetric fistula occurs disproportionately among impoverished girls and women, especially those living far from medical services.
I first heard about fistula's years ago affecting young, Ethiopian women and their stories deeply moved me...
imagine having no other choice but to get married at age 10 or so to bring your family some income to sustain them, then getting pregnant in your loveless marriage and not having your tiny, undeveloped body able to push through a baby unto this world. These young girls will often go through labor for days... even weeks.
Then once they develop these fistula's, they are shunned by family and friends because of the stench smell they can't control. Some families even build separate huts, yards behind where they are living for their young, rejected daughter to just suffer alone because she is disgracing the family because of her uncontrollable medical condition.
Imagine actually having to suffer through this yourself if you can...
just another reason to give Thanks for what we do have readily available in our own lives.
1 comment:
I recently started doing some volunteer work for an organization called One By One, (www.fightfistula.org) which is working to end obstetric fistula. If you are interested in learning more about this issue their website contains a lot of information and has links to a number of other organizations dealing both with fistula and related issues.
In working with them I have learned not only about fistula but also about some of the underlying problems that lead to the condition. One of these is the problem of child marriage, which, among other things, leads to girls becoming pregnant before their bodies are fully ready to withstand pregnancy and labor.
If you are interested in learning more about child marriage, one very good source of information on this is the International Center for Research on Women (www.icrw.org) . They have a great deal of information on their website, including resources to help educate others on this issue and links to current legislation pertaining to child marriage.
Also, I highly recommend watching the video “Child Brides; Stolen Lives” – it can be seen online at www.pbs.org/now/shows/341/index.html
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