MR KHALID DAUDA...The driver with a heart (JUNIOR GRAPHIC PAGE 6)

It was his responsibility as a child to send his uncle’s livestock for grazing each morning before he could dash to school.
After walking a long distance to and from school, he had to sell kerosene in the evenings in order to raise money to supplement what his uncle gave him daily.
In spite of being a shepherd, as well as perform household chores, he never gave up on his education because he loved being in school.
Young Khalid began his education at the then Wa Experimental Primary School and proceeded to Wa Middle School, from where he was recruited into the Fire Service Volunteer Group. He passed out as one of the best recruits, at age 17.
Although his formal education ended at the middle school level, he placed a lot of value on education. It was this love for education which caused him to help children within his community and beyond to have quality education.
It is, therefore, not surprising that the Our Home International School which is one of the best private schools that Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region, can boast of; is the brain child of 57-year-old Mr Khalid Dauda, a professional driver.
Sharing his life experience with the Junior Graphic, Mr Dauda attributed his success story to the advice and support of his friends. He particularly mentioned his bosom friend, popularly known as Alhaji Condition, who encouraged him to take up the challenge of starting the school.
After completing Middle Form Four, Mr Dauda worked with the Ghana Fire Service for three years and became a contractor before joining the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited as a driver for close to 19 years.
What began as private tuition for four children from his neighbourhood on his porch has today transformed into a first class preparatory school that could measure up to any of the top schools in the country.
It all started when his wife resigned from the Social Welfare Department, and his friend, who knew about his love for children and education, suggested to him that they start a nursery school at home for his wife to take charge of.
“After careful thought, I impressed upon my wife to go through the necessary training, and when she completed the course on pre-school education, we started. From then on, my porch became the classroom, with just four children from the neighbourhood,” he recalled.
He said the school grew rapidly when the neighbours realised that the children were performing well.
Through the support of the parent-teacher association (PTA), the school now has decent premises and has also acquired a bus with the help of an expatriate friend of the school from Holland.
Our Home International School now has 181 pupils at the primary section, with about 500 children at the kindergarten and nursery departments.
Currently, the school receives volunteer teachers from Belgium and Holland to complement the efforts of their Ghanaian counterparts.
Currently, the school has two teachers in each classroom from nursery up to the primary level. Although Mr Dauda is the proprietor of the school, he continues to drive the children to and from school each day to ensure that they get to and from school early and safely.
"Presently, my vision is to develop this school to be able to compete with other schools in all fields, be it academic, sports or any other discipline,” stressed Mr Dauda.
He thus advised children never to give up on their dreams and make do with whatever that is provided them by their parents.

WA SHS SPEAKS ON MATERNAL MORTALITY (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, PAGE 15)

My understanding of maternal mortality is when women die through childbirth. I believe that many women are dying through childbirth as a result of malnutrition.
Fortunately for me, I do not know any woman who died through childbirth but I hear of women dying while giving birth from other people.
I believe that the problem of maternal mortality could be solved if our health centres were equipped with the right professionals who can take proper care of pregnant women and also advise them on the dos and don’ts during pregnancy.
When this is done, at least, we could minimise these unfortunate deaths if not stop them entirely.


I know a young girl who died while giving birth. I learnt because her body was not fully developed, she had complications and died together with the baby.
I will, therefore, take this opportunity to advise all young girls not to indulge in pre-marital sex in order not to expose themselves to any danger.
I also think we need more gynaecologists to educate and advise our pregnant mothers on issues related to their pregnancies. When that is done, I am convinced we would achieve results.
Husbands also have to encourage their pregnant wives to go for regular ante-natal check-ups and not overwork their wives.

Maternal mortality is used to describe women who die during pregnancy or while giving birth.
Currently, the Upper West Region is said to be leading in terms of deaths related to pregnant women and children under five years in the country.
I think that when the road network across the region is improved and the nutrition as well as health of women is well catered for, a lot of gains will be made in this direction.
I will advise women to seek proper medical care when pregnant and also eat nutritious foods. These among other things will help reduce maternal mortality in the country.


There was this woman from Doli in the Bole District of the Northern Region who died while having her baby.
It was alleged that she died because she did not eat well before and even during the pregnancy. As a result, she developed complications during the pregnancy which consequently led to her death during delivery.
One of the causes of maternal deaths in the country is that some women work too hard. Up here in the north, for instance, a lot of women work very hard but do not eat well, therefore, their health is affected when they get pregnant.
I suggest that special diets are recommended for pregnant women when they visit the hospital. Pregnant women must also attend regular check-ups. There must be continuous public education to make women know what they have to do when pregnant to save their lives.

WORK HARD TO IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY — KHALID (PAGE 20)

THE Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, has charged the regional office of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to be up and doing to ensure food security in the region.
"I am not satisfied with what is happening with agriculture, especially in the districts. Even in July, we are still ploughing in flooded areas,” he noted, and appealed to the MOFA Directorate to be proactive and rise up to the occasion.
Addressing members of the Lawra District Assembly at its first ordinary meeting at Lawra, the regional minister said it was the duty of the directorate to structure its strategic plans that would enhance food production and security in the region.
He again expressed dissatisfaction with the picture being painted on provision of potable water for the communities in the region.
Mr Khalid stated that even though existing statistics on the provision of water to the communities in the region was said to be about 75 per cent, it was not so on the ground.
He, therefore, asked the respective agencies in charge to take another look at the statistics.
Mr Khalid stressed the need for the agricultural officials to concentrate on the development of human resource in the region in order to be able to improve the available resources.
Touching on the activities of the district assemblies, Mr Khalid commended members of the Lawra Assembly for their sense of unity and understanding, and said that had set the pace for effective functioning of the assembly in future.
He also reminded them that there was still a lot of work to be done to improve the standard of living of the people.
"Where we cannot meet their demands, we must be able to explain issues in a transparent manner for the people to appreciate,” Mr Khalid advised.
The Lawra District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samson Abu, for his part, challenged the assembly members to work hard to improve revenue generation.
He also outlined his vision for the assembly with respect to health care, provision of water as well as improvement in educational infrastructure, among others.
Mr Abu also gave the assurance that the assembly would collaborate effectively with the Urban Roads Department to work on the roads that had been destroyed by the current rains.
He mentioned some of the roads linking Tolibre with Dapulah, Kalsagri with Babile and Nandom with Nandomle.
Commenting on the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), the DCE said, the programme had offered direct employment to more than 240 youths in the district.
He, however, stated that the programme had been bedevilled with delay in payment of salaries, poor monitoring and inadequate training of personnel.

JUNIOR GRAPHIC FAN CLUB FOR T.I. AHMADIYYA JHS (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, PAGE 5)

The Upper West Regional Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr George Folley Quaye, has advised students to patronise the papers in the stable of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) to broaden their horizon.
That, he said, would not only inculcate in them the habit of reading but also improve their writing skills, keep them abreast of issues and make them responsible citizens in the future.
Mr Quaye gave the advice when he inaugurated the Junior Graphic Fan Club of the T. I. Ahmadiyya Junior High School (JHS) in Wa in the Upper West Region.
The executive are Yakubu Sheiba, President; Nifaabom David, Vice-President; Jamila Ibrahim, Secretary; Wmengu Frederick, Organiser, and Nwadei Barata, Treasurer.
Mr Abubakar A. Saffique, a teacher of the school, is the patron of the club..
He admonished them against the patronage of newspapers which contained nude pictures and sex related articles, since they were not good for their academic and moral advancement.
He also told them to spread the message about the Junior Graphic Fan Club to their peers so that they would also read the Junior Graphic regularly “in order to benefit from its educative content”.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Mahmud Bin Salih, was happy that the school had been selected among those which would benefit from the Junior Graphic Fan Club concept.
However, he expressed concern over the inability of some students to buy copies of the newspaper due to financial constraints but added that the PTA of the school was working out plans to widen the scope of distribution to students.
Mr Bin Salih expressed appreciation to the staff and management of the GCGL for the opportunity and encouraged his students to regularly write articles for publication in the paper.
A quiz between the boys and girls of the school was won by the boys group.

HASMAL ESCAPE RELEGATION (BACK PAGE)

Sekondi Hasaacas escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth, collecting all the three points at stake in their match against Wa All Stars yesterday. Hasaacas’ lone goal was enough to secure them the needed points to move out of the relegation zone.
They looked more purposeful right from the blast of Kumasi-based referee Ali Musah Plato’s whistle, an indication that they were in for business.
They kept the vital area of the homesters boiling till David Anas broke the deadlock in the 20th minute from a rebound.
All Stars, who felt wounded by the goal, reorganised and took the game to the visitors, but Hasaacas’ defence, marshalled around enterprising Nana Kofi Egyir and John Ashong, held the All Stars attackers in check.

HASMAL ESCAPE RELEGATION (BACK PAGE)

Sekondi Hasaacas escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth, collecting all the three points at stake in their match against Wa All Stars yesterday. Hasaacas’ lone goal was enough to secure them the needed points to move out of the relegation zone.
They looked more purposeful right from the blast of Kumasi-based referee Ali Musah Plato’s whistle, an indication that they were in for business.
They kept the vital area of the homesters boiling till David Anas broke the deadlock in the 20th minute from a rebound.
All Stars, who felt wounded by the goal, reorganised and took the game to the visitors, but Hasaacas’ defence, marshalled around enterprising Nana Kofi Egyir and John Ashong, held the All Stars attackers in check.

HARUNA ELECTED PM OF NADOWLI ASSEMBLY (PAGE 12, JULY 8)

THE Upper West Regional Chairman of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr Calistus Haruna, has been elected the Presiding Member (PM) of the Nadowli District Assembly.
Mr Haruna polled 48 out of the 51 votes cast. Earlier, four other contestants, namely, Messrs Andrew Kpan, Gaeten Kunpuolo, James Dasah and Bamba Godfrey, who filed to contest the position, stepped down and threw their weight behind Mr Haruna.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Haruna advised against lateness on the part of members of the house.
He commended those who stepped down for him and all other members of the house for the honour done him, and pledged to seek their welfare and that of the people of the district.
The Presiding Member also called for support from all stakeholders to accelerate the development of the district.
Addressing the meeting, which was the first ordinary meeting of the third session of the assembly, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Ceasar Kale, commended members of the assembly for their unity of purpose and the solidarity they exhibited during the elections.
"This quality is gradually becoming your trademark, and I think other assemblies must emulate it" the deputy minister said, and advised the new PM to lead the assembly with humility, dedication, honesty and handwork.
Touching on the activities of assemblies, Mr Kale urged them to institute the necessary mechanisms to enhance their revenue generation efforts.
He stressed the need for district assemblies to make the internally generated funds key in their annual budgeting, saying “you must not rely so much on the Common Fund.”
Mr Kale expressed regret at the anomalies that had characterised the allocation of coupons for the government’s subsidised fertilisers for farmers, and, therefore, appealed to officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the region to collaborate with the assemblies to normalise the situation.
He also pointed out the need for the assemblies to make sanitation issues their priority.
The Nadowli District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Abu Kansangbata, for his part, appealed to the house to endorse his plans to seek the support of some contractors to pre-finance and re-roof seven schools whose roofs were ripped off by a rainstorm.
He mentioned some of the schools, such as the Tangasia L/A Primary School, Sazie L/A Primary School and the Saan R/C Day Nursery.
Mr Kansangbata called for the support of all members of the assembly as it strategised to improve on its revenue generation, adding that the assembly would include in its budget construction of a modern office complex to house the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS).
He also assured communities without electricity of the government’s preparedness to extend such facilities to all parts of the country, and urged them to support this effort by being vigilant and by reporting people found tampering with some of the materials meant for the project.