Youth Learning Tour 2013

This past Friday GHEI held our most anticipated activity of the year, at least in the eyes of our Youth Education Program students: the Youth Learning Tour. It was a very early start for everyone participating, as GHEI staff and our students converged at 1:30 a.m. on the main street of Humjibre, where our hired was waiting for us. By 2:00 all the students were seated, and we set off for Takoradi. As the bus accelerated out of Humjibre, our 48 students burst into song, belting gospel tunes at the top of their lungs, with some of the youth joining harmonies to the wholehearted melodies. The road was deteriorating and rough but the kids didn’t seem to mind too much, even cheering when we hit an especially large bump that catapulted them off their seats into the air for a moment. Six hours later we arrived in Takoradi. As we entered the city GHEI staff began handing out take-away containers of jolaf rice to the students as their breakfast.

Our first visit of the day was to the Takoradi Thermal Energy Power Station. One of the plant’s technical engineers briefed us in one of the plant’s conference rooms and was very pleased with our students’ curiosity and well-posed questions. He explained how the plant transported crude oil from offshore oilrigs, to be treated and converted to electricity. After the briefing our group hopped back on the bus to be toured around the complex, stopping at various points of interest, such as the water treatment tanks, where water removed from the crude oil is treated before being discharged. The students were captivated to hear how the principles they had learned in their science lessons were being applied in a practical way. And they weren't the only ones - GHEI staff were all very interested in seeing the amount of oil required to produce a steady flow of electricity to Takoradi and the surrounding area. We were surprised to learn that the plant uses 450, 000 barrels of crude oil in a week! Seeing the large tanks used to store the crude oil before treatment put the consumption into perspective. Unfortunately, taking pictures around the plant was prohibited for security reasons.

Next on our tour was a visit to Takoradi Harbour. Our tour guide through the harbour was informative, conveying his knowledge in an accessible and humorous way. He first covered details on the history of the harbour, which was established in 1928, and then described the types of commodities being shipped into and out of Ghana from this port. He explained that Ghana exports raw materials, cocoa for instance, which are used in production of goods abroad. The students were in awe of the massive ships around us, and cheered at the sight of thousands of fish swimming in schools around the boats.



Our last stop of the day was the Takoradi Flour Mill. The students' attention was riveted even before entering the building, as they walked by a conveyer belt feeding large bags of flour to men who were stacking them on a flat bed truck. After breaking into smaller groups, we set out to tour the facility. The tour guide that led our group was fantastic, enthusiastically describing each of the five flours produced by the mill. He was delighted to answer any and all questions the students had for him and was so energetic that he literally ran from one station to the next with the kids in hot pursuit, laughing along the way. He understood the best ways to keep the attention of his young audience, and gave the kids a hands-on learning experience by opening compartments in the machines to take out the different types of grains being milled for a variety of purposes. The only complaint we heard during the tour was that the metal staircases were frightening to some who are fearful of heights, as you could see from the very top floor to the ground level over the railings of the staircases. This was understandable since there aren’t many staircases in Humjibre, or tall buildings for that matter. As we were leaving the mill we had to get the attention of one boy who had fallen behind the group and was staring at the men working the conveyer belt at the front of the mill, completely mesmerized.



After a lunch break not far from the market circle of Takoradi, we all loaded back onto the bus for the long ride home. Even after our busy day the kids were still bursting with energy, and once again set into their musical numbers. Our bus passed by a local soccer game that had gone to shoot-out, running parallel with the football field just as a player shot what must have been the winning goal. This was enough to prompt hysteria among our group, who were already keyed up from their busy day. “GOOOOAL!” they cheered in unison. It was a long and dusty ride after that, back to our corner of the Western Region, but as we got closer to Humjibre, the volume of the singing jumped again.. Cheers went up for each town they recognized along the way. When we finally reached the main street of Humjibre, their shouts had reached the pitch of jubiliation.. They were so keen to tell their families and friends all that they had seen and learned on the excursion, and others were apparently eager to hear these stories, as many proud parents and pals gathered around the parked bus and cheered as they spotted their loved ones emerge.

It was only then that it became clear how important the Youth Learning Tour really is, for not only our YEP students, but their families as well. Many residents of Humjibre will never get to experience such things, and will spend most of their lives in and around the village. Students who participate in the tour have the chance to really broaden their horizons. It’s a wonderful opportunity for them, not only to see the fundamentals of their school lessons put into practice, like at the power plant, but to get an idea of what educational and vocational opportunities are out there and available to them, if they take their schooling seriously. They also become better acquainted with their country and the world around them.

It’s important to mention that the tour almost didn’t happen this year due to a shortfall in funding. When we publicized this need, many of you stepped up with generous donations that put the tour back on track. GHEI is immensely appreciative and would like to extend our sincere thanks to all those who made the 2013 Youth Learning Tour possible. You should take great satisfaction in knowing that your gifts have allowed the students of our community to see the world around them in a new way, through an experience they will never forget.

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Fighting Malaria with Insecticide-Treated Bed Nets

The protozoan that causes malaria (Plasmodium) is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. Malaria prevention involves breaking contact between humans and mosquitoes so that this transmission cannot take place. One method of breaking contact is to kill the mosquitoes. This can be achieved by using a method called indoor residual spraying, which involves spraying the interior of houses with insecticide. A second, more practical, method, and now the most widely used in endemic malarial areas, is to provide people with bed nets that have been treated with insecticide. The netting itself creates a physical barrier to mosquitoes while people are sleeping, and the insecticide treatment creates a chemical barrier, killing mosquitoes or repelling them.

The more people that use insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in a community, the greater the collective protection, or "spill-over effect", that is achieved. This benefit to the whole community, even to those not using bed nets, arises for two reasons. First, since ITNs kill mosquitoes, the more ITNs that are in use, the more mosquitoes will be killed, reducing the numbers that can transmit the malaria parasite. Secondly, since the malaria parasite takes about 8 days to mature in the mosquito (depending on the species of Plasmodium), ITNs kill many mosquitoes before they are able to transmit the parasite to humans, once again curtailing transmission.

The big complaint about using bed nets of any kind is that they reduce air flow and are hot to sleep under, especially in tropical climates. This feature may discourage people from regularly using their bed net if they are not properly educated in the great benefits of this practice.

GHEI’s Health Program Assistant, Mensah Gyapong, commented on the prevalence of this particular challenge: “What we saw was that people were saying that the bed nets are very hot ‒ especially this time of year. They feel very uncomfortable inside the bed net. But we also find that there are a lot of mosquitoes at night, especially after midnight. We advise them that it is better to be a bit hot at night than to get malaria! At first people even removed the bed nets because of the heat, but now they are listening to our advice and are sleeping under bed nets even during the heat.”

A previous blog talked about the high price that children under five pay when it comes to malaria, with this age-group accounting for 90% of malarial deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. An older study carried out in The Gambia and reported in the medical journal The Lancet demonstrated that mortality rates due to malaria were 30% lower for young children who slept under a bed net than for those who didn't (Alonso et al. 1991). A more recent review of the literature reporting on ITN effectiveness concluded that, on average, ITNs reduce deaths in children by 20% and the episodes of malaria by 50% (Lengeler 2009).

The insecticide of choice for treating bed nets is pyrethroids (e.g., deltamethrin, permethrin). This class of insecticide is very effective against mosquitoes but is harmless for humans at the rate that it is used to treat the nets. This is important, since if you’re sleeping under a bed net, your body is right next to, or even touching, the netting. A growing problem is that in some areas where ITNs have been used, the mosquitoes are becoming resistant to pyrethroids. This means that the mosquito population has developed strains that aren’t killed by this insecticide, so that treated bed nets provide only a physical barrier to the mosquitoes. Research is under way to develop new insecticides for bed net treatment, but so far the test chemicals have not proven as effective as pyrethroids.

Another factor in the effectiveness of an ITN is how long the insecticide lasts. If people wash their bed nets or hang them out in the sunlight to air, as they would their bedding, the effectiveness of the insecticide is reduced. GHEI’s Community Health Workers have been spreading the message that bed nets should not be washed or exposed to sunlight. 

Protection against mosquitoes can also be extended by using Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLINs), which are effective for up to three years. The World Health Organization now recommends full coverage of all people at risk of malaria in areas targeted for malaria prevention with LLINs. The priority still remains the protection of children under five and pregnant women, but once these groups are covered, everyone in the program area should be given access to an LLIN.

Since 2006 GHEI has been committed to preventing malaria in Humjibre and the surrounding communities by distributing free insecticide-treated bed nets to community members. Previously, the GHEI health team, which includes the Humjibre, Kojina, and Soroano Community Health Workers (CHWs), distributed bed nets to every home in the three communities. Through GHEI’s universal distribution program, approximately 350 people in Kojina, 3800 people in Humjibre, and 900 people in Soroano have benefitted from bed net ownership and support for proper use.

GHEI’s Malaria Prevention Programme includes household monitoring of bed nets, during which the CHW observes the condition of bed nets in each home, re-hangs and mends bed nets as needed, educates household members on bed net care and usage, and encourages nightly usage of bed nets, especially for pregnant women and children under five years of age.

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Sources:


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Insecticide Treated Bed Nets. http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/reduction/itn.html

Lengeler, C. 2009. Insecticide-treated bed nets and curtains for preventing malaria. The Cochrane Collaboration. JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd.

World Health Organization. Global Malaria Program. Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Nets: A WHO Position Statement. www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/itnspospaperfinal.pdf

Career Opportunity Lectures Series

This past Friday GHEI was pleased to invite junior high school students from both Humjibre and the neighboring town of Muoho to our community center for our annual Career Opportunity Lecture Series (COLS). The students were all very excited to attend, clearly happy to have a change from their regular school routine. We counted 146 students coming from Anglican Deeper Redeemer and Muoho junior high schools.

The event started off with a series of guest speakers, beginning with a compelling motivational speech from Mr. Oscar Kobbina. Mr. Kobbina surprised his audience right away by saying that he was very disappointed in some of them, while being pleased with others. The students looked back and forth at one another wondering what he could mean. Mr. Kobbina had a group of students stand up and pointed out that they had brought their pens and notepads with them to take notes. “Yes, you can tell that they have come to learn!”

Mr. Kobbina went on to share his life story with the students, detailing how he had started from very humble beginnings and that attending school as a child was a real strain on his family’s finances. He expressed the deep shame he felt early in his student life when his poor grades ranked him last in the class. He emphasized that it was this shame that motivated him to succeed, and that by the end of the next year he was first in his class. He stressed the need for all Ghanaian students to master their English language skills, as they would be necessary for success in virtually any vocation.

He went on to describe graduating from school by his “own initiative and by the grace of God,” moving on to successful careers as a teacher, then as a firefighter, and now in his retirement as the manager of a cocoa farm. He stressed that the students’ schoolwork is the foundation for the rest of their lives, and that it is not an opportunity to be squandered. He also made it clear to the students that they should not feel limited by their families’ socio-economic background. “If your parents are poor it does not mean that you are destined to be poor! It is up to you to work hard and get good grades. Only you can make your future!” The children were spellbound, and it was obvious what an encouraging influence Mr. Kobbina had.

Next was a speech by Mr. Soloman Ofosu-Addae, a social worker from Bibiani, who elaborated on many of the sentiments shared by Mr. Kobbina. Like him, Solomon had also faced the hardships of poverty during his days as a student. It was a real struggle for his father to send him to school, and there wasn’t enough money to cover his school materials, such as books and pens. Many of his relatives had to chip in to see him through his studies. Through hard work and dedication, he was able to graduate from school and found his passion for social work during his year as a national service volunteer.

Mr. Ofosu-Addae was adamant in convincing the students that they had to strive not only to work hard at their studies, but also to know themselves. He assured them that if they were aware of their interests and passions, they would be empowered to realize their dreams through a focused outlook. He also stressed that their school years could very well determine the rest of their lives, and to be very cautious of the decisions they make at this point in their lives. As a closing remark, he reminded the students that teachers are there to help, and that one should never hesitate to seek assistance and guidance from their teachers.

The third and last speaker was Mr. Albert Assabil, from the District Health Information Office in Bibiani. His style differed from the two previous speakers in that he spoke less about his life and career and focused his lecture on the personal qualities and steps needed to lead a fulfilling and successful life. He pointed out the need for students to take responsibility for their studies; that no one but the individual can decide whether he or she will excel in their schooling. He also noted that a successful student has to be willing to “pay the price” for their education, not only the literal payment of school fees, but also the figurative cost of hard work and sacrifice.

Mr. Assabil also stressed the need for a plan of action. He insisted that the students create a plan for their future, as nobody else would do this for them. This plan of action, he said, would allow them to maintain their focus, which served as his concluding point. Mr. Assabil ended his motivating speech to the youth by saying that maintaining focus on their goals would be the most important step in reaching their objectives and fulfilling their dreams.

The students then had a short break and enjoyed their snack of soft drinks and meat pies. The house DJ played “hip-life” tunes, and the energetic crowd was soon bopping around to the rhythms, each showing off their particular “Azonto” moves. Before long, the Azonto music began attracting an even bigger crowd, with children on recess at the nearby Anglican Primary School rushing into the community center to join the dance party! Just as things started to get out of hand, the music stopped and the students were called back to their seats. The second session of the day had the students rotating through focused 20-minute modules led by GHEI staff in the community library and various classrooms.

Volunteer teacher Bright and Education Program Coordinator Jen Matthews ran a session on career review, which elaborated on career paths. GHEI Library Administrator Lawrence and teacher Saga ran a session on technical education, describing various technical-vocational trainings available. Education Program Manager Happy and Health Program Coordinator Abby presented a session on job skills and how they apply to particular jobs. GHEI teachers Innocent and Felicity ran the fourth tutorial on Senior High School selection and courses. The sessions were short enough to keep the students focussed and engaged, though detailed enough to answer all of their questions.

After the content-heavy afternoon sessions, the students were called back to the community centre for a few final words from GHEI Country Director Clement Donkor. He reiterated the main point of the day: studying hard now is the best way to ensure a successful future. He encouraged them to spend most of their time and energy on their studies, and reminded them that their prayers to succeed would only be answered if they worked hard themselves!

Hip-life music blasted into life again at the end of the day, accompanied by the obligatory Azonto dance moves. The day was a great success for GHEI, as it was clear that our audience took the day’s lessons to heart. We wish the students of Humjibre and Muoho all the best in pursuing their career aspirations!

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Childhood Malaria: Little Targets for a Dread Disease

GHEI Community Health Workers hanging a bednet for a father and his child

Each year around the world an estimated 500-800 million cases of malaria are diagnosed. One and a half million of these cases result in death. Most of these deaths take place in sub-Saharan Africa. And most of the people who die there - an incredible 90% of them -are children under five. Nearly every source you read about childhood malaria is quick to cite the terrible statistic that one African child dies of malaria every 45 seconds.

The good news is that malarial deaths have been cut by 30% in Africa over the past decade. The bad news, of course, is that too many people are still dying of this preventable and treatable disease, and most of them are small children.

Very young children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable victims of malaria. Babies don't have a fully developed immune system and pre-schoolers haven't yet developed resistance to the disease, which makes these age groups so susceptible. Early diagnosis and treatment of the disease improves the prognosis for young children. Beginning treatment within 24 hours of the first show of symptoms produces the best results (WHO).

Pregnant women, too, have a reduced immune system, and malaria can induce anemia in the prospective mother and bring on delivery too early. It can also cause low infant birth weight and even death of the baby. Anti-malarial drugs can reduce the transmission of malaria from mother to child.

For children who have had malaria, the need is not over once they have recovered. Repeated bouts of malaria cause many missed school days, and a child may never be able to make up these gaps in their education. What's more, the anemia associated with frequent malaria saps a child's strength and ability to concentrate and do mental processing. Their capacity to learn and be successful in school is often greatly diminished. A child who is also malnourished feels these effects even more and may not respond to anti-malaria drugs, becoming even more vulnerable to the other two big child killers in Africa: diarrhea and pneumonia. Children who have had malaria need continued care, understanding and support.

It has taken the developed world a long time to recognize the seriousness of malaria, probably because relatively few westerners ever experience this disease. Malaria has risen to the top of the world-health hit list only in the past decade or so, as the result of some tireless campaigning on the part of various NGOs and others working in malaria zones, who have seen first-hand how devastating this disease can be to whole communities. But even with the growing realization that malaria is a killer to be reckoned with and the availability of new drugs to combat this disease, there are still big obstacles to bringing people the relief they need. For one thing, malaria is caused by a parasite that can develop resistance to medications that were once effective. For another, the newest, most effective treatments are usually out of the reach of poor people - either too expensive or simply not available.

The best answer right now is prevention, and that takes two things - educating people about how they get malaria and providing insecticide-treated sleeping nets and showing people how to use them. GHEI's Community Health Workers undertake both of these important tasks as part of their daily work. Our CHWs aim to educate our communities on the risk of malaria and how the virus is contracted. They conduct extensive spot-checks thoughout our communities, ensuring that people have malaria nets and that they are using them properly.

Young beneficiaries of GHEI's malaria prevention program

One of the big obstacles in making progress towards the Millennium Development Goals is that if you fail to meet one of them, the chances of meeting the others get slimmer. In this case, if the international community lags in its efforts to combat malaria and other diseases that decimate children in Africa (MDG 6), high levels of child mortality will continue to loom (MDG 4) and children will die before having the chance to complete their primary education (MDG 2).

The premise of GHEI's work is that a whole community will reap the benefits of investing in its children. Children who sleep under a bednet, who have access to basic medical care, who learn the benefits of soap-and-water handwashing, who attend school regularly and have out-of-school support - these children have the best chance of living out their years in good health, enjoying the fruits of their education, and contributing to their community throughout a long adulthood. This is what we're working for at GHEI and what we invite you to support.

Sources:

International Medical Corps. Fighting Africa’s Biggest Child-Killer: a Q & A. Online: http://internationalmedicalcorps.org/page.aspx?pid=472

Malaria Consortium. Malaria: The Challenges. http://www.malariaconsortium.org/pages/malaria_challenges.htm

World Health Organization. Malaria. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/index.html

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