Wednesday 1 June 2011

Ghanabakwamena at the Mali Youth Summit

                      Its wonderful how over 150 young people around the globe synergized to develop a Call for Action document to feed into the High Level Meeting (HLM) on HIV & AIDS coming up in New York this month!





                       Time is running out- on what? Endorsing the Call for Action document, here: http://whatabouthiv.org ! Remember, its now or never- lets push for resources to match commitments! To read more on the vitals of the Mali Youth Summit through the eyes of  Cecil Ato Kwamena Dadzie a.k.a Ghanabakwamena, read more here: AllAboutMYS#AIDS2011. Thanks for checking this out- Love Y'all! Xoxoxoxoxo.

Thursday 17 February 2011

All About Me!


                          Tabitha Naa Akuyea Addy a final year high school student at St. John’s Grammar School in Accra, Ghana.Here’s my story on my own personal journey towards becoming da New Ghanaian Woman....

                        On the surface, you could say I had a good childhood. I had a very loving, outspoken, jovial, very enthusiastic and very intelligent father. I knew somewhere within me I also had those in born qualities but one way or the other just couldn’t find them. This feeling made me feel so invisible when I was with my peers and made me feel inferior when I was with them. All these came about because of the perception I had about myself that I was the biggest and the fattest person in my school. In my mind, ‘BEAUTY meant SLIM’ and this was how my stature/body reduced me to. The ability to appreciate myself and to discover or better still uncover the real me was lost.

                        In school, I was often scared because I felt my schoolmates will judge me because of my own judgment about myself. Because of this, I wouldn’t talk in class. I would just look on do whatever I could to avoid being seen. Although I made good grades, I could just not speak up because in my opinion, I was fat and ugly. All I wanted the most was to be part of the world of the slim and beautiful. There were instances that I would starve just to make sure I was reducing in size but it would all be to no avail.

                        Deep down me I still wanted to be the real me; I wanted a single chance to explore myself. My turning point came when I entered Senior High School. I was in a new school with people who did not know me at all. I decided I had enough of being miserable and would try my best to be all I could be. I was also lucky that one of my teachers took a keen interest in me and encouraged me to get involve and try new things. Leading Ladies’ Network ideology of Inspiration for Change really came into play for me at this point. This particular teacher was truly an inspiration for me breaking the chain of negative thoughts and plunging forward to achieve my goals.

                        I am now in my final year of Senior High School and am known by almost all the teachers and students on campus. Who would have thought that someone like me who was once so timid would win a school wide debate competition or be called upon to represent the school at various other programs and events? I am the General Secretary of our Student Representative Council and the Debater’s Club, President of the Peer Counselors’ Club, Advisor to the Debater’s and Drama Club, Treasurer for the Geographical Society. Outside of campus, I am an active member of CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN BROADCASTING-CURIOUS MINDS (CYIB), A CHILD RIGHT ADVOCACY GROUP advocating for the rights of young children and youth. I host a radio show, the Choice Children & Youth’s Channel-C3 which airs on CHOICE 102.3 FM every Sunday at 1:00pm.
                                Hung on to explore the NEW GHANAIAN WOMAN……….Love!

What's On!!!: Child Rights- A Foreign Culture?

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