Nigeria’s John Amanam crafts prostheses for people of colour
A Sculptor and former movie special effects artist from Nigeria is a pioneer in designing prostheses for darker skin tones. John Amanam attempted the production of prostheses for darker skin tones after his brother lost part of his hand through an accident. After years of research and creativity, John has specialised in the production and supply of prostheses for persons with darker skin tones. Through his business, Immortal Cosmetic Art, the 33-year old sculptor is providing solutions to the needs of millions of amputees with darker skin tones who have been neglected for many years. John Amanam’s crafted prostheses for darker skin tones have already served about 200 customers and has a patent registered in Nigeria.
Meet Nana Afrah Sika Mensah, the Deputy Coordinator of the Free SHS Secretariat
Ghanaian Teacher and Education Management professional, Nana Afrah Sika Mensah, has been named the Deputy Coordinator of the Free SHS Secretariat Nana Afrah joins the Secretariat alongside Mr. Adarkwah who is Coordinator of the secretariat Speaking following this announcement, Sika Afrah said: “I look forward to using my experience to increase quality and access to secondary school education in Ghana through the Free SHS programme.” Sika Afrah takes up this position with more than 5 years of extensive work in the education sector. She has worked in various units in the Education Ministry including the then TVET Directorate Sika Afrah is an alumna of the North-East Normal University, China, where she studied for a Master of Arts degree in Educational Management, Leadership and Policy. She started as a teacher with training from both the Holy Child College of Education, Cape Coast, and the University of Education, Winneba. Under the Free SHS programme, every child in Ghana who qualifies for, and is placed in a public Senior High School for his/her secondary education has his/her fees absorbed by the government. The Free SHS Secretariat sets standards for effective Management and implementation guidelines. The Secretariat also manages the funding for secondary schools including budget and disbursement according to the approved implementation guidelines. Introduced in 2017, the Free SHS programme has recorded a massive increase in Ghana’s secondary school enrollment.
For the Love of Fufu, She travelled at night
Heeeyyy! Happy New Year. I know I was missing in action during the festive season. Not even a Christmas wish from me to you. Please forgive your girl. Anemia and stress wanted to steal me from you but I’m back now. How have you started 2020? I hope you started with some good vibes and eneeerrrrggggyyy! I know you traveled during the festive season. And you tried something new too. Did you travel by bus? Was it a night bus? Guess what? I did!My family has this tradition of coming together on 31st December to give glory to God and also enjoy each other’s physical presence. So yes, although I was not very well physically, I took a bus to Duayaw Nkwanta very early in the morning on 31st December. The bus took off from the Circle VIP bus station at half past 7. I had taken a jacket to keep me warm on the journey so I used it. I felt so uneasy throughout the journey, the AC in the bus was put on. I felt so cold. By the time we got to Kumasi, I was throwing up. Thank goodness for my jacket. Everything got soaked in it. I was talking about my night travel experience right? Let me go back to it. After spending 6 days with my family, it was time to return to Accra. There were two options; travel in the day or at night.I really didn’t want to leave home. The everyday fufu alone was enough to keep me there.So you know what, I decided to eat fufu(pounded cassava, cocoyam or yam) for the last on the day I was going to leave home and how do I achieve that. Book a night bus, stay at home all day and eat some good fufu, then leave home around 9pm to catch up with the bus.You feel me? I just gave you a good tip. So yes, after eating and having a great time with family, it was time to catch up with the bus. My Dad drove us to the bus station. My mum and junior brother were there to help me with my luggage. When my bus arrived, they helped with the luggage and were sure I was good to go. Then they waited until my bus took off at 9:31pm from Duayaw Nkwanta station, then they also went home. It was my first time traveling alone on a night bus. The last time I traveled on a night bus, I was an 8year old girl who was traveling on a big truck with family and friends from the Volta region to the Northern region. My parents had been transferred from Akatsi to Pong-Tamale and that journey was so exciting. My mother had prepared adequately for that 12-hour journey. She cooked balls of kenkey and jollof for the journey. Oh! The food experience on that journey has a special place in my heart. Am I digressing again? No, let me continue my story about the night travel experience from Duayaw Nkwanta to Accra.I had really wanted a window seat for a good sleep on the journey but I didn’t get it.When we set off, I said a silent prayer and believed this journey was going to be safe. Hey! Midway into the journey, I started getting scared! I felt the driver was speeding. Eeeeeiii! I could feel we were literally moving in the sky. My heart! And you know feeling dizzy is a symptom of anemia right? I was feeling so dizzy! I couldn’t breathe well and my head was aching badly. I felt I was suffocating. I was just praying and hoping this driver slows down a bit. I wish I had even screamed from the back for this driver to reduce the speed. But hey! I was seated at the penultimate seat and some other passengers were sleeping. I didn’t have the courage to wake them up with a scream. Did I even think of screaming? No, I was feeling too dizzy to try it. So I hoped for the best. And that’s how a girl who sleeps even on a 30minutes travel journey, was kept awake from Duayaw Nkwanta is Accra. Only God knows how I gave a sigh of relief and thanks to God when I alighted at Achimota, Accra at exactly 4am Just when I alighted, my mum called to remind me of the million doses of advice she had given me on how to get home from Achimota at dawn. God bless our mothers oo! And yeah I had to tell her my decision, “I’ll never travel from home at night again, the speed was too much” Have you traveled at night before? Did you use public transport? Image Source = Image Source Link
