Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament Celebrates 65th Birthday with Orphans, Vulnerable Children
Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on Saturday, September 24, 2022, celebrated his 65th birthday with Orphans at the Hopeland Training Centre at Adjei Kojo in the Tema West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The Speaker was accompanied by his wife, Madam Linda Ofosuah Oboh, and children, where he presented a cheque of GH₵50,000.00 to the Director, Hopeland Training Centre, Rev. Brother Cosmas Kanmwaa, to support the vulnerable children.
While interacting with the children, Rt Hon Bagbin charged parents to raise their wards on God-fearing tenets because children are blessings from God.
He also encouraged the children to do their best and work hard despite the challenges of life and where they find themselves. He urged them not to let anyone detract them from their goals, to focus on their studies, and pursue their ambitions passionately.
Hon Bagbin, known for his philanthropy and generosity, emphasised the importance of giving back to society and called on all to pay attention to the needs of the less privileged to ensure society’s holistic development. In this vein, he hinted at his plans someday to construct an international school for life and learning.
“As a birthday boy, I know that I do not have to make a long statement. However, it is important to underscore the fact that I am delighted to be here in Ashaiman, courtesy of the Catholic Action for Street Children, to share my special day with you.”
“ I might not have been from the street, but I was brought up from a very humble background. Around me were obvious deprivation and poor living conditions for most children in the holy village of Sombo in the Upper West Region.
“So, I have grown up to be conscious of what it means to be needy, and I, therefore, at every opportunity, I do what I can to ease the plight of the deprived in society by giving and sharing,” the Speaker reencountered his upbringing.
He was treated to choreography, poetry recitals, and a sketch about proceedings in Parliament, among others by the children.
The Children also presented to the Speaker of various handcrafted gifts they made on their own through skill training.
Hon. Alban Bagbin was first elected into Parliament during the 1992 General Elections, where he represented the people of the Nadowli West Constituency in the Upper West Region.
Other persons who joined the Speaker to celebrate the Birthday with the Children include the National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, some leading members of the NDC, and staff of parliament.
Full Statement
STATEMENT BY THE RT. HON. ALBAN SUMANA KINGSFORD BAGBIN, SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 65TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH THE CATHOLIC ACTION FOR STREET CHILDREN AT ASHAIMAN, ACCRA
Directors of the Catholic Action for Street Children
My dear wife and other family members
Honourable Members of Parliament Present
Staff of the Parliamentary Service
Invited Guests
Ladies and gentlemen!
My appreciation to you all for agreeing to join me on this special day of mine, to spend some time with the children of the Catholic Action for Street Children. Let me commend the Catholic Church for this show of humanity through the support it extends to these deprived and neglected children. Had it not been for this initiative, you and I know the kind of life these children would have been leading on the streets, the impact of that on their health, education, and moral upbringing, and the bleak future that would have confronted them as they grow.
Children are gifts from God. They are a source of joy to parents and families. They are the ones who perpetuate the heritage of the human race. Indeed, they are the future leaders of societies and countries. The kind of socialization they go through during childhood, the nurturing and care we extend to them, and the education and grooming we give them help to shape the future of our race. As Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist said, “Let us remember: one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world”. That is why the issue of street children, the fact that they are not in the classroom, and the other forms of deprivation, abuse, and neglect that they are subjected to, should prick the consciousness of all well-meaning people in our society.
Today for me, is a day that I will want to share with the Catholic Action for Street Children in acknowledgment of our role as adults, leaders, and government to create the required conditions that will support child survival and development. In the decisions that we make, the policies that we develop, the laws that we pass, and the infrastructure that we provide, it is imperative for us to consider how these would improve the conditions in which the future leaders of our society develop. I see this as an existential issue, for which very little has been done by the various governments that we have had in this country.
The statement by Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese writer, is very instructive here. He said “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love, but not your thoughts. For they have their thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday”.
Ladies and gentlemen, the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child, to which Ghana is a signatory, demands of all countries that have signed on to it, guarantee the right of the child to a name, parentage, play, health, education, shelter, food and many others. The Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) was set up to help guarantee these rights as provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but as usual, it has been more of lip service than practical measures to protect and help develop the child as we pledged as a country. We must remember that the time we have lost in placing the child at the center of all that we do will never come back. Meanwhile, the child can ill-afford to wait for us to get our acts together; they might have wasted away by the time we are ready.
As a birthday boy, I know that I do not have to make a long statement. However, it is important to underscore the fact that I am delighted to be here in Ashaiman, courtesy of the Catholic Action for Street Children, to share my special day with you. I might not have been from the street, but I was brought up in a very humble background. Around me were evident deprivation and poor living conditions for most children in the holy village of Sombo in the Upper West Region. So, I have grown up to be conscious of what it means to be needy, and I, therefore, at every opportunity, do what I can to ease the plight of the deprived in society by giving and sharing. As Dolly Parton, the famous American musician said, “if you see someone without a smile, give him one of yours”.
I am, indeed, one of the political leaders of this country, but I dare say that there is so much we need to do as leaders, as a government, and as a country, to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich; between the deprived and marginalized and the affluent. The gap is so yawning and the efforts at mitigating the situation are so few and far between; that is my worry, and I believe the worry of many others with a conscience. This is what makes the intervention by the Catholic Action for Street Children commendable, and I thank them for allowing me to associate with their laudable initiative on this special day of mine.
To the children under this initiative, I will encourage you to never give up and take advantage of the opportunity that your being here offers. Do not allow what somebody else says to distract you from your goals. Take yourself seriously, focus on your studies and pursue your ambition with passion. This is the spirit that has seen me through from infancy to date. I advise you to hold yourself in high esteem and with humility. Respect, love, and care should be a part of your daily lives. Never give up on your pursuit of values, knowledge, ethics, and positivity.
Most of us here might have been too young to know who Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s First President, really is, but we are old enough to know what he stood for as far as the building of this country is concerned. Reading the life and deeds of our first president, he has always been an inspiration to me: especially because of his wisdom, his character, and vision for a better society for all. In fact, I feel very proud to be sharing my birthday month, September, with the man I have admired since infancy. Bear in mind that the world is but a stage. We are all here to play our part. Once we are through that, the curtains would be lowered and we will have to move on. How we prepare ourselves to play our part is very important. Make the most out of this opportunity so that you can exit this place fully prepared to take on the world and contribute to a better place for other children, who might find themselves in the situation you were in.
May God bless you all. And thank you for being a part of my birthday celebration today.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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