PRESBY CHILDREN'S MINISTRY'S CONFAB ENDS (PAGE 21)

Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Koforidua

THIS year’s bi-annual National Delegates’ Conference of the Children’s Ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) has ended at Aburi in the Akuapem South District.
The two-day conference was aimed at nurturing children in line with the teachings of the church to become good Christians and useful citizens in society.
Delegates, comprising mainly children’s service teachers from all parts of the country, attended the conference.
In his welcoming address, the National Chairman of the National Conference of the Children’s Ministry (NCCM), Mr Ludwig Anang Hesse, asked children’s service teachers of the church to ensure that every child in the church grows up as a good Christian.
Basing his speech on Matthew Chapter 28, verses 19 to 20, Mr Hesse said that could only be accomplished, if such children were given teachings based on Christian principles, adding that it would go a long way in improving both the church and society.
Mr Annang Hesse stated that such an initiative was in line with the church’s mission statement.
He said the Children’s Ministry had, therefore, decided to work in partnership with other groups within the church to guide the children to be mature Christians.
Mr Anang also implored the ministry’s teachers to exhibit the spirit of humility, patience, commitment, tolerance, punctuality, love and hard work, adding, “Be role models for the children to emulate your example”.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Akuapem South, Mr Andrew Yaw Nyarko-Adu, who represented the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Ofosu Asamoah, asked Christians to eschew negative tendencies such as undermining and immorality; negative cultural practices like trokosi, female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, teenage marriages and polygamy.
In a speech read on her behalf by the Deputy Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mr Daniel Dugan, the sector minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, said the government had taken several initiatives to improve the condition of the Ghanaian child.
He added that the government would continue to do so to properly address emerging issues that stood in the way of child development.
Hajia Alima briefed the gathering about Ghana’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), provision of additional school infrastructure to cater for increase in school enrolment as a result of the implementation of the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme.
She stressed the need for the church to ensure the moral upbringing of the children.
The minister praised the PCG for taking a number of measures to implement government’s efforts at addressing numerous challenges that confronted children in the country.