John aus Komenda

My name is John Baiden-Tawiah. I come from Komenda and stay in an area in Komenda called Zongo. I am dark in complexion. I have a small mouth and I’m also also short. The name of my school is Entsuah Mensah Memorial Preparatory School. The school is located in Komenda, near the area I live in, opposite the Komenda Police Station. My mother is called Mrs Comfort Baiden-Tawiah and my father is called Mr John Baiden-Tawiah Senior. He is a teacher and my mother is a trader who buys goods and sells them in Komenda. The food I like best is fufu and Palm Nut Soup and the game I like best is football. My favourite programme is “Mi Gorla Bella” which is broadcasted on TV3 which is a Ghanian TV station.

From my point of view, the point of a youth of Komenda and Ghana as a whole, one of the diseases that kills and makes us weak is Malaria. Malaria is caused by mosquito bites. It is not any mosquito but female anopheles mosquito. That is the mosquito that spreads a parasite called Plasmodium.

Here I list some things that cause the mosquitoes to be in our home area.

1) Stagnant water: In Komenda there is a lot of stagnant water; the mosquitoes reproduce by laying eggs on the water. The force that enables mosquitoes to stand on water is called surface tension. Stagnant water like this is found in:

a. Cans

b. Ponds

c. Rubber sachets (water sachets as mentioned in the previous article by Eric Essah)

Some of the ways that can cut back Malaria are:

1) Draining all stagnant water

2) Removing of chocked gutters

3) Weeding (cutting grass) around your house, etc.

In Ghana Malaria is tried to be prevented but not in all towns or villages. In Komenda we lack personnel that help us with this. So we may need some things to ensure that Malaria is prevented in Komenda and Ghana as a whole, too.

In Ghana too, the things that are used to prevent mosquitoes from biting us are

1) Mosquito Coils which, in case you use them, might cause a different disease “catarr” (sore throat, flu, cough)

2) Mosquito nets

I think the right thing to be used is a mosquito net.

Since there is a time to learn and a time to play, before I end this problem in my community, I would like to tell you a joke:

There once was a couple but always the woman beat the man. One day the woman went to the market and saw a very strong and tall man. She intentionally hit the man and the man caught her and beat her up.

She went home crying and her husband asked; “Who beat you up? Stop crying and answer me! In fact I will beat the person like he/she beat you!”

So his wife told him what had happened and immediately after she had said this her husband said; “Go and show me the person, I will beat him very well!”

So she showed him the person and both went to the man’s house.

The husband asked; “Are you the one who beat my wife?” – “Yes” the man replied.

“The time you were beating my wife, I wasn’t here. If you like, here is she, beat her again and let me see” So the man started beating her even more than the first time and her husband said; “You are not even shy beating my wife in front of me. If you want beat her again”.

Again the man beat her and after that the husband said; “My wife lets go, you already beat me at home.”

Hope people will get in touch with me.

Yours, John.

AIM. Youth Club Member