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Ms. Rebecca NaaOkaikorAkufo-Addo once again retained the title of First Lady in the context of the New Patriotic Party’s victory in the December 7 elections and the beautiful inauguration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, her husband, as fifth president of the Fourth Republic.
The 69-year-old First Lady tirelessly supported her husband, until he ascended to the highest seat of governance in 2017, for the first term, and in 2021 for the second term. Its contributions to the general well-being of mankind, especially women and children, cannot go unnoticed.
For the past four years, Ms. Akufo-Addo has been married to a man whose heart beats for his nation.
In a message titled: “Dear Ghana”, which she posted on her Facebook wall just before the 2020 general election, she described the past four years as humiliating.
“I wake up every morning, adjusting to this role of First Lady; partner with a man not only for love, but for deep service to our country – the first gentleman, ”she said.
Born Rebecca Griffiths-Randolph to Mr. Jacob Hackenburg Griffiths-Randolph, first African Income Tax Commissioner, Judge and later Speaker of Parliament, and Mrs. Frances Philippina Griffiths-Randolph, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, in her first term as First Lady, has been dedicated to improving the lot of children, youth and women, as well as the education and health sectors of Ghanaian society.
To support national efforts to reduce malaria and malnutrition in children and pregnant women, she co-founded the charity; Infanta Malaria Prevention Foundation in 2005, even before becoming the First Lady.
She established the Rebecca Foundation in 2017, when her husband became president, to ensure the economic empowerment of women and the well-being of children in education and health.
Also in 2017, she personally raised funds from individuals and organizations to build an ultra-modern mother / baby and pediatric unit at KomfoAnokye University Hospital in Kumasi, while Korle-Bu University Hospital in Accra has been staffed with pediatric intensive care, neonatal intensive care units and high dependency.
In addition to providing these essential healthcare delivery buildings, Ms. Akufo-Addo also led a strong campaign to acquire hospital equipment and supplies, which she distributed to health centers across Ghana’s 16 regions in addition to seek funds to support surgeries for vulnerable people.
As part of its community health awareness initiative, new CHPS compounds were created and equipped in Seduase in the Greater Accra region and in Nyashegu in the North region.
Donations of phototherapy devices were also made to Princess Marie Louis Children’s Hospital in Accra and Cape Coast University Hospital, while Osu Maternity Home and Usher Fort clinics were renovated and equipped with supplies. medical.
Thanks to the efforts of the First Lady, six ambulances were distributed to KomfoAnokye Mother and Baby Unit, Korle-Bu Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, West Gonja District Hospital, Hospital Sakumono Community Center, Osu Maternity Home and Valley View Hospital, aimed at accessible health care for all.
To this day, her foundation continues to be a major partner of the Ministry of Health in providing services to citizens, especially women and children.
Ms. Akufo-Addo’s passion for girls’ education led her to create the “Because I Want To Be” initiative to encourage girls to stay in school or acquire entrepreneurial skills through training and the provision of soap making starter kits to approximately 100 women, including out-of-school girls, in the central and greater Accra regions.
Some girls have also been trained in catering and crafts, as well as mentoring programs, which are always broadcast on TV, to reach girls across the country with life lessons and experiences.
She also established the Learn to Read, Read to Learn initiative, to improve children’s literacy through a television reading program, while providing libraries in clusters of schools across the country in communities like SefwiDebiso in the North West region, Moree in the Central region, Wenchi in the Bono region and DaffiamaBusseiIssah in the Upper West region.
Bortianor and Amasaman in the Greater Accra region, Kumawu in Ashanti and Krachi in Oti have also benefited from the library project.
Books, computers and shoes, among others, were distributed to various schools across the country while children in SOS Village benefited from educational exchange programs in China.
SOS Ghana, Kyebi School for the Deaf, Maternal Care Orphanage, Akropong School for the Blind, Mampong School for the Deaf, Dzorwulu Special School and AdjeiKojo School for the Deaf, all benefited from the kindness of Mrs. Akufo-Addo.
She also created a women’s economic empowerment initiative called ‘Terema’, which provided vocational training and business assistance to women in Ghana, empowering fishmongers, traders and artisans in the Western, Central and Central regions. , North West and Greater Accra with various starter tools.
As part of the Terema initiative, the First Lady organized a successful business trip with 35 women entrepreneurs to China to explore business opportunities there, while many street vendors received small tools and grants to boost their businesses. companies.
Ghana’s National Association of Hairdressers and Estheticians was not left out as Ms. Akufo-Addo donated 1,000 bags of cement to help set up infrastructure to support their activities.
The First Lady also organized three high-level events for International Women’s Day to advocate for gender equality and the inclusion of women and girls in national development.
Suffice it to say that in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Ms. Akufo-Addo distributed food, hygiene and safety items to thousands of women, including elderly mothers and mothers. single mothers across the country to ease their plight due to the temporary lockdown.
And as the African Nutrition Leaders’ Nutrition Champion, Ms. Akufo-Addo has been a strong advocate for improved nutritional outcomes for Ghanaians, especially children.
She is also the first ambassador for HIV / AIDS; a patron of schools for the blind and deaf, Cancer Voices and SOS Children’s Villages Ghana.
These enormous contributions of the First Lady, to ensure the well-being of the population, have indeed not gone unnoticed since she has received praise from many organizations and individuals, including the Ministry of Health.
She is recognized for her firm belief that each First Lady is in a unique position to make a difference in the lives of citizens, hence her determination to support the government’s efforts to meet the country’s development needs.
“As a citizen, I have confidence in the future of this country; let it be led by a president who has shown the clearest vision for Ghana, economy, education, agriculture, industrialization and youth.
“And more than ever, I feel married to politics; the life-changing genre of a young Thomas Amoaning from Adeiso SHS who, although traveling six kilometers a day to get to school, never wavered in his ambition to become an economist.
“Today, I feel connected to parts of our country and our stories through the Rebecca Foundation.
“Ghana may be a land of opportunity, but what I’ve seen over the past four years is that our children can only reach their full potential if we have a leader who is obsessed with these. possibilities and who wouldn’t sleep until the young boys could. have a country to believe in and young girls can dare to dream; be presidents, business leaders, scientists or first ladies if they wish, ”Ms. Akufo-Addo said.
It is therefore not out of place to say “Ayekoo” to Mrs. Akufo-Addo for all these accomplishments, among the many others that were not mentioned, under the first term of her first praise.
I pray and hope that God will grant you strength and resources, even as you enter your 70th year in March this year to do more for the girl, Ghanaian women and all marginalized in society.
By Lydia Kuukua Asamoah
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