RISING KIDS FOUNDATION

Lets all come together to support this noble course..............


Future leaders, you never know.

MENTAL FITTNESS

How to prevent depression?

There appears to be no definite way to prevent clinical depression. However, the following list offers ways to help
elevate your mood, and to stay on top of what may be developing into a clinical episode of depression:
• Take steps to identify and manage stress
• Find strategies that help you increase your resilience
• Work on ways to boost your self-esteem and confidence

Depression
• Develop and nurture friendships and social support networks
• Be aware of the difference between feeling low or sad and entering a clinical depression, and take appropriate
steps if you cannot overcome your low mood (see What is depression?)
• Stick with your treatment plan if you are being treated for depression

What are the signs and symptoms?
The signs and symptoms of depression may be different from one person to the next, especially depending on

which type of depression you are experiencing.
6 General symptoms may include one or more of the following:
• Feelings of sadness, anxiety or emptiness that won’t go away
• Feeling hopeless and/or pessimistic
• Feeling guilty, worthless and/or helpless
• Feeling irritable or frustrated, even over minor issues
• Loss of interest in activities or hobbies you once enjoyed, including sex
• Feeling tired or low on energy
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions
• Difficulty falling asleep, early-morning wakefulness, or oversleeping
• Overeating or loss of appetite
• Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
• Thoughts of suicide, or even attempting suicide
• Crying spells, for no apparent reason
• Aches and pains, headaches, cramps or digestive problems that don’t go away, even with treatment
The different types of depression also have different symptoms, including:
• Major or Clinical Depressive Disorder. Along with dysthymic disorder (see below), this is the most common
form of depression.6 Symptoms tend to reduce your ability to perform everyday activities, such as working,
sleeping, studying, eating, and most anything that once gave you pleasure. This disabling condition may occur
only once in your life, but more often recurs over your lifetime.6
• Dysthymic disorder. This condition, also referred to as dysthymia, tends to be less severe than clinical
depression, and may not interfere with your everyday life. It usually lasts for two years or longer, and may lead to
clinical depression.6
• Postpartum depression. This form of depression is diagnosed in new mothers who develop a major
depressive episode within one month of delivering their baby.6
• Psychotic depression. This is the diagnosis when severe clinical depression is accompanied by a break with
reality, hallucinations, delusions, or some other form of psychosis.6
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). A form of depression that usually eases during spring and summer
months, SAD is associated with the lower levels of natural sunlight that Canadians get during the winter
months.

TOURISM

Justification for government support to the tourism sector

The vision of Government is aimed at achieving a per capita income of USD$1,000 by 2015. This implies that all sectors of economy must ensure growth to aggregately meet this target. The tourism sector has the magic to attain the overall vision of the country. A simple statistical calculation as follows proves this magic. Considering the fact that, the average spending of a tourist as at 2006 is US$1,985 and average length of stay is 10-days. Ghana attracted 497,129 tourists. Mathematically, revenue accrued in 2006 total US$986,801,065. This imply that tourism per capita in Ghana is US$41.12 with the assumption that the population at then stood as 22 million. The figure only represents international receipts.

However, the ratio of international tourists to domestic tourist generated is 1:7, meaning each international tourist arrival has a complimentary seven domestic tourists. Conventionally, both tourists have the same expenditure pattern, it signifies that total receipts from the tourism sector is approximately US$ 6,907,607,455.00 and holding constant the total population, it’s very convenient to conclude that the per capital income of tourism is say US$ 314.

Given that the Ministry is adequately resourced and all other factors favouring growth of the sector are conducive and we attract a million tourists as targeted it is very comfortable to say that the tourism sector could drive the growth Ghana needs to become a middle level income country. Therefore, we need a tourism fund, and serious talk on this is very important factor for tourism development. Financing and management are the most critical factors for tourism development.

Everything including product development, training and human resource development as well as marketing and promotions are directly dependent on financing and management. The financing factor or lack of it has had the most debilitating effect on our tourism development: the terms of banks for long-term financing are quite prohibitive and tourism projects tend to have long gestation periods. The solution to this palpable situation is the National Tourism Fund, whether it takes the form of a special bank or a revolving fund for the private sector tourism service and plant operators.

Tourism marketing starts with the products that we are promoting. Financing will determine how well we add value to our tourism resources. Financing will also determine how accessible our tourist products become to both our domestic and international markets. We need money to develop our attractions where value-adding is necessary. The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies need to invest in tourism and support tourism investments. Financing is necessary for reaching the markets that we find lucrative to tap and exploit. Marketing and promotions has become a complex, competitive and highly technology-based activity, not aided at all by the facts that tourism is highly competitive and has a highly elastic demand. The industry needs soft financing to support facility development, to provide infrastructure at our tourism hot spots, to do good maintenance on existing facilities and amenities, and to start new projects in an expanding industry.

We need to use the opportunity to as a matter of urgency review outdated and archaic legislation and regulation that regulate our tourism industry, since the sector is very robust and dynamic. Sadly the Ghanaian sector is being regulated by laws as old as thirty years and above.

The Ghanaian sector deserves better attention, since each and every hamlet, village, town, city, district or region in Ghana has one unique tourism plant or facility that are scattered around the country, whose potential is crying for exploration and development, which has the potential to ensure an even development of the country to above all stop the rural-urban drift, in search of non-existing white collar jobs.

Tourism thrives on good roads, portable water .electricity and effective telecommunications apart from the attraction itself. Unfortunately, most, if not all, of our attraction sites are in their raw state and the only way to exploit this gold is to develop them to meet international standards. If the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations target of attracting one million tourists annually is attained, tourism will rake in $1.5 billion with the corresponding 300,000 employees in the sector.

Indeed, Ghana is endowed with a lot of natural resources, and there is enough we can do to compete with the International Community in terms of development. What we have, no country has, as far as Tourism is concerned. The industry is the only area that brings in foreign exchange earning without export It is an indisputable fact that Ghana has today emerged as a special African tourist destination, drawing people and visitors to experience not only its fascinating cultural diversity, history and natural endowments, but all that there is to go with peace, stability, good governance and a hospitable people.

It plays a central and decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, ‎sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the ‎interests of developing countries.‎ Ghana’s opportunity to use tourism as a major pillar for its economic growth is realistic. Globally, Tourism today, is the second largest industry, which employs the most people and it is still growing. It is the major foreign exchange earner of more than 60 countries. It creates jobs at all levels. From shoe shine boys and porters, through receptionists, tour guides, accountants, managers, and the like, tourism also creates micro and small enterprises. Tourism will create jobs, jobs, jobs-attractive jobs; productive jobs and for that matter reduce poverty.

STORY

                           A JOURNEY WITH MY STEP MUM..

EPISODE  1

Well this is how it all started.......

Am Albert of 23 years. Am tall of about 5'8 feet. Am in a family of four, my dad and two other siblings. The elder among us, a young lady Cassandra is in the United States so i live with my dad and sister, Jessica who is 21. We reside in Accra -Medina. Jessica is a level 200 law student in University of Ghana and I just had admission to the same school to pursue psychology.

I guess you are thinking am not that smart in academics. Yes, maybe, because I wrote "NOVDEC" almost three times before I was able to pass my English language.

Jessica and I go for lectures in my little Hyundai Elantra car.

My dad is the CEO of Zenith Bank.

He has been living without a wife since my mum passed away in 2002.

Though I knew he was having an affair with his secretary because he used to invite the women to our house.

Life in the house was very exciting with fun even without a mum. Jessica and I use to tell our Dad to marry Maa Christy his Secretary because we like her though she sneak into our dads room once a blue moon only for our father to tell us he is not ready to marry...

I guess he was so much in love with my late mum because he used to be taking much about their happiness together.

Just last year 7th, October, around 6:30 pm the cripple was able to dance "azonto", the unexpected happened. I was seated in the hall with my sis when my dad walked in with a young girl. From my little human growth related experience she might be between the ages of 23-26.

She was extremely beautiful; in fact she was more beautiful than my sis. Dad greeted suddenly..

Dad: Good evening guys. Am back from work. Anyway meet Susan my new wife, your step mum.

I turned to look at Jessica, we were surprise. In fact I thought my dad was drunk but none of his postures portrayed that. I began to wonder what was wrong with my dad. The girl could equally be a daughter to my dad.

I raised my head and stared at that Susan. I accessed her from head to toe. She had a picky round bosoms and nice lips. Her dressed eye lashes were too long but fit her. Her legs were thick to. She was actually a nice young lady except that my father made the wrong call.

Me & Jessi: fine evening. You welcome Susan.

Susan: thanks. Am happy to be part of your family.

Susan left with my dad to dad's room.

Jessica and I were so confused. We couldn't say a word to each other till we left for our room.

While on my bed I was thinking about how we will call this Small girl mum. In fact I hated my dad from that day. She was too young for a man of 49 years.

I realized once she is my dad’s wife we had no choice to call her mum...

Watch out for episode 2

NB: This story is a true life story. At some point, it may contain strong language but it has been carefully edited  to suit your interest.

TOURISM

Challenges facing the tourism industry in Ghana.

The tourism industry is beset with scores of challenges. These include; poor marketing of Ghana as a destination; lack of Ghana Tourism Brand; low awareness of the potential of tourism as a viable economic sector; poor infrastructure especially poor condition of access roads to tourist sites; inadequate funding from government for the sector; and inadequate skilled manpower as well as lack of professionalism to enhance service delivery. Paucity budgetary allocation, lack of logistics, poor human resource base, lack of domestic awareness and patronage, waste management, lack of corporate support, lack of favourable credit facilities, the perception of tourism as a high risk sector, quality products and services, lack of branding, marketing and a respectable attractive tourism image abroad, rampant road accidents among others are myriad of problems that the Ghanaian tourism sector has to contend with.

Other challenges include poor institutional commitment, collaboration and support for tourism development at the District level; slow private sector investment in the sector; limited capacity and access to credit especially women entrepreneurs such as caterers and local fast food vendors; poor waste management and sanitation especially in the major cities; Ghana perceived as a high cost destination in the sub- region due to relatively high air fares and hotel tariffs; and low budget allocation.

MENTAL FITTNESS (DEPRESSION CONT'D)

                                Who gets depression?

Though depression affects people of all ages, about twice as many women as men are diagnosed with clinical depression. The age group with the highest rates of depression are those under 20 years old, with adolescence being the usual age of onset for depression.

Depression is also an issue for seniors, with those living in long-term care facilities experiencing depression at a rate of up to 9 in 10.3

Other risk factors for developing depression include:4
• Having relatives with depression
• Having a traumatic experience as a child
• Having personality traits such as low self-esteem, worrying, being overly dependent on others, perfectionism and hiding your feelings.
• Experiencing stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, the loss of a job, retirement, serious
financial problems, and family conflict3
• Experiencing unusual physiological changes, such as childbirth, and viral or other infections
How to prevent depression.

There appears to be no definite way to prevent clinical depression. However, the following list offers ways to help elevate your mood, and to stay on top of what may be developing into a clinical episode of depression.
• Take steps to identify and manage stress
• Find strategies that help you increase your resilience
• Work on ways to boost your self-esteem and confidence

Depression
• Develop and nurture friendships and social support networks
• Be aware of the difference between feeling low or sad and entering a clinical depression, and take appropriate
steps if you cannot overcome your low mood (see What is depression?)
• Stick with your treatment plan if you are being treated for depression.

GET MOTIVATED

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

– Goethe

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

–Will Rogers

“Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop back.”

– Chinese Proverb

“Be a student as long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.”

– Henry L. Doherty

MENTAL FITTNESS

WHAT IS  DEPRESSION?

More than just feelings of unhappiness, cl
inical or major depression is a mood disorder–a medical illness that
involves both the body and mind.1,2
The difference between clinical depression and feeling unhappy or blue is an inability to shake this feeling of
sadness, which will last more than two weeks at least. Also, the sad or despairing mood will affect your ability
to work or go to school, as well as negatively impact your social relationships. Your day-to-day activities will be
harder to perform, and in severe cases, you may feel like life is hardly even worth living.1,2
The symptoms can be confusing because they are not just limited to your mind and mood, but may also become
physical. Fortunately, for this chronic and very real medical condition, there are many different and often effective
treatments available.1,2
How common is depression?
Depression is a very common disorder, affecting between 10% to 25% of women, and about 10% to 15%
of men.1 An estimated 1 in 20 Canadians, or about 1.5 million people, report some form of depression or
anxiety disorder every year, which makes it Canada’s fastest-rising diagnosis.3 In fact, about 1 in 10 women will
experience postpartum depression in the months following childbirth.

DOMESTIC TOURISM

Tourism development and poverty alleviation

The Tourism Ministry in Ghana recently adopted a new approach to tourism development that maximizes the net benefit of tourism to the poor. This concept “Pro-poor Tourism” enhances the linkage between tourism businesses and poor-people so that tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction is increased through the active participation of the local people in the development of the tourism product. The travel and tourism industry is itself human-resource intensive due to the service nature of the industry. Additional, one job in the core tourism business creates about two additional jobs (indirect) in the tourism-related economy.

Available statistics indicate that in the area of employment, between year 2000-2003, total employment in the tourism sector in Ghana increased from 90,000 (direct- 26,000; indirect- 64,000) to 127,645(direct – 37,283; indirect-90,362) representing 42 percent increase. Of those employed 56 percent were males and 44 percent females. It is projected that by the year 2009, tourism will employ about 300, 000 people. The gender dimension here is very important: according to the United Nations Development Programme empirical evidence which suggests developing countries with less gender inequality tend to have lower poverty rate. The implication for us is that gender equality through creating opportunities for women, as is typical of the tourism industry, has much stronger effect on poverty and the national economy.

Ghana is certainly endowed with a wide range of unique and exciting natural, cultural, historical and heritage resources, majority of which are located in the rural areas of where poverty is endemic. These resources are however, underdeveloped to harness the fullest potentials for the benefit of the communities within which they are located. City, district, municipal and traditional authorities who make efforts at developing the tourism resources within their localities are making gains from their investment.

This effort offers a wide range of service providers in the community economic and social benefits. It enriches members of the community, thereby enhancing their social life since they could afford the very basic necessities of life through descent work. Tourism is said to have a multiplier effect, once it is well developed and promoted. A case study is the Hohoe Municipal Assembly that declared its highest revenue coming from their investment in tourism. About 19 eco-tourism sites around the country are not exceptions.

Tourism is also a catalytic tool that boosts growth in the other sectors of the economy which equally employs a good number of people. The agricultural sector employs about 60 percent of the country’s total labour force. The tourism sector provides ready market for farmers at the restaurants and traditional/indigenous restaurants thereby helping to sustaining farmers in their trade. It is an undeniable fact that, tourism also sustains the industrial sector by patronizing their product likewise the manufacturing sector. Producers of local textiles, that is, tie-dye and batik fabrics have their products highly patronize by tourists as unique identification of “been to” a destination.

The vision of the Tourism Ministry to support and promote the achievement of the overall vision of the Government of Ghana aims at achieving a per capita income of USD$1,000 by 2015 through the realization of the sector’s full potential in contributing to economic wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction, environment conservation, as well as national and international cohesion.

To achieve this vision, the Ministry seeks to attract about a million tourists which imply a corresponding growth in the expansion of tourism plants across the country including restaurants, pubs, night clubs, tourist receptacles, and the like. Figures available indicate that between1997 and 2007 hotel establishments nearly doubled from 751 to 1,430. With the current incentives available to attract investors L.I. 1817 when effectively implemented there is the likelihood to realize the continued and fast growth in the expansion of tourism plants that create more descent jobs for the citizenry.