Sanatu Zambang on Savannah Women Part (I)

Despite education playing a fundamental role in determining individuals’ ability to access better labour opportunities and escaping poverty, education attainment in the country is extremely low, and with large gender and rural-urban inequalities. There have been bad news and videos going around about Girls in the northern regions. They are seen smoking, nude videos on social media, teenage pregnancies,sexual transmitted diseases and illegal abortions The popular saying " when you educate a girl, you change everything ". i sometimes find it hard and difficult to believe, for the last 10 years i find this quote sinking. looking at where I come from. Out of 100% of the girls only 25% are serious.

The rest are very busy with makeup, cloths, Photoshop, IPhone and rich boyfriends. I look at the number of NGO companies in Northern region ready, willing and helping young girls. yet our girls are not serious. Things are getting out of hand, even to an extent the girls video themselves smoking, drinking alcohol and intentionally post nude pictures of themselves on social media.

All hope is not lost for anytime I meet the women below, I breath in a feeling of hope. These ladies were either born or raised in Northern region, coming from deprived communities, they have made it out successful without engaging in bad behaviours and acts. I respect and adore their contribution in the society. I'm in love with their indept knowledge on social issues, I pray others girls in the regions look up to them and follow their footsteps to find their calling, which I believe can change not only the three northern regions but Ghana, Africa and the world. Here are my first favourite Savannah women

Portia Dery is a award-winning writer,Community Worker and Social Entrepreneur. Founder/Director of The African Youth Writers Organization-AYWO The funky ReadWrite clinic is an intensive incubator grooming clinic that lures children to read and write through play activities/games, AYWO’s curriculum and technology. The aim of this clinic is to groom children to pick up pleasure reading and creative writing as quality leisure activities hence in the long run making them avid readers and prolific writers.

" The Funky ReadWrite Clinic has two key distinctive features; A funky reading clinic where children are exposed to a wide variety of books. Children are taken through an exciting journey of reading via play activities/games and technology. A mentoring creative writing clinic which systematically stimulate the imagination of children. Here, creative writing is used as a therapeutic tool to help children open up, be confident and become more vocal about their emotions. Children are taken through intensive writing courses and also mentored by top African writers around the world via online programs. Why the need for this? Ghana’s educational system has undervalued the importance of pleasure reading and creative writing for children in schools.

Over the years emphasis has been on ‘text book’ education and story books have been subtly pushed to the back. Children are constantly reminded, “you must read to pass your exams!" as a stern warning making most children view reading and writing as ' a dreaded monster.' Thus, reading and writing is often promoted as a means to an end, which is for exams only. Hence children miss the opportunity to explore and stimulate their creative minds." says Portia Dery.

Abubakari Balchisu,a music presenter at radio Justice who has in fact risen through the odds to become an inspiration to lots of people in the north. She said " Growing up as a child,I’ve always had that strong urge to be able to influence society positively with the least opportunity.This desire was driven by the fact that I come from the part of the country that has always been considered by many as deprived coupled with so many unfortunate realities such as the education of female children which was not so much of a priority to many families.This to a very greater extent pushed my dream of becoming a better person to the society so I could be an inspiration to people who are just like me,coming from the north with similar experiences"

Balchisu said " I count myself very fortunate to have been among the few children in my area who received formal education in the late 90’s.I continued into Ghana Senior Secondary School where I obtained my Senior Secondary School Certificate in 2004 and proceeded to do Diploma in Business Studies at The Kumasi Polytechnic and then Higher National Diploma at Tamale Polytechnic and still pushing ahead. The education and experience I had to a very large extent exposed me so much to the unfortunate realities bothering on my part of the region.Meanwhile that desire to see a change in people positively continued to grow tremendously within me slowly. It is often said that more difficult challenges present themselves as and when you move into the future and so the kind of unfortunate experiences I encountered even strengthened me in my quest and ambition.I went through a series of challenges each day at my work to an extent that I begun to feel at a point I was the only person going through that and wanted to give up on radio but of something inside me kept telling me I was a survivor and so I should keep persevering.I lived very far away from my work place and in fact that distance that lied herein between my house and place of work was just like traveling from one end of Tamale to another.I had to each day spend a chunk of my meager salary I was receiving on transportation just to be able to do my work.

There were times when I couldn’t even afford Taxi fare and so had to start walking all the way early in the morning to the station in order to catch up with my programme and that is, if my friend whom I always relied on to pick me on his bike was not able to do so in such instances.I loved the job that I do and was so determined to do more to the fullest because it was igniting that dream I’ve always had in my childhood.I become happy following the number of calls and messages I receive each day from people asking me to keep up the good work and giving me a lot more encouragement.You would be amazed to hear about the number of life's I’ve been able to touch with the things I do on the radio. With these kind of encouragements and so on, I was receiving from all quarters I begun to even develop an even stronger passion for my work on the radio and so in spite of the so many challenges and obstacles I had on my way,I continued to fight and I have come to accept that may be this is what God really wanted for me".

Hikmat Baba Dua is the Founder and Executive Director of League of Young Female Leaders; a registered non-profit organization focused on advancing the status of girls and women in Ghana through mentorship and advocacy coupled with a charity module. She works with LitWorld International and Global Girls Rising as Tamale Regional Coordinator for the 10,000 Global Girls Initiative. In 2013, she was awarded the MILEAD Fellowship as one of 27 most promising women leaders in Africa by the Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa. She is also A World at School Global Youth Ambassador, a Global Startup Youth, a Fellow of the International Development Summer Institute and a 2015 Fellow of Vital Voices. She has also been named among 200 young leaders by Women Deliver with a 3 year fellowship award. Hikmat holds a BA in Sociology and Social Work (major) with Political Science (minor) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. She received various awards at the KNUST including the Personality of the Year Award (2012) at the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Awards, KNUST where she served as a proactive student leader.

She is currently pursuing an MPhil in Development Studies at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana. She recently won the Africa Youth Awards 2015 Advocate of the Year. This is reawakening of our struggle to create a society of balance that gives a voice, a dream and a purposeful life to every girl and to every boy. The change we seek might not happen in our generation but it would surely manifest in generations we pray and hope would not forget our struggles! Congrats to all nominees Hikmat is passionate about Africa, education, women’s/ girls' empowerment, human rights, social entrepreneurship, good governance and development. She is also a staunch advocate against child/forced marriages and all forms of violence and discrimination against girls and women. She is hopeful the fellowship will among other things equip her with the necessary skills, knowledge and resources to start an education academy which will also serve as a learning center during summer for out of school girls; broaden her network for mutual benefit; and help her contribute to the African narrative positively.

Alima Bawa education started in a community in the West Gonja District, Canteen primary to Canteen JHS. Alima secondary education was in Wulugu, a community in the West Mamprusi District. " Immediately after my Secondary education, l was privileged to work at the Central Gonja District Assembly, at the environmental health department as a sanitation guard from 2008 to 2010. Three weeks after l left the assembly job; l joined a local NGO, Centre for Women Opportunities (CENWOPP), as an office assistant. Then in February 201, I left for Tamale to pursue a career in Journalism. By this l enrolled for an 8-month course at GIFAM school of Journalism and media studies after which, l have since been working at Bishara Radio in Tamale "

" I went in as an attache, to a full reporter, subsequently to an acting News Editor for almost 2 years, and now " a senior reporter". This was because I had to attend to other private activities and renewing my contract as a news editor, will pin me to one place. Now I’m a student at the University of Education, Winneba. With an International exposure already, Currently Alima moves from one community to another, one village to another, when asked whats the reason behind this movement, she replied " Because they need to be heard. Because some of the communities seem not part of Ghana yet their votes are solicited every 4 years.

Because that is where I can unearth real issues affecting the ordinary yet vulnerable and important people, Because they work harder than the well paid politicians yet they not seen relevant to socioeconomic development of the nation, they are called important only on papers. Because i know and have experienced how it feels to be born n grow n a village. Overall, I want their conditions to be better by "selling" or making public, their plight" " Alima ended with her favourite quote " I Aspire to Inspire before I Expire"

Noella Wiyaala was born in Wa, Upper West Ghana as one of four sisters and raised in Tumu. She got first singing lessons from her mother, a choir singer, and she has performed ever since she was 5 years old. Her surname, which she picked for a stage name, means "the doer" in her native Sisaala language. During her late teenage years she played football as a midfielder. She has attended Takoradi Polytechnic on an art and design course. Wiyaala At a very young age, Wiyaala attracted attention as an entertainer, artist and athlete. Her Madonna/Michael Jackson inspired performances always provided much notoriety in the village. After school, she gravitated to the local music scene in Wa and was featured on local recordings as a session singer.

In due course, she saved enough money to record an album of her own songs at Echo Soundz in Wa. In 2011, Wiyaala auditioned for Stars of The Future and emerged as the second runner-up. In 2012, she entered the Vodafone Icons reality show and lead her group Black n Peach to victory. To further her musical journey, Wiyaala left Back N Peach to persue a solo career. She is now using her song writing talents to advocate for women’s rights in her native Ghana. Her love for her Ghanaian upbringing is reflected in her beautiful and powerful ballads. Her messages of positivity have made her an icon and inspiration for young Ghanaians. Her mission is on of love, peace, and celebration. She sings in Dagaare, Sisali and English, her voice is something unexplainable, lyrically motivating and engaging. Fashion style adorable, Wiyaala is a VGMA winner, sing, song writer and Recently won best video at the Affrima awards. Her videos are well filmed with beautiful and wonderful concepts, perfectly artistic and very engaging. She writes her songs herself. She has earned praise for her bold an powerful voice and distinguished timbre.

she won the Most Promising Artiste Africa & Revelation of the African Continent @Afrimawards 2014 Best Female Vocal & Songwriter November 15th at the Eko Hotels in Lagos the 2015 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (Afrima) took place. Artiste from other African countries were present. Ghanaian dancehall artiste Stonebwoy and singer Wiyaala were Ghana’s only winners at the 2015 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in Lagos, Nigeria.

Josephine host The Brunch & Lunch Show on Diamond Fm in Tamale, on Mondays and Tuesdays,and on Wednesdays She plays exclusively Spanish songs "salsa songs"only on diamond fm. During the Show Josephine picks a topic of her choice and together with her guests for the show, they discuss the topic. Josephine has been a long time sweet heart of mine, we met during a rehearsal for a film and since then we have been friends, Josephine is a extraordinary young lady with amazing character and attitude, one will see or say she is self centred but when you spend time with her, you will realise she sweet like lolly pop

I went further to ask her what societal issues does she stand for and why. Here is a profile of Josephine and the answers Josephine gave me. Nana Benhene Brago Josephine, had her high school education at wenchi Methodist senior high from the year 2004 to 2007. She is a native of kintampo in the Brong Ahafo region "born and raised there".

Josephine " I've always love to be an advocate for change and to do that there can't be any better platform than radio and also I think I chose radio because I am one hell of a talkative😜 lol.. I will say am very passionate about education and culture because one can not do away with these two." " I think for now entertainment in the north still need a lot of changes but I hope to see it improved to a higher standard.. My plans for the future is, to be a renowned presenter and though am from the south , I will always represent northern region because northern region has offered me a great deal of opportunity. I want to work hard to achieve my goals to put northern on the map ". When asked about the " hard to penetrate industry in the north " Josephine replied " Hmm is certainly not easy to survive in this industry of ours but what keeps me going is doing my best, being myself and loving what I do..

Born as a princess into a royal family of Kingdom of Dagbon, in the Northern Region of Ghana, Gunu has been interested in dancing and music since she was young. She competed in regional and national dance competitions, winning the dance championship for the northern Region and second place in the 1998 National Dance Championship. She took second place in the Hiplife dance championship in 2003, where she met King Ayisoba and Terry Bonchaka, who subsequently become collaborators.

Naana Hawah joined the WASH, thus Water, Sanitation and Hygiene campaign when she volunteered to feature in Rafiu Fish short film series Water and Culture. the short film series also features two junior high school students, Radia and Mardia. Since then the three girls have taken the path with Rafiu Fishbone to campaign for Wash. Naana Hawah is a student at the university for development studies, her passion for the health of new borns, children and women has grown since our days in high school.

Hawa hopes to reach out to the world on the access to sanitation, water and hygiene using film and drama. She has featured in a 10 minute documentary on access to clean water in Ghana and has also featured in a 3 minute video on access to clean water. She believes her dark and lovely skin in a beauty pageant can help promote her message on water, sanitation and hygiene. So northern region might sooner see a beauty pageant winner, Miss Hawah in the coming years.

five die every day from preventable water-related diseases. One in eight people lacks access to enough clean water to meet their basic needs. More than half of the hospital beds in developing countries are taken by people suffering from diarrheal diseases. Half of girls who stop attending primary school in Africa do so because of the lack of safe and private toilets. Hawah also helped Rafiu Fishbone to campaign for Access to water in Ghana and also helped shared pictures of Rafiu Fishbone participation on the global hand washing Check out the news on Bolgatanga Daily is out! http://t.co/C1n7aTv8Hi Stories via or watch the videos by clicking on the links below http://youtu.be/936yfssz9eE http://youtu.be/5a5jNaYLQwY http://youtu.be/SCQx9x1CncU http://youtu.be/lVtNVrMjtbQ