Kofi Poku Quan-Baffour

The power of Akan folk music in teaching adults1 about HIV/AIDS in Ghana

ABSTRACT The power of music in communicating important messages and disseminating information cannot be underestimated. Since time immemorial the rhythms of African music and drums not only entertained the masses of the people but also provided them with food for thought regarding social issues in their communities. This article examines Akan folk music popularly dubbed Hi-life in Ghana and how it has been used and continue to be used in collaboration with modern instruments in teaching adults who, on account of illiteracy, cannot access written information about HIV/AIDS. Although many people have written on songs or music they have not emphasised its potency and efficacy in educating adults about HIV/AIDS. The article argues that popular music provides auditory potential to spread the critical awareness on how to deal with the pandemic, especially, among adults who cannot read. It is hoped that adults as grown up people and parents would be able to warn their children about the danger of the pandemic. T...ABSTRACT The power of music in communicating important messages and disseminating information cannot be underestimated. Since time immemorial the rhythms of African music and drums not only entertained the masses of the people but also provided them with food for thought regarding social issues in their communities. This article examines Akan folk music popularly dubbed Hi-life in Ghana and how it has been used and continue to be used in collaboration with modern instruments in teaching adults who, on account of illiteracy, cannot access written information about HIV/AIDS. Although many people have written on songs or music they have not emphasised its potency and efficacy in educating adults about HIV/AIDS. The article argues that popular music provides auditory potential to spread the critical awareness on how to deal with the pandemic, especially, among adults who cannot read. It is hoped that adults as grown up people and parents would be able to warn their children about the danger of the pandemic. The article concludes that youths who are entering into adulthood would also benefit tremendously from the teachings of the folk music regarding HIV/AIDS.

Ubuntu-Inspired Training of Adult Literacy Teachers as a Route to Generating "Community" Enterprises.

This article describes experiences of an adult educator (Kofi Quan-Baffour) at the University of South Africa, 1995 to 2009, teaching tutorial classes to train teachers who, in turn, would offer adult literacy classes/sessions (in relation to adult basic education and training [ABET] policies initiated post-1994). The article aims to make a contribution to the literature on how literacy education can in practice activate a potential for the “humanization” of economic and social life. In the context of South Africa, we consider practices for nurturing a variant of humanism called Ubuntu. As co-authors, we use a narrative inquiry approach, drawing on exemplars that arose in dialogue, to report on our joint deliberations on the import of Kofi’s attempts to keep an Ubuntu spirit alive in the various learning settings with the trainees. Our reflective exercise took place via “debriefing sessions” in 2012, where we focused on the offshoots of literacy education for Ubuntu-informed cooperative work in community business enterprises. We point to some cooperative enterprises (a restaurant, a farming enterprise, and a sewing business), which we suggest incorporate an Ubuntu-style approach to human relationships based on people recognizing (and living) their mutual connectedness. We concentrate on what it may mean to be involved in basic adult education processes geared toward generating an improvement in people’s lives economically and socially. We argue that this co-constructed notion of Ubuntism in the context of adult education practices is relevant for other geographical contexts where practitioners hope to accomplish humanistic goals.

Education programmes for prison inmates: reward for offences or hope for a better life?

Abstract Education is a means to emancipate people from abuse, unemployment and poverty, which is why democratic countries provide basic education for all their citizens, even ‘law breakers’. Education for prisoners is gaining currency in many countries. In South Africa, it is both a constitutional right and a foundation stone for rehabilitation. The objective of this paper was to investigate the value of prison education at two correctional service facilities in Pretoria. A qualitative research approach in the form of interviews was used in the investigation. Hundred inmates and ex-inmates participated in the study which found that education for prisoners is not a waste of tax payers’ money but has socio-economic value. The major findings of the investigation include the following: the promotion of social cohesion; the re-integration of ex-inmates into the community as reformed members; the provision of knowledge and skills for employment and self-employment through entrepreneurial activities.

Oral performance and voice of wisdom: Batswana songs to educate young adults about community health problems

Abstract The Batswana form one of the largest ethnic groups in Southern Africa. They are found in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia and their language, Setswana, is the most widely spoken in the Southern African region. Batswana like singing and oral performance. They sing on various occasions and compose songs on all social aspects of human life – health [illness], love, marriage, divorce, birth and death. The oral performances of Batswana contain words of wisdom that covertly or overtly educate people about some specific aspects of social life. One important aspect of social life is health, and there are some circumstances and behaviours that can jeopardise the health of community members. This article discusses and analyses some selected Batswana songs that educate and warn the youth and adult community members about some actions that may put their lives at risk.

Transformation and acculturation in Ghanaian Christian songs

Abstract The rhythms of African songs and drums are the means of expressing peoples thoughts, feelings and beliefs in Ghanaians’ everyday life. Since time immemorial, simple instruments, such as the flute, animal horns and drums, have been used to compose songs that express grief and happiness, or for worship and festivals by Ghanaians of various ethnic backgrounds. The inception of colonialism in the 1400s brought Christianity in its wake and the singing of hymns at church services by the converts. Although indigenous songs were not permitted to be sung at church services at that time, this did not stop their composition and use in local communities. This article discusses how traditional songs have been transformed and integrated into church activities and services as part of cultural evangelism in contemporary Ghana.

A Systemic View of the Value of Environmental Conservation: The Case of Bono Takyiman, Ghana

From a systemic point of view, it can be understood that the physical environment is important to every living being because it supports and protects life. The physical environment contains the ecosystem in which humans, animals and trees interact. All living organisms depend on the physical environment for survival which is why the environment must be protected. With the increase in world population, pollution, and climate change, environmental conservation has become the dominant concern of everyone: individuals, communities, nations, governments and international organisations. From time immemorial the indigenous people of Bono Takyiman in Ghana have depended on their cultural beliefs and practices to conserve the physical environment. Although the indigenous conservation approach of the Bono is based on traditions, the practice is in tandem with modern scientific methods of environmental protection. In fact the indigenous people seem to be ahead of others in environmental awareness and the general concerns of environmental degradation. Using the relevant literature and the author’s lived experience of environmental conservation, this chapter discusses two major approaches which the indigenous people of Bono Takyiman employ in protection of the physical environment. In this chapter, I set out to share with others from so-called developed and developing countries alike this indigenous orientation to saving the environment. I discuss the worthiness of the approach and I consider lessons that can be learned from it for our way of addressing the Anthropocene.

Ritual songs for girls’ nubility rites at Bono Takyiman, Ghana

ABSTRACT Among the Bonos, particularly those within the municipal area of Takyiman, nubility rites are an important aspect of social life. The weeklong rite of passage forms a transition from girlhood to womanhood. It is a cultural norm among the Bonos of Takyiman for girls to remain virgins until their initiation. Nubility rites (bra goro) are performed to give permission or the right to marriage and for that matter sex life and child bearing. The initiation ceremony serves as an advertisement and a proclamation to community members, especially men, that a girl is of age and available for courtship and marriage. In the Bono belief a girl who falls pregnant without waiting for the initiation into womanhood brings a curse on the family and the community. She is described as kyiri bra (one who hates initiation and transition). During the ceremony, the girl is honoured with presents in the form of money, clothes, suitcases, and so on for keeping her virginity until she has come of age. This article outlines and discusses some of the songs sung during the weeklong nubility ceremony, their significance and the message for the initiate–the ‘new woman’ and her friends in the community.

Environmental conditions and their impact on small businesses in South Africa: implications for managers

Prior to April 1994 the apartheid regime discriminated against blacks of South Africa. The best education went to whites while blacks received an inferior education. This resulted in high unemployment rate among blacks due to lack of skills and knowledge. To reduce unemployment and its socio-economic consequences a policy on local economic development was enacted to encourage the unemployed to start their own businesses. In spite of the policy environmental conditions might impact on businesses. This paper investigates the impact of environmental conditions on the growth of the small businesses which are emerging to reduce unemployment among the youth.

Quality Assurance through Experiential Learning in A Distance Education Context: the Views of Major Stakeholders

The quality of experiential learning in distance education is a dominant concern of all major stakeholders and the public at large. Institutions of higher learning which train school teachers at a distance are often blamed for the poor quality of teachers and teaching. The perception among some sections of the society is that teachers trained at a distance are of poor quality compared to those trained via the conventional face-to-face mode. While this perception can be disputed it gives distance education institutions food for thought. Debunking the wrong perception is to ensure quality in the training of teachers at a distance. Students of the University of South Africa (UNISA) are scattered all over the country and beyond and this makes effective and quality organization, managing, supervision, mentoring and evaluation of experiential learning quite daunting. Effective experiential learning cannot be organized and managed effectively without the involvement of key stakeholders. This paper used the qualitative research approach to explore the views of major stakeholders from two Provinces in South Africa on quality assurance of experiential learning for teacher trainees in distance education. The findings indicate that all the major stakeholders involved in providing experiential learning in the UNISA teacher training program support the idea of collaboration as the basis of quality teacher training.

Africanising the Catholic Mass Celebration in Ghana: Recognising Cultural Identity or Agenda to Retain the Faithful?

The Catholic Church started in Ghana in the 1500s. The missionaries of this Eurocentric Church prohibited its converts from practising their culture, for example the singing of folksongs, drumming, dancing and wearing of talismans in and outside the church, because they were deemed satanic, savage, fetish, heathen and ungodly. The missionaries’ perception was that Ghanaians did not know God and they—the missionaries—had come to Africa to “teach the Ghanaians” about God. Church premises were decorated with the cross and Christ images to facilitate full conversion of converts; whereas Ghanaian traditional, cultural and religious shrines for the veneration of “their” gods were destroyed. Church hymns were in Latin and English with few translations. However, in a noteworthy change of heart, over the past two decades Ghanaian drums, songs and dance were once again accepted into the Mass. This ethnographic study, which was undertaken to understand the sudden “U-turn” on Ghanaian culture, found that the change of attitude was to recognise African culture with the agenda of retaining the faithful in the wake of competition from emerging charismatic churches.