Category: Facilitator-Diaries

In a country where tradition, culture and religion has a major influence on almost everything, a new dawn has come where people have to sacrifice all these for a basic need, LIFE!

On 15 March, at 10 pm, President Nana Akufo-Addo banned all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church activities and other related events to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Basic schools, senior high schools and universities, both public and private, have also been closed. In addition to these directives, citizens were advised to observe social distancing, avoid hug and handshakes. At this point, people have to weigh their choices. We are stuck between choosing our needs over our wants or vice versa.

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Need, a necessity whereas want a desire.
Needs point out something you must have for survival. On the other hand, want is something you wish to have. The necessity which is life and the desire to live a normal life.

Handshakes and hugs have been an integral part of the Ghanaian setting. To show solidarity at funerals, to show appreciation and to say congratulations.
Are we ever going to go back to before?
Will our event centres, church auditoriums among others ever be opened for patrons?
All these and more are things we yearn and desire to go back to. They are best described as our wants.

There is one factor that overrides all of our wants and that is life. The need to stay alive. This need has made everyone to sacrifice an aspect of their life’s for the fight against the pandemic.

Everyone has compromised something, be it education, church, fun, leisure, work, etc
At this point, even if you have your life back, know it is at the expense of someone else.

Choose Wisely! Stay At Home!! Stay Safe!!!

How MTW Help Solve the Problem of Global Food Security in the Wake of the Global Pandemic

Food is an essential commodity everyone needs to survive. As the old adage goes ‘a hungry man is an angry man.’ The absence of adequate food and production chain to feed a nation has so many disadvantages. Food security as defined by Wikipedia is ‘a measure of the availability of food and individual’s ability to access it.’ The 17 Sustainable Development Goals highlighted on food security in goal number 2, Zero Hunger. Under goal number two, it aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, and is the priority of the World Food Programme. I will simply define food security as the ability of families to be able to grow what they eat for them to be able to sustain themselves and their next generation as they grow. When families are able to feed themselves, the nation become at peace.

 With this in view, Move The World (MTW) through its program dubbed Get Global and knowing how vital food security is, thought it wise to enlighten the children of Medie on the 2^nd Goal of the SDG’s which is zero hunger. The inclusion of children in maintaining food security is very vital since they are among the majority who are mostly hit in a situation of food insecurities. It is therefore incumbent on us all to teach our children not to waste food but rather how to keep and even grow them to sustain their lives and their families.

Move The World has taken a giant step in the Sub Saharan Region of Africa, to be precise Ghana, by the intervention of the Get Global Program to teach the children of Medie how to grow what they eat in an activity dubbed ‘Grow a Bean’. In the Grow a Bean activity, children are taught how to grow a bean using a biodegradable container which is a coconut shell. With MTW, we care about the Environment. We believe that when we destroy the land that gives food, we destroy the food that gives life hence the need to maintain our environment. The kids are encouraged to continue it in their homes too. The concept behind this activity is encourage our future leaders to be self-sufficient by producing what the use and eat. It falls in tandem with the government of Ghana policy dubbed planting for food and jobs.

We therefore encourage all children who are enjoying some holidays because of this pandemic to start cultivating their backyard farms. You are never too young to bring a change. Let’s end food insecurities now.
#MTW #GetGlobal #ZeroHunger #FoodSecurity#

The Get Global Programme Passport is a highly visual-friendly booklet used by facilitators to enhance the understanding of the SDGs as students are taken on a creative educative journey around the globe. It’s a perfect product representing the combined powers of education and entertainment!

With two facilitators(Lead and Support) tasked with the objective of empowering a class full of exuberant youth, you sure must have something up your sleeves to keep the class busy and engaged. That’s where the Passport comes in handy!

Each student is given a passport and throughout the six – goals structured programme, taken within a 7-month period, they will be required to fill, draw, act out and discuss questions and activities captured in the book.

The passport is divided into 6 sections with each part containing questions about a specific SDG. At the end of each section, students get to answer varying questions about the subject matter. All answered sections are given a seal of approval using the customized MTW stamp which most if not all kids always look forward to with such great excitement!

The passport continues to inspire creative open discussions, increases the involvement of all parties, creates a high sense of observation and inclusivity in class. At MTW, we believe introducing more visual friendly resources at homes and schools could be a game-changer in developing the next set of global leaders and citizens!

Prior to the lockdown of the capital due to the invasion of the COVID-19 virus, my life had been programmed to look forward to Friday of every fortnight with excitement and responsibility.

The class 6 pupils of the Lord Krishna Academy has become an integral part of my life, one I could not miss for anything in the world.

Every new session felt like a team meeting with fifteen team members working together to achieve the same goal – leaving no one behind.

To me, the pupils at Lord Krishna’s Academy are like family, whose welfare supersede a facilitator-pupil relationship and feels more like a sibling relationship.

With every weekly extension of the lockdown, I miss them the more and all I can think about is if they are being the change they promised to be in our last session when we worked on achieving Zero Hunger.

I believe this is going to be over soon and we will be together again.

In the midst of a global pandemic of which Ghana is not exempted, the Get Global COVID-19 Workbook has been one of the numerous literatures that has been keeping our kids active and educating them on this novel disease. My mom will always say and I paraphrase, ‘this virus they say is very dangerous has a very nice name; COVID-19, it sounds funny-like.’ I called a nephew of mine over the weekend, he attends one of the best schools in Kumasi. He is 11 years old and I asked him whether he knows about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To my surprise he said he has never heard of it before. I spoke to his mom and told her I would send him the soft copy of the Get Global COVID-19 Workbook.                             

The response from my nephew made me realize the good work Move The World (MTW) is doing through the Get Global Programme. Reaching the less privilege in our deprived communities such as Medie and its environs. The Get Global Programme, covers about 7 schools in the Medie community and its environs with a total of about 176 children being impacted, not to talk of the rippling effects. The first 6 SDGs has been simplified to the level that every kid can read and understand with little or no stress. Students get to have a hands on experience on every goal we teach and facilitate. The general acceptance of the community is overwhelming and plans are being made to extend it to other schools. As a Get Global Facilitator, I have had the opportunity to be with the kids most of the time, the excitement on their faces is worth seeing and very satisfying.

The COVID-19 booklet came in at such an opportune time, but this time around it was made for the entire community not only some selected schools. Copies were made available in the Medie community both in hard copies and soft copies. Parents, children and guardians who expressed interest were given copies free of charge.  The nature of the COVID-19 booklet talks about innovative and preventive measures to help prevent and control the spread of this noble virus. It also talks about the first six SDGs which links it up to various day to day activities. It has a lot of fun games which teaches our kids to think globally and find creative and innovative ways to make the world a better and safer place for humanity. I entreat all and sundry to download this workbook from MTW website for their kids

As stipulated by Steve Irwin ‘ I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message’.

This encapsulates what the COVID-19 booklet is all about, helping people to discover themselves, discover their passion and embracing it with all enthusiasm for the betterment of themselves and their community at large. My heartfelt appreciation goes to the  MTW Team for their hard work and thoughtfulness. Their relentless effort in their quest to promote and educate our children into getting global and staying safe in this abnormal times. I encourage us all to ensure social distancing since it has proven to be best strategy to combat the noble COVID-19.

-Owura Ben.

“I have been thinking of ways to blend poetry, recital, dance and drama in choreography alongside the sweetness of the healing sounds of the gyil instrument.
My inspirations are from different angles;
– my love for the wellbeing and existence of humanity as one people with equal respect for all,
– my passion for dance
– the sweet sounds of the buzzing gyil instrument
– story teller, gyil builder and player masters Mr. Tgyan and late Bernard Woma.
The analogy in this poem is inspired by a Reggae artiste cum radio presenter in Ghana who hosts a show on ‘zylofon radio station’ called the “Taxi Driver Show, Blakk Rasta.”
In all, I felt like this crisis has it’s ups and downs so why not make the best out of these days of social distancing and discover new skills and talents within me – like poetry!“


War oh war, when will this war end?
The answer depends on how we fight this war. We are at war with a common enemy. Who is this common enemy?
The invisible enemy in our midst, devouring innocent souls.
Brethren, are you ready to face this common enemy who knows no boundaries, no colour, nor age, neither rich or poor, big or small, short or tall, master or servant, male or female?
The only race on earth, the human race, is under attack by a common enemy and now you know who our enemy is, COVID-19.
Some youth keep saying they are at no risk with this enemy but HEY, remember you are not immune and therefore you are a potential ally to be used by the enemy to get into your home and rip your family apart.
Our big giant birds are no more being impregnated with humans and flying over our heads. From Australia through Norway and all the ways, to England, Finland, Grand Island, Holland, Iceland and through all the rest of the lands, down to Zimbabwe, the whole world is at war with one common invincible enemy.
How do we fight this enemy?
‘Together we stand- divided we fall’ as the saying goes, enough is enough, what our enemy has taken from us is enough!
Let us all stand together, united and equip ourselves with the one simple weapon known to be ‘social distancing’ to fight this common enemy and victory will be ours.
DO NOT FORGET your healthy living tips (drinking water regularly throughout the day, regular exercising, personal hygiene, staying at home, etc) to help break the chain of our common enemy spreading through us like the unseen wind!
Stay Safe!

The world is at a standstill and all that echoes in my ears are the words written in the famous diary of Anne Frank- the Jewish teenager who went into hiding during the holocaust. She wrote the quote “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

The current pandemic which has halted the activities of humans- both economic and social, echoes an important message. The message is that as people, we are often caught up in the rat race of life and tend to forget one of the most important parts of our existence on earth, which is caring for one another and the earth at large.

The pandemic has made us realize that every single one of us, irrespective of our position and our location is needed. All we have in this life is one another and we need to “make the world a better place” as Michael Jackson sang in his song “Heal the world” released in 1991.

When this pandemic is over let’s not hesitate in helping each other in whichever way we can and with whatever resources we can harness. Let us “make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race”.