enditnow® Emphasis Day in Ghana

The Women’s Ministries department of the Southern Ghana Union Conference planned a large campaign using the theme for 2017 enditnow® Emphasis Day, “Love Protects: healing the wounds of emotional abuse.” They decided to go beyond church walls and inspired church members to organize campaign marches in their own towns. The impact was greatly felt in two large cities Accra (Accra City Conference) and Takoradi (South West Ghana Conference).
Taking to the streets of Accra at 2:00 pm, October 15, 2017, more than 2,000 people—women, children, and men—carried abuse prevention placards and enditnow® banners as they marched from the four corners of the city to converge together at the Ghana National Theatre. For this campaign, the Ghana Police Service released twelve policemen to guard the entourages as they marched through principal streets of the capital city.
The Accra City Conference leadership extended the street campaign activities to a “Stakeholders’ Forum” at the Ghana National Theatre. The well-organized meeting in the large hall of the capital city was chaired by Southern Ghana Union Conference Executive Secretary, Pastor Dr. Chris Annan Nunoo, who also spoke about abuse and violence against women and children. Representatives for the stake holding communities included director of ADRA/Ghana; director of USAID; director of Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit; and representatives for UNICEF and UNFPA.
A dramatic performance about domestic violence was presented by Women’s Ministries of the Accra West Central District in the Accra City Conference. A violent scene caused a deep emotional reaction from the audience. A special song on violence against women and children, customized for the program, was composed and rendered by “One Voice," a choral ensemble. A poem written for the occasion was also recited by Evelyn the Piper of the department of Theatre Arts, University of Ghana. Members of the press covered the entire event.
Contributed by Christiana Agyenin-Boateng, WM director of Southern Ghana Union Conference
Published in Mosaic newsletter, Summer 2018