Lordina Foundation supports humanitarian, philanthropic works
Although the office of the First Lady in Ghana is extra-constitutional, it has come to be accepted as part of the government machinery working from the periphery.
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First Ladies do not have defined roles in the governance of the state but, they have strong impact on their spouses’ presidencies. They are, therefore, expected to live above reproach.
The saying that ‘Behind a successful man is a woman,’ and ‘Behind every successful man, there is a wise and hardworking woman,’ applies here.
From the days of obscurity, today’s First Lady carries some amount of public service on her head.
Voluntary work
In Ghana, first ladies are not paid for the work they do. Their work is voluntary.
Even in the United States where the name and office originated from, they run their offices according to their own dictates, but with a semblance of the administration in power, be it Republican or Democrat.
In the US, they are also not paid. It was Barrack Obama who pointed out the need for Michelle Obama to get paid for being the First Lady.
Obama was quoted as saying, “Let me tell you, now, Michelle would point out first ladies get paid nothing. So there’s clearly not equal pay in the White House when it comes to her and me. But before we were in the White House, I wanted to make sure Michelle got paid as much as she could.”
Honour
But, clearly to be the spouse of a President is an honour. Here in Ghana, the First Lady is addressed as “Her Excellency.”
At various times in the country’s history, First Ladies such as Mrs Fathia Nkrumah, Mrs Christine Afrifa, Naa Morkor Busia, Mrs Faustina Acheampong, Mrs Fulera Limann, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, Mrs Theresa Kufuor and Mrs Naadu Mills carried their own personalities along with some of them running their offices to support their husbands’ work.
Fourth Republic
It was from the Rawlings’ revolutionary era through to the Fourth Republic that our First Ladies started pursuing a more vigorous agenda to project their offices.
Nana Konadu used her 31st December Women’s Movement to undertake many projects across the country. The movement set up a number of nurseries in the country and also established bakeries, which provided employment for many women.
In 2001, Mrs Kufuor also launched her Mother and Child Community Development Foundation.
The foundation was engaged in social, cultural, educational and economic development initiatives for the vulnerable and disadvantaged mothers and children in the country.
When President Kufuor exited office in 2009, Mrs Mills, the wife of President J.E.A. Mills, established the Foundation for Child Development. She had a vision to bring quality education to children in deprived communities and the foundation was able to undertake a number of projects and programmes.
Enter Lordina
Today, the mantle has fallen on Mrs Lordina Mahama, who has over the past three years carved a niche for herself as a humanitarian and philanthropist par excellence supporting her husband at home to ensure quality lives for the people, especially the needy.
The First Lady is from the Brong Ahafo Region, specifically, from Jema-Ampoma in the Nkoranza District and this writer is from Goaso in the Asunafo North Municipality. Jema-Ampoma is in the Brong section and Goaso is in the Ahafo section of the region . She is the second First Lady to come from the region, the first being Mrs Kufuor, who hails from Odumase near Sunyani.
The Brong Ahafo Region has an interesting history. It was created on April 4, 1959 during the Nkrumah Regime. The Government of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) carved parts of the Ashanti Region (the western and northern parts), and joined them with the Prang and Yeji areas, which were then parts of Northern Region, to form Brong Ahafo Region.
Foundation
Since becoming the First Lady, Mrs Mahama has pursued a comprehensive initiative under the Lordina Foundation to address some of the problems facing women, children and the underprivileged in the society
The objectives of the foundation are to support orphanages, women and youth empowerment; to provide vocational skills training for the youth, and to provide scholarships to brilliant, needy and underprivileged children.
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Her ambitious goal has seen her travelling the length and breadth of the country to have first hand information on how the activities of the foundation are impacting the lives of the people.
A number of orphanages have benefitted from the foundation’s initiatives in the form of infrastructure projects, donations of food items and clothing. They include the Andani Children’s Home, and the Tamale Children’s Home all in the Northern regional capital of Tamale.
The First Lady has also been consistent with her HIV and AIDS, breast, cervical and prostate cancer programmes.
Health activities
Her health activities have now gone beyond the borders of the country as her election as President of Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) has seen her doing a lot of work on the continent to bring hope to people living with HIV and prevent the spread of the disease.
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In Ghana, Mrs Mahama and her foundation work with the Ghana AIDS Commission on the elimination of mother-to-child transmission.
She has successfully planted and nurtured the Ghana Chapter of OAFLA’s HIV and AIDS, breast and cervical cancer project in the Eastern, Brong Ahafo, Greater Accra, Central and Western regions.
Mrs Mahama’s humanitarian work also has seen her doing a lot of work at the Gambaga Witches Camp.
After becoming the First Lady, she has paid a number of visits to the camp where she donated assorted food items, medication and clothing to the women who have been banished from their homes over allegations that they are witches.
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