Ghana: Event to celebrate motherhood and parenting launched
Morkporkpor Anku (Accra, Ghana) – The first ever event to showcase and celebrate the beauty of motherhood and the art of parenting in the country was launched in Accra on Thursday.
Dubbed BabyFEST Ghana 2011, it is scheduled for June 3-5, 2011 and would consist of three categories – “PUSH” pageant for pregnant women, ”Baby Summit” and “BabyFair”.
It is being organised by Ticklz N’ Gigglz, an event and consultancy firm. Ms Esi Yankah, Chief Executive Officer of Ticklz N’ Gigglz, who launched the event in Accra, said it would offer advice and engage prospective parents, new parents and baby lovers to celebrate babies’ recreation, education and healthy interactive activities.
“This event further aims to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals on reduction of child mortality, improve maternal health, promote gender equality and empower women,” she added.
The festival would also pay careful attention to babies, Ms Yankah said, adding that engaging them and having keen interest in their development was a long-term investment every parent needed to make.
The “PUSH” pageant, Ms Yankah said, would be the first of its kind in Ghana and Africa.
It will engage pregnant mothers in a fun and interactive pageant. It seeks to bring to pregnant women the awareness that pregnancy does not put a limitation on how well they should groom themselves, take care of their bodies and still keep themselves attractive to their husbands.
“Pregnant women go through the uncomfortable motions of hormones boiling up, fevers and chills,” she said.
Ms Yankah said importance would be placed on critical areas in the “PUSH” pageant, including health, nutrition, creativity, talent, knowledge about pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy.
On the BabyFair, she said the event would offer parenting and shopping advice to enable attendees to discover services, information and products available as they walked through exhibition stands covering everything from pregnancy, birth and babies to toddlers.
“Information on adoption and In-Vitro fertilization will be provided for childless parents to also share in the joy of parenting,” Ms Yankah said.
She gave the assurance that this would be the most sought after baby to toddler event ever to be celebrated annually in Ghana.
Baby Summit will comprise of conferences and seminars that would empower prospective parents and new parents with all they need to know about relevant pregnancy related issues.
The festival is being supported by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, SickleAID Ghana and Saving Mama campaign.
