Lets hail our illustrious mothers

Daily Graphic (pg 11) May 8/10

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE work of women in the home has not been quantified enough to know their contribution to national development.
It is estimated that of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70 per cent are women.
Most women, some years ago, were mainly housewives who stayed at home to nurture their children while their husbands worked in offices and brought money home.
Although today, according to the Women’s International Network, women perform 66 per cent of the world’s work, they earn less than five per cent of its income.
Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, produce half of the world’s food, earn only 10 per cent of the world’s income and own less than one per cent of the world’s property.
Also two-thirds of children denied primary education are said to be girls, and 75 per cent of the world’s 876 million illiterate adults are women.
The culture of most societies make the people appreciate the work of men better than that of women. Today, society has come to appreciate the home-based care services that women perform and celebrate motherhood on the second Sunday in May of every year.
Motherhood is an honoured and exalted state in life, and most countries all over the world have their own customs in celebrating motherhood to show appreciation to mothers as those who bring forth children and nurture them to life.
It has become a day when children, be they adults, reflect on their mothers contribution to their lives and say thank you to them in special ways and a number of people have used both the electronic and print media to express their gratitude to their mothers for their commitment, love and encouragement, for making a difference in their lives and communities and for making them realise their dreams.
However, a human resource practitioner at the Volta River Authority (VRA) in Accra, Mrs Esther Mangortey says motherhood should be celebrated everyday, adding that women contribute a lot to the development of the country and should therefore be appreciated on daily basis.
She, however, said that the celebration of Mother’s Day should not be confined to celebrating women in urban centres but that women in the rural areas should also be empowered economically to take care of their children.
According to her, women in the rural areas suffer from a lot of hardships, making it difficult for them to give their best to their wards adding that such women should be identified and supported.
She said Mother’s Day celebration would be more relevant when all women in the country were empowered socially, economically and politically, and appreciated for the work that they do.
Congratulating her fellow mothers on how far they have come, she also advised that women should always live up to their responsibilities, stressing that women should make friends with their children so that they would know whatever happens in their daily lives.
Mrs Saint Claire Adotey, a Beautician and mother of three boys, said, although it was worth celebrating, Mother’s Day should also be a time for mothers to sit down and analyse themselves to see whether they have been good mothers to their children, both those who are their biological children and those they cater for.
She said, today, most mothers are so engrossed in their work and therefore, do not spend quality time with their wards, leaving their responsibilities to househelps and making their children take so much interest in television and the use of the computer.
She said to make the celebration of Mother’s Day more relevant to mothers and their wards, there was the need for sustained education on the values of motherhood.
“Most children today have become wayward because they lack parental care and therefore seek affection or solace in drugs”, she said.
Saluting mothers on this important day, she also reiterated the importance of mothers befriending their wards, saying that due to the harsh living conditions in the urban centres, most mothers were unable to give the maximum care that their children required.
The Minister in-charge of the Atomic Hill Estate Presby Church, Reverend Dei Awuku, has also saluted mothers saying that they are giving their best in this trying circumstances.
According to him, many mothers had become breadwinners or are helping their husbands due to the harsh economic circumstances but were still making time for their children.
He said it was important to appreciate women for all that they were doing saying that “mothers are great, we are what we are because of the way our mothers trained us.”
Rev. Awuku, who is also a lecturer in Communications Studies at the Christian Service University College, Kumasi, acknowledged that today’s mothers were also going through difficult moments as some were combining school, work and child care, all in the name of making their lives and that of their families better.
He said although all this affects the survival of their children, the present state of the economy, both in the country and on the international scene, has made it imperative that mothers work to support their husbands.