Happy Mothers’ Day, sharing love with mothers

05/10/08
Story: Salome Donkor
"Sweet mother I no go forget you 
for the suffer wey you suffer for me. 
Sweet mother I no go forget you 
for the suffer wey you suffer for me. 
When I dey cry, my mother go carry me--she go say,  my pikin wetin you dey cry ye, ye, 
stop stop, stop stop make you no cry again oh...." 
The message of this song, titled "Sweet Mother", which is a popular Nigerian song composed in Pidgin English by Prince Nico Mbarga, in 1976, extolling the virtues of motherhood is just as valid today as it was three decades ago.
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 nurtures them to life.
A number of people interviewed in Accra have expressed 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.
A Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Henry Amoako, who lost his mother recently, still recollects with nostalgia, the sacrifices his mother made to educate him and his siblings and pointed out that he owed a lot to her late mother.
He said his father was a cocoa farmer and his mother, affectionately called Mama Abena Tettebea, prepared kenkey to supplement the upkeep of the home.
He said through that effort her mother supported his father to educate the five of them, to attain various levels of education and he and another brother were educated to the university level.
Asked to comment on the behaviour of some people who brand their mothers as witches, he said although he did not dispute their suspicion he did not believe in that.
He said mothers, like all parents, had their faults, mostly caused by too much or too little concern for their children.
He however pointed out that older people, especially women become very emotional, inquisitive and ask a lot of questions and talk a lot, but medical experts have attributed that charecter to "menopause" and indicated that "when they get to that stage, we should know how to deal with them."
One lady in the Daily Graphic Newsroom, Ms Hawa Adama, recounted how the relationship between her mother and her children had grown from a mother and a child to a mother and a friend.
She was grateful to her mother for helping to build the foundation for the progress of her children and nurturing them as they grow and explore the great promise of our Nation.
Kwaku Asamani, an electrical technician, said through her mother's examples, he and his siblings had grown to understand the virtue of kindness, the blessing of compassion, and the importance of principle, adding that a mother's support encouraged children to make right choices, set high goals, and become good citizens.
Another woman also in the Newsroom, Auntie Mary, however said her mother never liked her and discriminated against her and her other siblings, and that made her think that there was a difference between her and the others.
Ms Gloria Ofori-Boadu, a Barrister-at-Law and Human Rights Advocate, said the Mothers' Day should also focus on women empowerment to help them rise up to the occasion and become agents of transformation and development.
Ms Ofori-Boadu, who is contesting the Abuakwa South seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, said women needed to be empowered financially to make the attainment of the goal of increasing women's participation in politics and decision-making a reality.
As we honour our mother's on this day, let's use the occasion to mark a new beginning to continue to share our love with mothers and all others every day. Let’s make it a point to start telling our mothers or the people who have contributed significantly to our lives that "we love them."