Be peace ambassadors - Nursing trainees urged

Students of the Bolgatanga Nurses Training College (BNTC) have been urged to eschew violence and act as peace ambassadors in the coming elections.

The students were at the launch of the College's 19th Ghana Nurses and Midwives Trainees Association's (GNMTA) week celebration held on the theme: 'Unveiling the multifunctional role of a trainee nurse as a care giver and a peace advocate.'

Mr Kelvin Christopher Asima, the Upper East Regional Youth Coordinator of the Women's Situation Room (WSR), said they would need a peaceful environment to study and perform well.

The WSR was formed by the Angie Brooks International Centre as a project to empower women in peace-building in any democracy and was implemented in Liberia's 2011 presidential and legislative polls.

Mr Asima said the WSR would launch a toll-free telephone number which would be well publicised to enable the general public to report any act of violence that would affect the elections.

He said as part of WSR's plan to ensure a violence free election, it would create a Situation Room made up of prominent stakeholders including political party leaders and telephone operators who would receive calls from election observers about any act or threat of violence on election day.

The coordinator said if telephone calls were received, the prominent people in the room would use their influence to reduce tension and control the situation.

He said acts such as snatching electoral boxes on Election Day would not be treated as an electoral offence, but would be handed to the police to deal with as a criminal offence.

Mr Emmanuel Geyevo, former National GNMTA president, said some nurses and nurse trainees on clinical attachments to the wards sometimes engaged in political discussions at the expense of their duties and urged them to stop such practices.

He called on the College's GNMTA executives to work hard to complement the efforts of the institution's management to achieve its goal of academic excellence.

Mr Edward Atiim, a tutor of the College, entreated them to be modest in the week long celebration as the institution had lost three students over the years during such GNMTA celebrations.

Mr Achire Abraham, the Bolgatanga NTC- GNMTA president, said lack of lavatories, poor lighting system and lack of water on campus were some of the challenges that hindered academic performance and called on stakeholders to come to the aid of the College.

The weeklong celebration was sponsored by the Tigo communication Network.