ASDA CUP 2008- The Annual football tournament that is organised by the African Social Development Aid in Ghana took a different form last december.

Ghanaian Diasporas resident in the Netherlands and who had decided to spend the christmas holidays with their families in Ghana assembled a team to  play against local football stars to raise funds for ASDA's Healthcare programs. ASDA is planning to adopt a children's ward at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. There was a donation of 100 euros for each goal scored. The tournament, opened by ASDA's chairman, Mr Samuel Ackah was played between 6 clubs.

FOR 2009- THE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT WAS JOINTLY ORGANISED IN AMSTERDAM WITH THE HIRDA FOUNDATION.

With the Theme “Sport for peace”, Team Amersfoort won on Sunday 24 May, "The Hirda Amsterdam summer Tournament 2009". The tournament was organized by HIRDA Foundation and ASDA Foundation. The organizations want to involve young Somalians and Ghanaians in development aid through sports. Moreover the foundations want to build a peace network for the Somali and Ghanaians youth in the Netherlands.

Team Amersfoort played Team Tilburg in the final. Hirda's team, last year's champion lost in the semi-final. Though Team Tilburg were very well organised, they bowed to Team Amserfoort, having drawn 1-1 in the first round. Amersfoort won with a convincing 2-1 victory to carry the day.

This tournament is the second summer football tournament, which was organized in the Netherlands by HIRDA. It is popular among young Somalis in the Netherlands; the inclusion of young Ghanaians is an aim to bring the youth together. The tournament was organized this year by two Diaspora organizations in Amsterdam en Almere (HIRDA & ASDA). The participating teams came from all over the Netherlands. The theme of this year's tournament was “sports for Peace in Somalia”. Abdiqani Said Arab, the secretary of Somali football federation who was the honourable guest of this tournament handed over the Cup to the champion team “Amersfoort”.

OXFAM NOVIB VISITS GHANA. A delegation from the Oxfam Novib recently visited Ghana and had the chance to see some of the ongoing activities there in the country. Led by Leila Rispens-Noel, the group paid a courtesy visit to the office of the African Social Development Aid where they met the staff

African Heritage at its best. 
A lot is being said in the media about the negatief sides of Africa- the poverty, conflicts, mismanagements, just name it and it is there or comes from Africa. Is there nothing positive in Africa? The greater percentage of the world’s population has only a little clue.
Afrikanetwerk- a diaspora with various migrant organisations based in the Netherlands, at the weekend (7th june) held a session on African Heritage.

 There was enough about Africa to be seen, heard, felt and enjoyed; Cultural display and of course, the fashion show. There was the typical African humor. It was a day to remember. The biggest question of the day was “how could we better portray the African Culture to the outside world”.  Visit our photos gallery for more pictures. 

Seminar on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Ghana.

Determining if a child has ADHD takes many steps. There is no single test to diagnose the disorder. As a result, a comprehensive evaluation is necessary to establish the diagnosis, rule out other causes, and determine the presence or absence of coexisting conditions. Such an evaluation requires time and effort. It should include a clinical assessment of the child’s school, social, and emotional functioning and developmental level. A careful history should be taken from parents, teachers, and the child when appropriate.

With the assistance of the NCDO from the Netherlands, Foundation A.S.D.A. organised a seminar in Ghana highlighting and bringing awareness to groups of teachers from various schools in the Greater Accra Region. The seminar, an initiative of ASDA’s Senior Program Coordinator –Mrs Monique Haesakkers-Ackah, was to raise awareness of ADHD in Africa. Mrs Haesakkers-Ackah, an expert in this field put her theme in the Dutch language “Weet de meester of juf waar ik last van heb” (translated as: “Does my teacher know my problem”). The seminar was organised at the Kowanaso Hotel at Ashaima, a surburb of Accra, conference centre.

At the beginning of the 2-day seminar, A.S.D.A’s Ghanaian Executive Director- Georgina Blessing William, advised teachers to take the points noted during the seminar seriously and hoped that it would go a long way in bringing to light ADHD. She praised the efforts of her Dutch counterparts who made sure that this project became a success. She noted that due to limited financial resources, ASDA could only cover a small area of this rather broad scope topic. It is hoped that this seminar is just the beginning of more interesting topics in the pipeline which ASDA hopes to bring to the African public.

ADHD is listed as a developmental, neurobehavioral disorder, widely recognized by the medical and scientific community as causing impairment, especially in children and affecting about 3-5% of the world's population. It typically presents itself during childhood, and is characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity, as well as forgetfulness, poor impulse control or impulsivity, and distractibility. Scientists can't conclusively state what causes ADHD. Most ordinary people exhibit some of these behaviors but not to the point where they seriously interfere with the person's work, relationships, or studies or cause anxiety or depression. Children do not often have to deal with deadlines, organization issues, and long term planning so these types of symptoms often become evident only during adolescence or adulthood when life demands become greater.

Many of the symptoms of ADHD occur from time to time in everyone. The frequency of these symptoms is much higher and impairs regular life functionality, typically at school or at work. Not only will they perform poorly in task oriented settings but they will also have difficulty with social functioning with their peers.

Although individuals with this disorder can be very successful in life, without identification and proper treatment, ADHD may have serious consequences, including school failure, family stress and disruption, depression, problems with relationships, substance abuse, delinquency, risk for accidental injuries and job failure. Early identification and treatment are extremely important. School success may require a variety of classroom accommodations and behavioural interventions. Most children with ADHD can be taught in the regular classroom with minor adjustments to the environment. Some children may require special education services if an educational need is indicated. These services may be provided within the regular education classroom or may require a special placement outside of the regular classroom that meets the child's unique learning needs.

Medical science first documented children exhibiting inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity in 1902. Since that time, the disorder has been given numerous names, including minimal brain dysfunction, hyperkinetic reaction of childhood and attention-deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity. With the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition (DSM-IV) classification system, the disorder has been renamed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. The current name reflects the importance of the inattention characteristics of the disorder as well as the other characteristics of the disorder, such as hyperactivity and impulsivity.