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Two Non-Governmental Organisations, Pencils of Promise (POP) and World Vision have marked this year's International Mother Language Day celebration in the Volta region on the theme "Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building, and reconciliation".
International Mother Language Day marked 21 February is an annual celebration inaugurated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1999, aimed to celebrate and project local dialect worldwide.
The Krachi West Municipal Director of Ghana Education Service, Mrs. Georgina Mensah in her speech during the event held in Ho, indicated that children are fast in understanding lessons when they are been taught in local dialects and show interest and self-esteem in their academic activities.
She said in her area, literacy among learners has improved at the basic schools because of the use of local dialect to teach the children, hence, its prudent to equip the pupils with their mother tongues.
"Education especially literacy in the lower grades is very successful, now most children can read…” she said.
She called on both government and non-government institutions to use the day to promote and outline policies to "support mother language”.
The Volta regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GIJ), Mr. Kafui Bells Kanyi shared his experience using his local dialect (Ewe) as a Journalist and called for the need to always use mother language.
He encouraged radio stations in the Volta region to do programmes in local languages as a measure to promote and project it.
A representative from International Child Development Program (ICDP), Ghana, Ms. Joyce Lanyo bemoaned that, foreigners who visit Ghana are always eager to learn indigenous languages but Ghanaians rather feels shy to use the mother tongues.
"When foreign volunteers come, the first thing they want to learn is the local language why is it that we are throwing that away?" She quizzed.
She praised musicians who uses their songs to project mother languages and made reference to Amakye Dede and Ofori Amposah as agents to promote the agenda." Ms Lanyo promised the organisation's support to promote the use of mother languages.
The Country Director of Pencils of Promise, Mr. Freeman Gobah, who spearheaded the event in an interview with Class News urged parents to allow their children to speak the local dialect while learning the international ones.
The celebration was climax with a panel discussion on how to promote the local languages, and ended by encouraging educational institutions, parents and other stakeholders to make use of the local dialects.
