...Sounds on da ground and seens on the see-ins

What would you do if a young child asked you about a condom? Who is a young child anyway? Well, we know one possibility, thanks to Bright Bling Sparkles, one of Ghana's premier musical voices. A father would tell his son that a condom is a balloon for adults who have the exclusive right to blow it. Hearing this song drew my attention to sex education in Ghana and the fight against AIDS. I am not an expert on the subjects but here goes.

'Condom' is the first single off Bright's debut album, 'Light over darkness'. Bright is an original member of the Buk Bak crew which until its latest album (Gold Coast) consisted of him and Ronnie Cooches. The two are pursuing solo projects amidst rumours of a split. Buk Bak has helped Ga songs rival its Twi counterparts and they achieved a lot of success with Gonja Barracks which had a great video as well as other hits like Klu Blofo, Chingilingi, Kelewele and Komi ke kena (kenkey and fish). 'Light over darkness' also has a reggae hit called 'What dem plan' featuring the rag-life dada - 'Batman' and 'Meton nneEma'.

The chorus of 'Condom' is very funny and makes a joke out of the use of condoms. A son queries his father about the use of a condom who says it is a balloon that adults blow. Bright refers to the classic 'a child doesn't do what adults do' proverb (Abofra bo ngwa, OmmO akyekyedeE) and calls on the father to answer the question - correctly. Even though the song is funny and seems to sensitize the public on sex education, it fails to advocate the use of condoms, address fornication or AIDS. Kwaadee made us laugh in 'P1' but left us with some advice.

I don't remember much about sex education growing up in Ghana. I suppose my teachers stayed away from the subject (maybe it was due to the religious nature of the schools) and in secondary school, all we had were various seminars on AIDS. Various studies have shown that sex-education delays the onset of sexual activity. Notwithstanding the disciplinary nature of the culture in Ghana, children are indulging in intercourse even at the primary school level. Teengae pregnancies continue to be a social vice and the cases of child rape still flood our newspapers. Access to modes of protetcion must be increased and this story about female condoms was very welcomed.

"Seisei, woyÉ› Jerry, twEn na yÉ› Tom."When does a young child grow up? Many young people get married early so they can get into the recreation business (for those who don't believe in pre-marital intercourse). I am afraid the generation gap that exists in Ghana is also aiding the surge in sexual activity amongst youth. Older adults must educate and discipline the younger generations about these issues before they get to face the consequences which are mostly meted out by the adults anyway.

The rate of HIV-AIDS infection in Ghana at present is around 3%. This is a success story compared to other African countries. A few years ago, there was an advert on GTV (what else) about AIDS that revealed that 250 people got infected with HIV in Ghana everyday. That scared a lot of young Ghanaians, including me. Nonetheless, brothers and sisters have been sleeping around without much protection, working with various myths and ideas that they believe would save them from the consequences. The media is quite powerful in influencing youth. This collaborative effort (Stop Aids, Love Life) did a lot for AIDS awareness and we need more of that - in music, theater, literature, film and television.

I believe the father in Bright's song should have saved us the element of surprise and proceeded right away to educate his son about the use of a condom. That's what I would do. The issue of young children would be a good debate and I don't have the answer to that question. I still believe in the ABC's of AIDS - abstinence, being faithful to your partner and then the use of a condom. Our cultural neighbourhood doesn't seem to be paying enough attention to sex education, even in the wake of AIDS, and parents, teachers and community leaders must make concerted efforts to do so. We must attack the conscience of our populace about the consequences of their actions before they are attacked by the pleasures derived from them. Prevention is always better then cure.
Read this piece about the above issues, credited to my friend, Etse.
Full Condom lyrics.

PS: Reggie Zippy (a new hiplife artiste), in his hit 'Virgin', sings about how many men want to marry virgins for their weddings but don't allow the women to grow (and are the very ones reducing the number of wedding-day virgins). Men, that is for you.