THERE IS APONKYE BINI

Hark! Hark!! Hark!!!

There is apokye bini

If I had a cedi for every time I sung those lines as a child I’d be a millionaire. This morning as I watched the kids in the children service of my church march off with their brightly decorated, flower filled and well woven palm fronds, singing

Hosiana

Ajor Ajor morni baa

Y3 Yehowa gb3i mli

Hosiana y3 nw3i shoorr

I was filled with nostalgia. Feelings of loss and gain filled me instantly, a sense of having lost that childhood innocence and ability to enjoy such seemingly insignificant moments, and gain at having gone through that stage of my life and having so many good memories from then. As I took the pictures of their lit up faces, I found my heart being lifted.

In the midst of all this a daunting thought came to mind, I asked myself if these children really understood the importance and reasons behind what they were doing. In their faces reflected a fear I have had for the longest time. A fear of how the vicious cycle of ignorance continues. I spent most part of that morning replaying and contemplating a conversation I had with Tosin years ago in University about how most of us Christians had rough adulthoods because in Sunday school we were taught what now shallow truths seem without trying to get us to get or at least desire the deeper truths.

I wondered whether these children really knew the meanings and significance of Palm Sunday, Easter, Christmas.

Did they know why on those occasions Sunday school was different?

Did they know the true value of the celebration?

Did they know the significance of those celebrations to the faith they are in?

Or are they all just a bunch of fairy tales to them??

A visit to most Sunday schools today will reveal the children being taught the same things in the same manner we were taught. No modification and adjustment to suit the times. In some cases you find that the message has been watered down further in the name of it being too complex for the kids. This for me is scary.

The way I see because we get such weak foundations as Christian children we grow up not really understanding the faith, and makes it easy for us to wrongly practice the religion.

Further from Christianity is the general socialization of children, I believe our educational system both formal and informal is failing miserably. 

In the poem ‘Rewrite’ Kwame says “our children are fast cooked like indolmie” and I couldn’t agree with him more. Children are bombarded with so much information yet little or no explanation is offered. What that creates is a generation that is knowledgeable but not wise.

It is imperative that we as a people, whether it is in religion, politics or just life in general provide for our young ones a foundation based on understanding what is around them.

Imagine how much different your life would be if someone had taken time to explain some basic things to you. 

Let not happen our children what happened to us.