GHANA
(2003 World Peace Prayer Society Report)

CHILDREN OF THE EARTH – APEADU PEACE CENTER held a 2-hour public gathering with speakers, on the theme of “Youth Unite for Peace”. The gathering was attended by 200 people and began with an inter-religious prayer ceremony, followed by cultural performances by school children, candle lighting for peace, speeches, a pledge drive and poem recital. Reports were given on youth statistics on HIV/AIDS and concluded with closing remarks of co-chairperson, Chief Nan Osei Baokya Yiadom II, emphasizing the importance of the Apeadu Peace Center for the people of Aburi. (“WE THE PEOPLES” INITIATIVE Participant)

GHANA

MESSAGE OF PEACE FOUNDATION

International Day of Peace/Hear the Children Day. Observation of one minute of silence to focus on peace and the messages of the world’s children, followed by the making of a “joyful noise” – the ringing of many bells to awaken peace consciousness. With the help of the media and the educational system, the Message of Peace foundation will teach the children what peace can bring to our daily lives and how to forgive and forget disputes. A prayer will be offered after the teaching and candles lit as a dedication to this day of non-violence and global ceasefire. These local events will be extended to help the aged, homeless refugees, and to protecting the environment.

(“WE THE PEOPLES” INITIATIVE Participant)

ABURI, GHANA

THE CELEBRATION OF WORLD PEACE DAY 2003 BY APEADU PEACE CENTER

Public Gathering on Sunday 21^st September 2003 Time 1pm, duration 2 Hours

Venue Aburi Henes Palace-Aburi Number of participants: about 200

Organization Apeadu Peace Center

Chairperson: Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II

Theme: Youth Unite For Peace

Sponsors: May Restaurant, KEMP JSS, Aburi Traditional Palace and the Presiding member of Akuapim South, as well as Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II

Prayers: By the three major religious groups in Ghana (Traditional, Islamic and Christian)

Arrival of guest and participants

The clear sky of the day of the celebration was a significant achievement and a clear sign of hope for a peaceful world one day as the programme went ahead unhindered by the threat from the rain as guests VIPS and participants started arriving way ahead of time.

Introduction of VIPS and Guests

The VIPS and guests for the occasion were all seated way ahead of time for introduction by the MC for the day Gyimah Kofi Ezekiel, the executive secretary of the organizing committee

Welcome Address

In his welcoming address Gyimah Kofi thanked all who were present and those who could not make it for their support and urged them to continue their unending physical and monetary support for the PEACE CENTER.

Introduction of Chairperson

Before introduction of the chairperson for the day the MC mentioned the enormous contribution made by Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II and her friends and colleagues for peace in the world. He then introduced the chairperson for the occasion Nana Osei Yiadom Boakye II.

Acceptance Speech

In her acceptance speech, Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II, who is the director of Apeadu Peace Center, thanked the organizers for giving her the opportunity to chair the occasion and thanked all who were present and asked the MC to be a co chairperson for the day.

Opening Address

An articulate young and beautiful Miss Mara Asante, the president of Apeadu Youth Ambassadors, delivered the opening address for the occasion. A girl with an eye and vision for a world without war as she said “in my world there will be brothers and sisters who love, share, care and tolerate each other. ’’ She further went on to thanking everyone for their tireless effort especially Kofi Gyimah for making the day a reality and also extended her appreciation to the visitors from Britain Miss Emily Oliver and Hilary Thompson for coming to grace the occasion. She wished all a happy world peace day 2003 celebration and urged them to join the celebration next year.

Cultural Performance

Pupils of KEMP Junior Secondary School Aburi treated the audience and participants to an unforgettable display of cultural artistry. In a related speech the MC for the occasion, Gyimah stressed the importance of peace in our locality and urged all present to practice peace in no small way in their home, at work, school and their communities.

Candle Lightening

The light of candles to mark the world Peace day 2003 celebration was led by Miss Margaret Quaye and Doris Ofori, all of Apeadu Youth Ambassadors fame, who after lightening the candle for the dignitaries she asked them to do the same and then asked everybody to make a wish of peace on the earth. The candle lighting went on for almost 10 minutes and at the end the Ambassadors thanked all who made the wish.

Speech by the DCE of Akuapim South

The presiding member of Akuapim South on the role of youth in peace building did not mince words as she said the youth constitutes a greater percent of the world population therefore are the light and hope for the world and their contribution to peace can never be over emphasized. She charged all parents to build a home conducive for the moral upbringing of children and youth and to provide the needed encouragement for the education of their girl child. She urged parents to allow their children to social clubs like the Apeadu Youth Ambassadors to contribute to the development of their communities.

Pledge

Rounding up her speech, the presiding member of the Akuapim South District pledged a monthly contribution of a hundred thousand Cedis for the activities of the Apeadu Young Ambassadors and promised the support of the district assembly and a further assistance in the future. In her contribution, the president of the ladies club of the Aburi Community, Nana Kyiewaa, pledged her support of her association and promised a regular cleaning of the Aburi Township.

Poem Recital

After being treated to the most artistic cultural performance by pupils of KEMP JSS, the audience was treated to a further display of talent and skill by the poetry recital of young Miss Margaret Quaye of Apeadu Peace Center. Her poem was entitled “The Deadly Disease HIV/AIDS.” After her wonderful performance she received a standing ovation from the audience for well over two minutes.

The Youth and HIV/AIDS

The co-chairperson for the day and the director of Apeadu Peace Center, Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II, spoke lengthily about the deadly disease HIV/AIDS and gave chilling statistics of the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Ghana: 3.4% of the population are known to have HIV/AIDS which is about 614,000, but expert say it is feared to be up to 1,000,000, which is not yet confirmed, 60,000 new cases are reported every year and 165 new cases every day. Armed with these statistics she charged parents, children and the youth to take the threat of HIV/AIDS seriously since if care is not taken, as she quoted, “we will one day wake up and half the productive population will be wipe out.” Nana took the opportunity to announce the initiatives of the Apeadu Youth Ambassadors to combat the deadly disease and appealed to the public to give them their support. Nana also charged the Ambassadors to move to the hinterlands to spread the message. Emily and Hilary gave a demonstration of how to protect oneself against the virus using the ABC and the D method.

Chairperson’s Remark

In her closing remarks the co-chairperson for the day Chief Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II emphasized the need for tolerance and peace in our homes, workplace, communities, and ended up saying the Apeadu Peace Center when completed will be a historic day for the people of Aburi and will serve as a center of excellence for the peace. She called on the public to support the center as well as the press.

Votes of Thanks

In her votes of thanks the secretary of the young ones Miss Doris thanked all the participants, guests and the VIPs for gracing the occasion with their preference. She thanked all the media houses especially TV3 for covering the programme and the KEMP JSS and all the schools that took part in the clean-up exercise the previous day that was on the 20^th September within the Aburi Township. Finally, she urged everyone to join the celebration next year.

Closing

The programme officially ended at 2pm with refreshments and entertainment.

Credit goes to: Rashid, Kwame, Lawrence, Charles and others

ASHIAMAN, GHANA

THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WORLD PEACE CELEBRATION

We, the Peace Club of Ashiaman, met at Lebanon Church with our leader, John Arhim Kobina, teachers and several hundred club members, for the celebration on 19^th September of the International Day of Peace. We took a Minute of Silence after the leader rang a bell and all of us lifted our hands and said, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.”

After, the leader gave a message on “How Can Peace Prevail on Earth?” He stressed that peace can’t prevail on earth unless we understand ourselves as one people with the same blood, despite the colour and the languages. We are under one Creator who created all of us.

Peace is the necessity that all of humankind needs in order to live in a peaceful environment with their neighbours. But how do we get peace on earth for everybody to enjoy? That is why we, the youth of Ashiaman (and for that matter the world), are crying for peace, because we can’t do without peace; we need it.

Let us all come together and pray for peace in the world, more especially for our Heads of State and countries who are still fighting one another. Let us all come together with one common goal: that we want peace to prevail on earth and now peace has come. If we win the children, then we win the world, because the children are the future leaders of tomorrow.

Finally, let us pray for long-lasting peace on earth and May Peace Prevail on Earth.

After the program, we took pictures to grace the occasion.

John Arhim Kobina
WPPS Peace Pal Coordinator

2003 World Peace Prayer Society Compilation

May Peace Prevail On Earth