Notre Damme Girls’ SHS wins Peace Council Competition

The Notre Damme Girls Senior High School (SHS) at Fiapre in the Sunyani West District has emerged winners in the maiden essay competition initiated by the Brong-Ahafo Regional Peace Council.

St James Seminary SHS placed second in the competition which was also participated by Twene Amanfo, Sunyani Technical School, Odumaseman and Sunyani Senior High Schools.

Each contestant representing a participating school received GH?200.00 cash as reward.

Contestants, one representing each participating school, as required by the rules of the competition, had to critically examine how chieftaincy, religion, politics and land/natural resources, can be a potential threat to peace and security in the Region.

They were also tasked to look at the causes, effects and suggest workable solutions to end such conflicts in the Region.

The Reverend Father William Kyere, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council, speaking after the contest affirmed the Council’s resolve to form peace clubs in the country’s second cycle schools to enable students lead the peace crusade and influence their own peers.

He said the move is part of a five year strategic plan by the National Peace Council to provide peace education in society as noted in the Ghana’s shared growth and development age.

He said the youth of identifiable violent-prone communities in the Region would be taken through periodic non-violence sensitization programme, after which community-based peace clubs would also be established.

“Peace is an essential ingredient without which socioeconomic development of any given society would remain a mirage”, he added.

He said the council had decided to inculcate in students in second cycle institutions the need to jettison acts that can trigger violence and instead embrace the sublime values of peace in their respective institutions and communities.

Rev. Fr. Kyere asked the students to recognize that all humanity regardless of their socio-cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds deserved dignity, love and respect.

“As students, of second cycle institutions, you are from different ethnic, religious and geographical backgrounds, but this should never be a reason for division but instead a common grounds for unity in diversity”, he added.