Nana Kwadwo Asiakwa II, Paramount Chief of the Nkonya Wurupong Traditional Area in the Oti Region, on Saturday launched the “Sankyiba” Festival slated to be held from November 25 to December 1, 2019.

The festival would be celebrated under the theme: “Our Health, Our Culture: Bridging the Gap to Sustain the Youth,” to draw the attention of government to the health challenges the community encountered and help to resolve them.

Nana Asiakwa said the festival was occasioned to bring development to Nkonya through projects like building of schools, roads and refurbishment of the Nkonya Senior High School.

He urged natives of Nkonya Wurupong both home and abroad as well as non-natives to join the community for the celebration and help to leave a legacy for the upcoming generation.

As part of efforts to develop the community, the Paramount Chief said, they have earmarked a levy of GH¢10.00 for every member of the community to pay into a community development fund account.

He said the fund would be used to aid in development projects, adding that, any money used from it would be accounted for.

Nana Asiakwa appealed to government and benevolent individuals and organisations to help the community with developmental projects including construction of the Afram Plains-Nkonya road to enable the two communities to access each other’s market.

Speaking about indiscipline on the part of the part of some youth groups in the community, he said, school dropouts and those who lacked jobs were often the ones who engaged in such acts.

He also appealed for support to enroll the school dropouts in the community into technical and vocational skills training institutions to acquire hands-on skills for their welfare.

He advised the youth to desist from misconduct and bad practices during the period of the festival.

“When you drink too much, you cannot behave well, so I urge all youth to desist from indecent acts such as over drinking during the festivity,” he added.

Nana Kofi Ampadu II, “Kyidom Hene” of the Nkonya Wurupong Traditional Area, appealed for a renovation of the community’s health centre which was in a dilapidated state.

He said due to that, health workers encountered challenges with accommodation, a situation which deterred them from going to work in the community adding that the closest health facility was in Kpando which was very far from Nkonya Wurupong.

He appealed to the government and corporate institutions to help to renovate the abandoned health structures to enable members of the community to access healthcare.

Nana Ampadu said the community had a rich culture to portray to the world and a visit to its ancestral home on top of the tallest mountain in the area is an experience no one should miss.

Mr Sebastian K. Amoah, a Legal Practitioner and a native of Nkonya Wurupong, also called on the public to join the community to celebrate the festival.

He gave the assurance that all visitors would enjoy excellent displays of the culture of the people.