The National Youth Authority (NYA) in the Northern Region has organised fun games for young people in the Tamale Metropolis as part of activities to mark this year’s Valentine’s Day celebrations.

The event was to keep young people fit to avoid the COVID-19 disease as well as disabuse their minds that Valentine’s Day was for love-making, which could predispose them to diseases.

The event, which featured volleyball games for both males and females, was also used to emphasise adherence to the COVID-19 protocols to help the country to combat the pandemic.

Mr Mumuni Sulemana, Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Director of NYA, who spoke during the event at Youth Home in Tamale on Sunday, advised young people to see Valentine’s Day as a day of appreciating what others have done for them instead of engaging in sexual activity.

Mr Sulemana said “Today is Valentine’s Day. A lot of young people do misinterpret this day as love-making day. We are also in this critical situation of COVID-19. As an Authority, we believe there is the need to prepare and redirect the mindset of people on this day of lovers. So, we have decided to use fun games to educate young people on the need to follow the COVID-19 protocols.”

The country has seen a surge in her COVID-19 situation this year with active cases currently surpassing 8,000 with over 500 deaths resulting in re-imposition of some restrictions and enforcement of wearing of face masks in public places across the country.

Valentine’s Day is marked on February 14, every year to show love to one another, and it has become a big event in the country where some people especially unmarried youth erroneously see it as a day of love-making hence the event to redirect their minds.

During the game, youth ambassadors were stationed at the main entrance to the facility where they educated patrons on the COVID-19 protocols as well as distributed face masks to those, who did not come with one.

A trophy and volleyballs were also presented to the participating volleyball teams.

Mr Sulemana encouraged young people to be mindful of the COVID-19 and be its ambassadors to help the country combat the disease.

He said “Moving forward, we will see how we can link up with other regions where young people can have exchange programmes to play volleyball. Moving forward, we will add basketball and even the drama group. We want to reactivate all these structures so that the young people here can get their fair share of the national cake.”

Mr Ibrahim Abdallah, Captain of Eagles Volleyball Club in Tamale, who spoke on behalf of the participating teams, lauded NYA for organising the fun games and called for more collaborations between young people and NYA for youth development in the country.