Divisional Queen Mother of Hiomeh Shai at Agomeda in the Shai Traditional Area of the Greater Accra Region, Nana Dr. Korlekwor Korli-Yohi III is exploiting the value of sports in enhancing peace and unity as well as the well-being of the individual.

The queen mother’s Sports for Unity held over the weekend at Agomeda demonstrated the value and need for peace and unity, friendship and cooperation among the participating athletes and the communities they represented.

Standing on the shoulders of similar initiatives of literature supporting the value of sport in enhancing the well-being of individuals, communities and societies, the traditional leader says she is committed to communicating her vision of enhancing togetherness through the implementation of athletic programs that promote peacemaking initiatives, tolerance and reconciliation.

The games were organized as one of the interventions initiated by the traditional leader to address the simmering threats posed by disunity and divisiveness in the community.

Nana Dr. Korlekwor Korli-Yohi III said being abreast with the issues would inform her to apply the appropriate steps to address them.

“When I ascended the throne as the queen mother for the Hiomeh Traditional Area, I did a feasibility study to know exactly what the challenges and issues are. So, I have engaged with the youth, I’ve engaged with the women, I’ve engaged with family heads…and I’ve engaged with opinion leaders and out of those meetings, we documented some issues,” said the queen mother.

Underscoring the essence of peace in a community, she said, “Without peace, there’s nothing that can go on, without peace, there’ll not be development, when people are afraid to go out to their farms, they’ll be hungry, they’ll be poor so we need that peace that’ll guarantee people the freedom and the hope that yes, they can go out, work and earn their daily bread, when there’s peace, there’s progress.”

Prior to the games, a massive sensitization was undertaken amongst community and team members on the purpose of the event with all members welcoming the idea behind it.

She furthered that one of the issues that out strongly during the meetings which could militate against progress was division and disunity in the Agomeda community.

“This is just one of the interventions to promote unity and help to promote peaceful co-existence among community members,” she said while expressing confidence that the objective would be achieved.

In furtherance to the games, she said engagements were ongoing between her and the various chiefs, queen mothers and family heads to initiate some leadership skills training of young people and ensure that they maintain the education and sensitization of their people to embrace the objective of the event.

According to her, she was in the process of establishing a skills training center aimed at training and empowering the youth with basic skills to enable them earn decent livelihoods.

Asked if the lack of unity had adversely affected the developmental prospects of the community, she said, “Yes, to a large extent, because of the divisions people think that there’s no leader, people think that they can do what they like.”

She thus called on the traditional leadership and the people to come together to promote unity and peace in the community to ensure development.
Executive member of a Foundation established by the Queenmother, Dr. Stella Nyarko expressed satisfaction at the commitment of all stakeholders to partake in the event.

She added that the teams' readiness to participate in the games was encouraged by their understanding and appreciation of the need to embrace peace, adding that she was particularly impressed that they understood the role that unity plays in development.

Dr. Stella Nyarko furthered that the event also provided an opportunity for all to bond and relate to each other.

Chairperson of the occasion, Rev Mrs. Gifty Matekwor Tetteh-Guamah of the Gethsemane Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Agomeda acknowledging that the church has a role to play in ensuring peace in the community said it would continue to play its part in fostering peace and unity amongst the people.

She urged all and sundry to rally behind the queen mother to ensure that together the dreams of the community are realized.

Competition

Four male and two female teams partook in the one-day event.

The male teams included Amukope FC, Kpakpladji Young FC, Ologotsowe FC and Agomeda Market FC while for the females included one team each representing Amukope and Kpakpladji with Ologotsowe and Market also constituting another.

All participating teams were awarded certificates of participation, footballs and medals.

Aside from the awards given to the teams, individual players and coaches who distinguished themselves were also given medals. These include the best coach, most disciplined team, most skillful player, goal king and best goalkeeper.

At the end of the games, Kpakpladji Young FC emerged as overall winners. For their award, they received a certificate of participation, a set of jerseys, a football and a trophy.

All the teams were also presented with soft drinks and packs of fruit juice.

The awards were given to motivate and encourage the youth to be responsible, hardworking and only engage in activities that can enhance their personal development.

According to the queenmother, the teams were constituted from within the community.

Explaining why this was the case, she said, "The teams were constituted from within the community to promote unity among residents and we believe soccer has the potential of binding people together even in the midst of disagreements and that was perfectly achieved.”