Jirapa Municipal Youth Association Jamboree And Awards 2021: The synopsis

The Jirapa Municipal Youth Association (JMYA) organized its maiden Homecoming, Jamboree and Awards Night in December, 2021. The event which was meant to recognize and appreciate the development efforts of various individuals and organizations was under the theme "Holding hands together and honoring our development partners".

The event was characterized by activities such as Quiz and Debate Competition, Blood donation exercise, Float, Awareness creation and official launch of the event. The rest included Unity games, Clean up exercise, Career and Business Development Seminar and Awards and Dinner Night.

To boost and maintain the spirit of healthy academic competition among schools within the Jirapa Municipality, JMYA on 6th November, 2021 organized a debate competition for the four Senior High Schools in the Municipality namely: Ullo Senior High School, St. Francis Girls' Senior High School, Han Senior High School and Jirapa Senior High School. A quiz competition was also organized for the first 5 best performing Junior High Schools in the Municipality based on the 2020 Basic Education Certificate Examination. The schools that participated included St. Francis Junior High School, Presentation Junior High School, Jirapa Girls' Model Junior High School, Duori Junior High School and Ganaa Memorial Junior High School. Ullo Senior High School emerged winners of the debate competition while St. Francis Junior High School also won the quiz competition. On the same day, blood donation exercise was carried by the youth Association to stock the blood bank of the St. Joseph Hospital. At the end of the exercise, the St. Joseph Hospital blood bank was stocked with 143 pints of blood

Sunday 7th of November, 2021 was the day for the float and awareness creation and official launch of the jamboree. Teaming youth marched through the principal streets of Jirapa amid the sound of music and the brass band. The youth finally converged at the St. Anthony’s primary school park where the presiding member of the Jirapa Municipal Assembly officially launched the jamboree.

Subsequently, the semifinals and finals of the Unity Games were played on the 26th and 27th of December, 2021 respectively after the preliminary stages of the competition commenced from 18th December, 2021. The Unity games which were intended to foster unity and socialization among youth saw the participation of eight Zones in the Municipality: Jirapa East zone, Jirapa West zone, Sabuli zone, Gbare zone, Ullo zone, Tuggo zone, Hain zone and Duori zone. Jirapa East zone won the ultimate award that is the cup and the bragging right after beating Sabuli zone in the final game. All zones that participated in the unity games went home with various awards including cash amount of Ghc 200.00, footballs and a set of jerseys

Following the Unity games was the cleanup exercise. The Association mobilized members of various youth groups in Jirapa including workers at Zoom lion to undertake this all-important exercise on the 28th of December, 2021. Principal areas within the Jirapa township including the MCE’s residence, the catholic church, the hospital and many others were cleaned.

Another important activity that took place on the 28th of December, 2021 was the unveiling of the statue of Prof. Sir Dr. Godfrey S. Bacheyie, a great philanthropist who together with the Rotary club of Windsor has contributed immensely to the development of Jirapa in the areas of education, water and health. Popular amount his contributions are the Neonatal and Intensive Care Unit at the St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Jirapa Municipal library, the small-town water system and many others. The statue which is located at the entrance of the St. Joseph Hospital in Jirapa was mounted by the youth to honor the venerable son of Jirapa nicknamed by some residents as the "father of development" in Jirapa and beyond.

Up next was the much-anticipated Career and Business Development Seminar on the 29th day of December, 2021. This event which aimed to give better exposure and experience to the people of Jirapa especially the youth was well attended. With guest speakers, Eric Zunuo Banye, Dr. Bokumah Alex, Lawyer Vitus Gbang, Mr. James Ziekye, COP Mrs Beatrice Zakpaa Vib-Sanziiri and Lt. Col. Felix Korbieh, participants did not have any regrets being part of the seminar. Some of the topics that were explored included “Overcoming the mental barriers of poverty and fear of failure: paving the way for entrepreneurship initiative”, “Tapping into the fortunes of the 21^st Century; how to start, grow and develop your business” and “How to live above the storms of life”.

The jamboree was climaxed with the Awards and Dinner Night on the 30^th of December, 2021 at the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel also known as Jirapa Dubai with Naa Professor Bruce Bannoe Yakubu as Chairman and Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih (Upper West Regional Minister) as the guest of Honor. Other recognized personalities in the Municipality such as the Municipal Chief Executive and the Member of parliament were also present for the dinner and awards night. Various individuals and organizations were awarded in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the development of Jirapa. Professor Sir Dr. Godfrey S. Bacheyie was the grand Awardee. In all, 25 awards were presented.

It can be recalled that the Jirapa Municipal Youth Association was awarded the best Youth Association in the Upper West Region in 2018 by the Upper Regional National Youth Authority and fast forward to 2021, it is still proving to be the best Youth Association in the region. The Association has objectives that include fostering unity and solidarity among its members, to serve as a forum for the collective search for solutions to problems confronting citizens in Jirapa traditional council, to establish and maintain a well informed and enlightened youth front to champion the educational, moral, cultural and socio-economic development of Jirapa Municipal and to encourage its members in the pursuit of greater academic excellence. The association is open to partnerships with other organizations both governmental and Non -Governmental to propel development in the Jirapa Municipality.