Sheikh Ali Abubakar Napari, CEO of The Light Foundation
The Light Foundation (TLF), a non- governmental organisation (NGO) committed to the development of individuals and society, has marked the 2023 World Peace Day with a call on stakeholders, especially religious leaders, to promote stronger collaboration.
The NGO pointed out that such a stronger collaboration will enhance peace and social cohesion across the country.
International Day of Peace (IDP), is observed around the world on September 21 each year, the theme for the 23 celebration being “Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals.
The celebration recognises individual and collective responsibility towards fostering peace.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Light Foundation, Sheikh Ali Abubakar Napari in his remarks at the conference held in Accra to commemorate the day, said religious leaders served as a strong building block of society and, therefore, required strong support to continuously help to sustain the prevailing peace the country enjoys.
“There should be a holistic approach to peace and security, including civic and peace education, sensitisation and awareness campaigns, building on community engagement and mechanisms to address the root and structural causes of conflict.
“TLF, as a part of our core mandate of promoting peace and social cohesion towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals will continue to promote stronger collaboration, effective coordination and rally all around to ensure greater engagement with religious leaders to achieve our goals,” he added.
According to the CEO, his outfit has instituted additional programmes; one of them being sports as a rallying point to enhance the spirit of peace and patriotism among the youth in various parts of the country.
He indicated that TLF has therefore engaged over 75 youth in some communities in the Greater Accra Region who would serve as peace ambassadors while projecting peaceful messages to their peers as well.
Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu who spoke on behalf of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, commended the Light Foundation for their role in advancing peace across the nation given the difficulties innocent people especially children face during times of war.
He appealed to people to show love, forgive one another and desist from engaging in acts that have the tendency to foment trouble, and contribute to building peace across the world.
Adam Bonaa, a security expert, also appealed to Ghanaians to use appropriate constitutional forum to seek redress in the event of disagreement among themselves instead of resorting to the use of brawls, which do not only trigger insecurity but also affect the development of the country.
He further appealed to the leaders, particularly, Islamic clergy in various Zango communities to use their offices to continuously embark on programmes that would enable the youth direct their energy into fruitful activities to develop themselves instead of availing themselves to be used to achieve the interests of others.
The stakeholders also pledged to continuously undertake and participate actively in conflict prevention and peace-building initiatives while engaging in dialogues that would help sustain peaceful coexistence.
The event also brought together traditional leaders, Islamic clergy from the various traditional areas in Accra, representation of the National Peace Council and some diplomats.
Others include peace and security experts, and NGOs.
In a related development, the Light Foundation was recently adjudged the “Best NGO in Economic and Social Welfare Programmes” category at the Ghana Philanthropy Awards 2023.
Sheikh Ali Abubakar Napari, who expressed gratitude to the organisation for the recognition, said his outfit will not renege on its commitment to continuously impact the lives of people, especially those in deprived communities.
The activities of the Light Foundation, hinged upon the teachings of Islam, focuses on addressing issues of poverty and its causes by developing innovative and sustainable solutions that enable individuals and their communities to live with dignity.
It was established over 15 years ago and also deals with the empowerment of women and children, provision of water and sanitation, among several other development projects in accordance with Islamic principles and virtues.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah