The first-ever Ghanaian Youth Garden Party organised by Mrs. Marian Osei, wife of Ghana?s High Commissioner to the UK, in collaboration with the Ladies of the Ghana High Commission in London witnessed an impressive turn-out.

Although it was essentially a youth affair, the presence of many adults added value and excitement to the occasion. Surely, both the aged and the youth were also there to fill the basic objective of the Garden Party, namely, to afford young Ghanaians a unique opportunity to meet their peers, share experiences, make friends and learn something new about the country, Ghana in an informal way. For the event itself, there was no want of assorted Ghanaian dishes ? goat light soup, banku and tilapia, okro stew, delicious kelewele, juicy khebabs etc.

The programme of activities with the participation and involvement of identified youth groups, poetic recitals by TUGGSTAR, Kweku and Ohemaa Darkwa and hiplife music rendered by STREETWISE and the PAK 0F-3, livened the occasion. Nana Duodu?s Abrempong Cultural Troupe showed the intricate steps of various traditional dances, while DJ Sarhene provided contemporary Ghanaian music. There were also fashion shows depicting contemporary African and hiplife designs mounted by TIAMO and ALBIE ST. JOHN-JAMES DESIGNS based in London.

Elated Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, Ghana?s First Lady did not hide her feelings about the large attendance of young Ghanaian youth at the event. Declaring that the youth were Ghana?s hope for the future, she called on them to endeavour at all times to excel in whatever they decide to study and draw the line between what they want to do and what they had to do. Her further declaration that the nation ?loves? them drew applause from the teeming crowd. Not only did the message go down well, it reassured them they have somewhere to look up to. She urged them to take advantage of the opportunities in the UK so that they could become useful to themselves and Ghana.

Ghana?s High Commissioner to the UK was emphatic about the need for the Ghanaian youth to be focused in their studies and prepare themselves to take up leadership roles in the future. He congratulated them for exhibiting Ghanaian values such as respect and consideration for others, especially their parents, their good behaviour and manners and their good taste in dressing. He said ?with determination you can climb to the top and coupled with hard work attain whatever goals you set for yourselves. So set your goals and stay focused?. To Ghanaian parents, he emphasised the need for them to encourage their children to speak Ghanaian languages, pointing out that with determination their children will be able to speak their own languages without inhibition. Quite significant for the occasion was the presence of a Japanese student Ms. Oda Yukiyo (alias Abena Serwaa) who took the microphone by storm and rattled fluent sentences in Twi sending the crowd into frenzy. She spoke of her determination to learn more about our languages and culture and called on Ghanaian children wherever they are not to forget their roots.

Mrs. Marian Osei, the brain behind the event thanked Mrs. Kufuor for her august presence, describing her as the Mother of the Nation. She praised the youth for responding to the invitation to the garden party and thanked sponsors for making the Garden Party a reality. Reaction to the event has been positive, thus the call for its inclusion in the yearly calendar of activities of the Ladies of the Ghana High Commission, as expressed by First Lady, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor.