I'll ensure that Ghana benefits from my mission - Annan

The visiting Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Mr. Kofi Annan, has said that in seeking peace for the world, he would strive to ensure that his homeland, Ghana benefits fully from his mission.

"It is important I don't forget my own backyard in seeking peace for the world," the UN boss told a durbar in his honour by the chiefs, people and the Sirigu based Women's Organisation of Poetry and Art (SWOPA) at Sirigu, in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The Secretary General who is on a visit to the region described the people as extra-ordinary citizens who were eager to improve upon their own conditions and that of their children by engaging in self-help projects that yielded the needed income, and lauded them for their initiative.

He said the course for seeking peace in the world was not a call to duty that could be pursued by a single individual, but support from people who appreciated the need to make necessary sacrifices to humanity.

Mr. Annan called on the people to join the fight for peace. "You don't have to be rich enough to offer what you have to bring peace to the world," he told the people and urged them to pursue peace wherever they went.

He said he and his wife were touched by the plight of the various groups they had met on their visit to the Northern and Upper East Regions and pledged to support them to alleviate some of the problems, which were mainly caused by poverty.

The UN boss further said what moved him and his wife to visit the region was the initiative drive of SWOPA for their artistic designs and the production of sculptures as a self-help community based project to earn income to give proper care to their families.

The Project Manager of SWOPA, Madam Melanie Kasisi, said the objective of the centre is to strengthen the financial base of the women by equipping them with leadership skills, tapping and refining their talents.

Mr. Annan planted a tree at a circle named after him and later visited the Sirigu orphanage where he interacted with the inmates. He also visited the University for Development Studies (UDS) campus at Navrongo where he had healthy interactions with the students.

Kofi Annan pledged his commitment to ensuring that the University achieved its purpose, adding that the UDS was a gender sensitive institution and unique in developing its products with practical bases. "You have my fullest support and you can count on me," he assured them.

The students appealed to the UN boss to help solve the infrastructure problems confronting the university to enable it achieve its purpose in the development