ONCE again, thousands of Kwahus throughout the country and those domiciled abroad will be undertaking journey back to the various towns in the Kwahu Traditional Area to celebrate Easter.
The “exodus”, which started last week, is expected to reach its peak today when most of the towns in the picturesque Odwen Anoma Mountain, such as Obomeng, Obo, Mpraeso, Nkwatia, Twenedurase, Asakraka, Ntesu and Kwahu Tafo, will be full of people, including visitors from other parts of the country, as well as foreign tourists.
The event, which is purely a Christian affair to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ some 20 centuries ago, has long become the biggest annual ritual of a mixture of Christian activities and social events to raise funds for development projects on the Kwahu Ridge.
The activities and events include church services, family meetings, jamborees, street jams, dances and parties, with paragliding on top of the Odwen Anoma Mountain, one of the highest points in the country, overlooking Nkawkaw, the most populous and commercial centre of the area, as the side attraction.
The paragliding event, in which gliders from countries such as South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada and France have arrived to take part, takes off from the Odwen Anoma Mountain, flying over towns such as Atibie and Mpraeso before landing at Nkawkaw.
The event, which for about five years put Ghana on the tourism map of the world, was not held last year due to a number of reasons.
Ghana is one of the only two countries in Africa where paragliding takes place, thanks to the late Ferdinand Ayim, a former Special Assistant at the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, whose initiative led to the adoption of the sport in Ghana.
This year, about 20 gliders of different nationalities have already pitched camp in a hotel in Nkawkaw, waiting for the event to take off tomorrow.
To ensure an incident-free celebration, the Kwahu South District Assembly, under the direction of Mr Joseph Omari, the District Chief Executive (DCE), has put in place a committee to institute measures to ensure that the event comes off devoid of criminal acts.
Some of the measures include the deployment of about 253 policemen to serve as a rapid intervention force at vantage points to instantly deal with criminal acts such as snatching of bags and vehicles and also arrest people whose activities will disturb public peace.
A medical team, under the supervision of Dr Eric Odei, the District Director of Medical Services, with support from another medical officer, Dr Isaac Osabutey, is also on the alert to deal with issues such as H1N1 (swine flu).
To create public awareness of the swine flu and HIV/AIDS, the team, with the support of the Information Services Department, is currently engaged in a campaign in most of the towns noted for large gatherings during the Easter festivities.
Steps have also been taken for the regular supply of electricity and water, while tents with very low rates that will accommodate hundreds of visitors have been erected at strategic places such as the forecourt of the Mpraeso Senior High School.
Some of the hotels which are expected to be fully booked are the Royal Modak at Pepease, Mt Sinai at Bepong, Awo Gyaa, Wags and Katson, all at Obomeng, Ecowas and Rojo at Nkawkaw and Ohene Nana Classics at Mpraeso.
To ensure a smooth ride for motorists, potholes on almost all the roads, including the one linking Nkawkaw, Atibie and Mpraeso, the main gateway, have been filled and sealed.
A number of commercial drivers without vehicles are on stand-by to offer their services to drivers who are not familiar with the “meandering road” from Nkawkaw to Atibie, Obomeng and Mpraeso on top of the mountain overlooking a deep valley.
According to Mr Omari, the assembly had taken all these measures to make the event a lively one.
“We want this year’s event to be joyous for every person who will set foot here and also to enable us to generate some income from the tourist attractions, especially the paragliding,” he stated.
Some of the tourist attractions are the caves at Brukuruwa and Abene, said to be the home of the early settlers, a beautiful rock formation at Kotoso, the Bruku Shrine at Kwahu Tafo, the waterfalls at Oworobong Atifi and Kwahu Amanfrom and numerous mountains containing rocks of different formations.
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