Basic schools within the Anloland in the Volta Region have celebrated Children’s Hogbetsotso festival at Keta-Dzelukope Roman Catholic (RC) Basic school in the Keta Municipality.
The celebration marked part of the scheduled activities for the 62nd edition of the Anlo Hogbetsotso festival and children’s cultural heritage throughout the Anloland.
Madam Christine Seyram Tsikplornu, a planning committee member, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the aim of the children’s festival was to teach and inculcate the Anlo culture and traditions into the young ones.
“This children’s festival is celebrated every year ahead of the main Hogbetsotso Za, and our prime objective is to teach the children and make them aware of the cultural heritage, including the norms of Anloland,” she stated.
Madam Tsikplornu further stated that the period was also used to train children on how to play traditional drums and music, dress codes, war songs, and other traditions from various Clans in the Anloland.
She said that school children also visited some recreational and tourism areas, including the ‘Togbi Ʋenya Vudo,’ Fort Prinzenstien, the light house, and ‘Torkortorlia forest,’ to acquire knowledge about how their forefathers and colonial masters established the area.
She stated that this was the period most teachers and the stakeholders used to teach the children the history of Anloland and how their grandparents escaped to “Nortse yo,” their present habitation and how they were all related.
Madam Tsikplornu expressed worry about the financial challenges faced in preparing children for the festival and appealed to the public to prioritise the children’s festival through various forms of support for better organisation in the subsequent years.
She also commended Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Keta constituency for his financial support towards the purchase of some important items towards the next event.
Some children GNA interacted with expressed joy about the event and thanked the organisers for showcasing the rich culture of Anloland.
The theme of this year’s Hogbetsotso festivals is “Strengthening the Bond and Embracing Our Shared Heritage”.
GNA also gathered that there would be other activities including reconciliation, Hogbe exhibition and food fair, the Mama Hogbe Beauty Pageant, Hogbe music festival, a visit to historical areas, Hogbetsotso health walk, and a state durbar by Togbi Sri III.
