Written By: Lilly Bess

We did it! We successfully completed the 72-hour campaign, an event organized in cooperation with the German Catholic Youth Association (BDKJ). Between April 19 and 21, we organized three different events and a weekend full of fun and joy for our children.

72-Hour Fafali Community Clean-Up Exercise

We started the 72h campaign with a clean-up on Friday. After meeting at Kisseman Market and explaining the campaign and its objectives, we divided our children into different programs. Each group covered a different assigned area. For the next hour and a half, we picked up trash in the Kisseman community, including John Nii Owoo Street, Korkor Awuah Lame, Amezado Road and Nuvivi Road. The program ended with a short quiz on the 72h campaign by the founder. In total, around 200 children turned up. This shows how much the children care about their community and want to keep it clean. Overall, the clean-up was a success, also thanks to our volunteers who supported the campaign.

72-Hour Fafali Walk & Run for Education

On Saturday we started early. At 6.30am, the first group of children arrived at the Kisseman Sports Complex, the venue for our Walk & Run for Education. This signature event marks the beginning of our school supply fundraiser and is all about collecting exercise books for our children. To participate in this program, you must donate one or more exercise books. This activity was divided into two parts: the marathon and the jama session. But before each of them started, Westland Fitness Club engaged our children in a fun aerobics session. They also provided the perfect songs and rhythms for our Jama session. Around 250 children and some community members took part and walked with us through Kisseman and Christian Village.

At the same time, marathons were held for students from our respective partner schools. About 30 students from Jerremite International School, Unity Baptist School, St. James Wisdom Preparatory School and Victoria Solid Foundation School ran the marathon along with 39 community members. The ages ranged from lower primary to upper primary and even JHS. The fastest runner completed the course in approximately 18 minutes. After each runner finished the marathon and the Jama group returned to the park, we held an awards ceremony. Medals were awarded to the top three finishers from each run. The community runners were also presented with jerseys donated by KitAid, UK. Jerremite International School, St. James Wisdom preparatory School, and Victoria Solid Foundation School all won cash prizes for their exceptional performances in the marathon. A special thank you goes to all our volunteers and our partners who were essential to the smooth running of the program. And of course to the Westland Fitness Club, who supported us with the aerobics and jama sessions.

72-Hour Fafali Fit4Fun Sports Games

The last event of our 72h campaign was the Fit4Fun Games. Another typical program for us, but this time with a few changes. These games are all about having fun while moving your body and building team spirit in our groups. To start with, we organized it on a larger scale, inviting all our programs and partner schools. Then we added a few more categories to challenge our children. During the event, the groups competed against each other in activities such as throwing the ball over their heads, jumping with both feet, putting and a 400-meter run. To put it simply, we all had a great time exercising. The highlight and most eagerly anticipated part of the program was the awards ceremony.

Lead by the founder of the Fafali Organization, Raymond Amezado, the ranking was announced. The overall winner of this year’s Fit4Fun games was the Golf & Goal project. We congratulate them once again on their performance and sportsmanship. We wrapped up the program, and at the same time, our 72h campaign was already over.

In conclusion we can say that the 72h campaign was a joyful and great event and apart from all the planning and extra hours spent, it was an unforgettable and unmissable three days. We were able to engage around 200+ kids each day which is an achievement we are proud of. Once again, we would like to thank all the volunteers from our partnerships who supported us throughout the event, as well as the Westland Fitness Club. One thing is for sure: We will be back next year for another 72h-campaign!

Thank you for reading!