Honourable Deputy Minister Mr. Joseph Nyan, Togbega Gabutsu VI., Paramount Chief of GBI and President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, Nana Okotor Kofi III., Paramount Chief of Nkonya, My Lord Bishop Gabriel Mante, Togbega Tdedze Atakora VIII., Fiaga of Alavanyo, Mamaga Ameto II., Paramount Queenmother of Alavanyo, Municipel Chief Excecutive of Hohoe, District Chief Excecutive of Yasikan, Honourable MP for Hohoe North, Togbewo, Mamawo, The Clergy, The Headmasters, Teachers, Schoolchildren and the Media, Distinguished invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Today we are introducing the



First of all I want to start my speech with some words of thanks. I want to thank God and my destiny, that they both led me to Ghana, which became my second homeland, in the late nineties. My daughter Sara, who, from the first moment on, motivated and supported me in my development work for Ghana. The Paramount Chief Togbega Atakora VII, the chiefs and queen mothers of Alavanyo Traditional Area and their people, who encouraged me to take part in their traditional rulership system in 2000, as Mama Ngoyifianyonu Akosua I. of Alavanyo Traditional Area and the Paramount Chiefs and queen mothers and their people of SASADU Traditional Areas, which are Sovie, Akrofu, Safiefe and Alavanyo, which honoured me in 2007 in becoming their Paramount Queenmother, Mamaga Nyonufiaga Akosua I. of SASADU Traditional Areas. I have to thank all of them for the confidence they placed in me and I really hope, that I will never disappoint them. The challenge, which I accepted in 2000 in being the queen of Alavanyo has not been an easy task for me for a long time. But in the meantime I am proud and very happy that I could realize so many of the visions I had at the beginning, that I never ever regret not even one minute of my staying here in Ghana, the opposite is the case.

But I couldn´t do all the work I have done in Ghana all by myself. I have always been supported by so many Ghanaians and I want to take the opportunity to thank them all. Many of them are with us today.

I am not a politician, but I still have visions for a better Ghana, too. Of course my development work for certain areas is out of all proportion of the work of the Government for the whole of Ghana, but if one does not start somewhere, he or she will not succeed. And the basis for a better life is always health and education, which I on in many of my projects. Nutrition is very important, too.

When hunger strikes a community, children suffer most. Hunger drains them of their will and ability to learn. Only some weeks ago my daughter Sara saw a BBC documentary about a school feeding program somewhere in Africa and she immediately called me and asked me if we should not organize something like that in Ghana. An excellent idea, I found and already the next day we started to create a concept. We are celebrating the result today: The introduction of the ALAMSAMO School Feeding Project. ALAMSAMO stands for the names of the family of my daughter: AL for ALBA, her daughter, AM for Amun, her son, SA for Sara, herself and MO for Mohammed, her husband.

And we are not celebrating one ALAMSAMO project alone for Alavanyo, no, we are celebrating an ALAMSAMO PEACE project for Alavanyo and Nkonya, so two of them will be started today. The sponsor of the ALAMSAMO - Alavanyo project is my daughter and her family, who unfortunately couldn’t be here with me and the sponsors of the ALAMSAMO - Nkonya project are Mrs. von Enzberg-Pieper and Mr. Pieper, who are accompanying me. I have to thank them so much, because they made it possible, that the idea of a first peace - project, which has been developed between his Excellency, Bishop Lodonu and me only two weeks ago, could be realized so quickly. And we will continue to find sponsors for more projects all over Ghana. The first will be started in the SASADU Areas for sure.

One warm meal a day for free, for years,  that is what ALAMSAMO stands for.  A   guarantee for the children to encourage them to attend school and help them concentrate on their studies. It will help poor children to break out of the cycle of poverty. Studies show educated girls marry later, have fewer children and have their children further apart. Educated parents, in turn, are more likely to send their own children to school. School meals and education also contribute directly to an individual’s earning potential.

I am sure, that with the introduction of these projects, we will make not only an important step in developing a better education in the affected areas, we will also have an advantage concerning the infrastructure of the villages. The monthly money, given to the schools, will enable more people to work in preparing more food, the goods will be bought in the communities and the given money will strengthen and support the people, who are delivering the food. Finally the money will stay in the community.

But I don’t want to end my speech without saying some words concerning the peace between our two areas, Alavanyo and Nkonya. I want to call on all chiefs to work towards the preservation of this peace, which we hadn’t for such a long time. Peace and unity and putting the institution of chieftancy on another level in regard of more development will enable us to do more for the contemporary needs of our people.

I count on your support.

God bless Alavanyo and Nkonya, God bless Ghana.

Thank you.

Mamaga Nyonufiaga Akosua I.
6th July, 2008