By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu, GNA
Bolgatanga, Oct. 09, GNA – Dr Joseph Banguu, the Executive Director of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO), has described the St. Theresa Minor Basilica of the Catholic Church in Nandom as a religious symbol of tourism worth visiting.
“The edifice is a very good religious symbol that we can use in the 21st Century to attract tourists. So let us pay attention to it,” he told members of the Bolgatanga Chapter of the Nandom Polle Tietaa Club.
The 89-year-old Basilica was constructed in 1936 by the Catholic Missionaries of Africa, three years after their arrival in the Upper West Region.
The edifice, one of the oldest iconic infrastructures in Ghana, was consecrated in 1939, and among the top architectural designs across Africa and beyond.
Dr Banguu, who delivered the keynote address at the Club’s 10th National Annual Congress, stressed the need for the sons and daughters of Nandom, to take advantage of the religious edifice to attract tourists to the area.
The three-day Congress, which brought together young sons and daughters of Nandom resident in the Bolgatanga Municipality, offered them the opportunity to discuss critical issues of concern to the Club, and the development of Nandom.
It was on the theme: “Using the 21st Century skills to reposition the Dagara culture for the future and the current generation.”
Dr Banguu noted that the indigenes of Nandom were highly educated and religious people found in all sectors of the economy within and outside the country and urged members of the Club to leverage on their knowledge, experiences and social media platforms to project the hidden tourist sites in the area.
Dr Banguu indicated that unknown to many, there was a Crocodile pond and slave site in Nandom, which were underdeveloped, and insisted that, these were some of the tourist attraction sites that needed to be project by its own people.
“If we are able to do that, we will give visibility to our hometown and what we really stand for as natives of Nandom,” he said.
Mr Stanislaus Dong, the Chairman of the Bolgatanga Chapter of the Club, commended members for the respective roles they continued to play to keep the organisation vibrant.
He stated that their critical role had over the years kept their mother organisation, the Nandom Youth and Development Association (NYDA) stronger and active, because it was founded on mutual respect, solidarity and service.
Mr Dong indicated that themes for previous Congresses held in Wa, Sunyani, Tamale and Techiman over the decade, fostered unity and promoted development in the catchment areas of the Club.
“This year’s theme offers us an opportunity to reflect deeply on how our culture can be preserved, strengthened and adopted in today’s fast-changing digital space. It is also a challenge to us, as a Club, to realign our focus to address the emerging concerns and ensure that Dagara culture remains relevant to both current and future generations,” he said.
Mr Dong admonished the Club members to continue to work in unity to address their challenges, seize new opportunities and shape a community they would be proud of, saying “The journey ahead is full of potentials and together, we can achieve great things.”
Giving a brief history of the Club, Mr Eugene Yirbuor, a Pioneer Member, recalled that the organisation was formed in 2004 in Tamale and subsequently, the Bolgatanga Chapter was formed in 2011 after the Wa chapter.
He said the Club was initially intended to concentrate solely on the welfare of its members, but as their membership base increased with chapters in southern Ghana, its leadership saw the need to shift attention to the development of their hometown and had since undertaken several projects in the area.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/ Christabel Addo