Perhaps, that stance emanated from the reality that, over all, it was an enjoyable experience. It was also because from Day 1 in Accra to Day 7 in Elmina, travellers were seeing and learning so much. To have that process abruptly cut could be painful.

Folks had wished the caravan never ended also because of the series of firsts that were being achieved. On account of the varied places and experiences one would always hear a participant or two say, ‘This is my first time in the North’, ‘This is my first time of riding on a boat’ and ‘I have never felt the skin of a crocodile before’.

Only travel away from your home base can offer you such opportunities. It allows you to discover things hitherto unreachable or unimaginable. Travel does not only make you see new things, it also provides the impetus to try and do new things.

More importantly, and as yours truly told the participants at the start of the journey, leisure travel affords one the chance to discover oneself. You might think you know yourself. It takes a new environment and novel situations to really put you to the test.

There were those I dealt with who felt they couldn’t travel on water. They just wouldn’t sit on that boat at Nzulenzo. It only took the sight of their travel companion riding to make them just do it!

It should also be said that people felt that the journey had ended so soon because of the new acquaintances made. It started with a bunch of mainly strangers setting off together into the unknown, as it were. However, as the journey clocked kilometer after kilometer, people started warming up to alone another. Before one could say Bolgatanga, folks had bonded and had developed all sorts of daily routines together. Also the interactions enabled folks to realize that they had other friends and relatives in common.

Take myself. On day three I was pleasantly approached by a certain Mr. Enninful. He told me his brother was actually a friend I hadn’t seen in 5 years. My good friend Kingsley is studying in Germany that’s all I knew. Apparently, he had been watching the CITI Heritage Caravan pictures and had seen me so he gave me out to his brother who was on the trip.

As it turned out their sister, was also on the trip. Josephine and I had chatted a couple of times but never knew we had Kingsley in common. Needless to say, my chemistry with the two siblings warmed up amazingly.

Every now and then participants interacted in various situations, and as the days went on, it became clear that the difficult part was going to be when it was time to say good bye.

It was a 7 day odyssey of refreshing break and enjoyment. Seven days of precious memories that people would rather not lose. No wonder folks kept talking in terms of when they are on board next trip.  And some of those who were looking forward to next year’s were actually people who had participated in the 2016 version of the caravan!

In spite of the enjoyable scenes and experiences, there were the bad and the ugly worth mentioning. All is not well with most of our tourist attractions. Sadly, the Kintampo tragedy testifies to that.

The lapses ranged from site personnel availability and efficiency, guided services to facilities. Signages to the attractions were not available, not properly lined up on the route or not legible enough. It was thus heart-warming that CITI FM had donated a signpost to the Chief Crocodile Pond at Paga.

Perhaps the most embarrassing aspects of the travel experience was the subject matter of washrooms. Big Issue! They were practically as hard to find as diamonds on the road. Where they were available, their state of care was nothing to write home about.

Could we write a better story about this matter next year? I have my doubt. Methinks our tourism authorities must take another look at their seeming detachment from our tourism attractions.

CITI FM team has done it again. The nation must commend them for not only preaching about the need to know and love Ghana through their Heritage Month Series. They have taken to the road with hundreds of people to practialise this.  And on the road, they worked with passion to show commitment to the cause.

Their wonderful team including Jessica, Philip Ashon, Ranstina, Apiorkor, Kiki, Kojo Akoto Boateng, Kojo Agyeman, and the indefatigable Ike Dzani. I must not forget the newly-crowned Mazali-Na, Samuel Atta Mensah, CITI FM’s CEO, who was never far away from any bit of action.

Together they worked to create the engine room that ferried us across the country.

–

By: Kofi Akpabli

[email protected]

The post Can we stay here a little longer? The Citi FM Heritage Caravan Story pt.2 [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The buzz is already catching up fast with most patrons hailing the initiative as a positive one, with demand for replication of their initiative across the country.

The two, Nana Awere Damoah and Kofi Akpabli, are behind the “Dakpabli Read-athon”initiative. At the heart of the idea, according to them, is ‘to take book reading to the level of pop culture,’ in the West African country.

Through their Facebook page ‘Dakpabli Read-athon,’ they disseminate information about their plans and fetch feedback from the reading and the ‘listening’ public. Awere Damoah is one of Ghana’s most influential Facebook personalities and he uses his ‘clout’ to benefit the drive. On the other hand, Akpabli is an astute communication specialist and a CNNAward-winning journalist who also brings his insights to bear.

Imagine people irrespective of age, gender, colour, creed, professional and academic qualifications at an organized sitting. Be they students, university lecturers, civil servants or writers. Such is the pool of people Damoah and Akpabli read out their books to.

The reading sessions attract people from all over and are gradually becoming worthy hangouts that provide much more to patrons with their networking capacity.

So far this year, the ‘reading pair,’ have held four sessions, one of such dubbed ‘Tickling the Nsempiisms’ – coined from the titles of Akpabli’s third book (Tickling the Ghanaian) and Awere Damoah’s sixth and latest book (Nsempiisms) – in the capital, Accra. These readings in the capital had preceded another one hosted in Ghana’s resource rich region, Kumasi, in the heart of the Ashanti kingdom.

They started their collaborative activity in 2014 and read in public places to book lovers at least four times in a year. The initiative has also been well-received by corporate Ghana, with companies such as MTN coming on board to assist the effort of the reading pair. The two were part of Spelling Bee’s 10th anniversary ceremony in Accra.

“We were so encouraged by the over 50 book enthusiasts who attended, listened, asked questions, giggled and stayed on after the reading to interact at Vidya Bookshop in Osu. We continue on our journey to make reading pleasurable again,” Nana Damoah told The Mirror, a state-run newspaper in June, 2016.

Their reading at Jamrock in September this year scored very high in the number of high society patrons which included Deputy Minister of Tourism Dzifa Gomashie, PPP running mate, Bridget Dzorgbenuku, Prof. Adams Bodomo, Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, and Eugenia Tachie-Menson amongst the over 150 literary lovers who thronged the venue.

About their regional tours, which started in September, Kofi Akpabli had this to say: ‘‘As intellectual entertainers, we have been receiving requests to come out of Accra. We cannot continue not to serve other regions. We have to do this, and Oseikrom is deserving of this historical first as the first step.’’ The next regional capital the reading train is stopping is Ho, in the Volta region, in November 2016.

Mr Akpabli is a university lecturer and columnist of a weekly social lifestyle newspaper, In addition to his other national and continental awards, he has recently been voted Travel Writer of the year.

He is author of four books so far: A Sense of Savannah, Romancing Ghanaland – The Beauty of 10 Regions, Harmattan- A Cultural Profile of Northern Ghana and Tickling The Ghanaian – Encounters With Contemporary Culture.

Nana Damoah, a chemical engineer by training, who delights in mixing words when he is not mixing chemicals, is author of books such as Sebitically Speeking, Tales from Different Tails, Excursions In My Mind, I Speak Of Ghana, Through The Gates of Thought, and his latest Nsempiisims.

–

Source: africanews.com

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Slated for November 19, 2016 at Ho Polytechnic, the event is dubbed, ‘’Romancing Ho Sebitically’’. At this much-expected session, the literati are expected to be entertained to a lively evening of literary pleasure and though-provoking discussions on Ghanaian contemporary life.

A highlight of the Ho Road Show will be the presentation of Ghanaian dentist and award-winning author Dr. Ruby Yayra Goka as the Readathon Guest Reader of the last quarter of 2016.

“I feel much honoured to be part of this movement. Indeed, this initiative is a great honour to every Ghanaian writer’’, said Ruby, who just won the Burt Award for African Literature for 2015, and is the author of 10 books which include The Step-Monster, Plain Yellow, The Mystery of the Haunted House and In the Middle of Nowhere. Six of her books for young adults have won prizes in CODE’s Burt Award for African Literature completion in Ghana.

Project partners Nana Awere Damoah and Kofi Akpabli have since 2013 worked together to promote reading for pleasure among Ghanaians. Their DAkpabli initiative also provides technical support for book writing and publications. Over the months the campaign has received a boost with the coming on board of sponsors, the latest being Unicorn Car Rentals which will provide transportation for the DAkpabli team on its regional book reading tours. Other sponsoring companies are MTN, THREADEX, WearGhana, Norte Sobolo, Sasa Clothing, Fali’s Fruit Bay and  AJ’s Housekeeping Services.

“We are delighted that an army of sponsors is gradually coalescing around our dream to make reading hip among our people,’’ said Nana Awere Damoah who is also a chemical engineer.

So far Damoah and Akpabli have produced public reading events at Coconut Grove Hotel, Vidya Bookshop, SyTris Bookshop, PaJohn’s, Jamrock Restaurant, and KNUST campus.

The duo, who refer to themselves as ‘’intellectual entertainers’’, have consistently thrilled patrons with excerpts from their books such as Romancing Ghanaland, Tickling the Ghanaian Sebitically Speaking and I Speak of Ghana.

With 11 books between them, the two writers continue on their mission to make reading hip again, and to take writing and reading to the level of pop culture. They believe that reading should be done for pleasure as well, and not only for exams and industry. According to both writers, the event also aims to diversify the social offerings currently available on the entertainment scene.

“Romancing Ho Sebitically” runs between 5.30pm and 8pm, and involves four rounds of readings from the works of the three accomplished Ghanaian authors.

About the Authors

Kofi Akpabli is a media consultant and travel writer whose latest work has been published in a new Commonwealth Non-Fiction Anthology launched in the UK in May 2016.  He is a two-time winner of the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist for Arts and Culture. Kofi has also won GJA and National awards in Culture and Tourism. He writes a travel column Going Places in The Mirror newspaper, published weekly in Accra.

Amongst his books are: Harmattan – a Cultural Profile of Northern Ghana, Romancing Ghanaland: the Beauty of Ten Regions, A Sense of Savannah – Tales of a Friendly Walk through Northern Ghana, and Tickling the Ghanaian – Encounters with Contemporary Culture. Kofi is a member of Faculty, Central University. His scholarly interests include the research and dissemination of key values of African culture. Kofi Akpabli lives at a village near Accra with his wife and children.

Nana Awere Damoah holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). A British Council Chevening alumnus, Nana works in Nigeria as a Technical Manager.

In 1997, Nana won first prize in the Step Magazine National Writing Competition. He is the author of six books: Nsempiisms, Sebitically Speaking, I Speak of Ghana, Tales from Different Tails, Through the Gates of Thought, and Excursions in my Mind. His sixth book, Nsempiisms, was just released on Amazon globally in October 2016. Nana Awere Damoah is married with three children. He divides his time between Lagos and Tema.

Dr Ruby Yayra Goka is a dentist by profession. She is also a six-time Burt Award for African Literature winner for her educative young adult books. When she isn’t holding conversations with imaginary people in her head, she will be found either reading, gardening, travelling or spending time with her two dogs and turtle.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘Romancing Ho Sebitically’: Dr. Ruby Goka Joins Readathon Campaign appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The reading is scheduled for 6pm at the residence of the Ambassador of Colombia.

Under the auspices of Her Excellency Claudia Turbay Quintero, Columbian Ambassador to Ghana, the event will offer patrons the opportunity to enjoy book readings, poetry, current affairs discussions, culture and more.

Since July 2016 when Ghana hosted famous Columbian poet, Maria Gomez Lara at a poetry reading event in Accra, the cultural cooperation between the two countries has seen a lift.

In August, the first reading soiree was organised which featured Dr. Kojo Arthur an expert in Akan cultural symbols as the guest author.

At this upcoming session, Kofi Akpabli will, among other works also delight the audience with excerpts from his new work ‘Made in Nima’ from the new Commonwealth Anthology Safehouse: Explorations into Creative Non-Fiction, which has just been published in London.

About Kofi Akpabli

Akpabli is an academic, journalist and travel writer whose repertoire oozes creativity and inspiration. His scholarly interests include researching and communicating key values of African art and culture. Whether he is covering a 9/11 memorial on Ground Zero in New York or discovering traditional taboos in Ghana’s Upper West Region, human interest is ever his soft spot.

Kofi Akpabli writes ‘Going Places’, a weekly column in the Mirror newspaper which focuses on culture and tourism issues.

As a culture writer he has examined topics which have usually been overlooked by his peers. In June 2011 in South Africa, Kofi was voted CNN Multichoice African Journalist for Arts and Culture for the second time; making it the only time an African has annexed the CNN African Journalist Awards back-to-back.

He has also won National and Ghana Journalist Association Awards in Arts and Tourism. Kofi started writing in 1991 when, as a student, an historical play he wrote captured first prize in a Panafest Play Writing Contest. The theatre piece, ‘The Prince and the Slave’ has subsequently run at the Art Centre in Accra, Kumasi and at the Cape Coast Castle.

Books he has authored include:

• Tickling the Ghanaian-Encounters with Contemporary Culture
• Harmattan- a Cultural Profile of Northern Ghana-
• Romancing Ghanaland the Beauty of Ten Region
• A Sense of Savannah-Tales of a Friendly Walk through Northern Ghana

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kofi Akpabli set for literary café at Colombian Embassy appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Me: Akosua, I’m going for a book reading at 5:30pm today oo.

Akosua: You kraa what boring life are you living? You’re dressing up to go sit down and fall asleep?!

If I had listened to my best friend, I most probably would’ve missed out on one of the most exciting, fun-filled things I’d have encountered in my entire lifetime.

Romancing Oseikrom Sebitically: A Book Reading, was a program put together by three renowned writers Nana Awere Damoah, Kofi Akpabli and Alba K. Sumprim. With daily Facebook posts as my countdown I was totally and completely gingered up at 5:30pm as I entered the auditorium. Just before I could get to the door I met Uncle Kofi. My heart skipped ten beats! After the exchange of greetings, he asked if I knew him personally, to which I replied in the negative, telling him that the closest I had ever been to knowing him was via Facebook- now that brought forth a smile and a statement I never expected; Send me a friend request and we’ll take it from there. Kuukua Yawson could’ve fainted! I smiled. I just smiled and replied with a resounding ‘definitely’. All emotions within me could not be brought out yet- the program had not even begun!

Oseikrom’s romance story started on a humorous note, all thanks to our exceptional moderator and a new friend of mine, David Aglah. His mannerisms and jokes set the tone for what promised to be an awesome event.

The book reading was to be done in three major sessions, with interludes in-between. These interludes were for interaction with the audience, giving them the opportunity to give submissions, ask questions and also share experiences which were in relation to book excerpts that had been read.

The first session was really exciting and cannot be easily forgotten. Nana Awere started our journey with the ever famous ‘You know you’re in Ghana when…..’ piece. All examples given were as typical of us as Ghanaians.

• You know you’re in Ghana when journalists, like sign writers, do not use dictionaries.
• You know you’re in Ghana when drivers attempt a U-turn at a T-junction.

Nana’s examples took me back to various instances I’d experienced, but had never really read meaning into, simply because they were occurrences I’d considered a normality in the society. A famous example would be our president being blamed for our frequent power outages (Mahama has taken our light!). He also made me realize how happy we are as a country; no matter the situation, Ghanaians had a way of bringing out its humorous side, all in a bid to keep their sanity.

The wheel was taken over by Kofi Akpabli who engaged us in an emotional talk about fufu. I was transported back home, to all the Sundays I spent watching my parents engage in a game of fufu pounding.

Daddy is sweating as he pounds, with mummy rhythmically swerving the pestle. My brother and I are fighting endlessly about whose turn it is to clean up after the game came to an end. All those worries and fights practically evaporated as soon as the fufu was set before us, with daddy getting his usual- two gigantic mountains (probably because of his hard work and loss of body fluids).

I longed for one Sunday, just one Sunday back at home for one last bowl of soft fufu with thick soup!

Alba! Or should I say Araba Sumprim. She charmed us with her personality, as well as her style of reading. With tales based on our very famous catch phrases ‘Are you sure?’, ‘3ny3 hwee’, Alba left us laughing and clapping until the very last sentence.

The second and last sessions were just as exciting. We discovered a great aspect of Ghanaian culture: Soup, as well as the various methods of its consumption. We took a trip to an all new version of the Olympics, where Ghana was greatly represented and assured a silver medal in one and one sport only- Spitting! We drank a few glasses of Akpeteshie, the drink that surpasses Jack Daniels in sales without any form of advertisement! We even earned a lot of REES-PECT from fellow Rasta men who identified with our new hairstyle.

The book reading ended on a very commendable note: Sobolo! Clara Fianu’s Norte Sobolo is one of the best original sobolo I’ve ever had (an excellent ratio of sugar: sobolo). There was lots of popcorn and books. We had the chance of taking pictures with the writers individually and even as a group (their first ever after a reading).

Now my story begins.

After the reading, all I wanted was a photograph. Not just any photograph, but one with all three writers at the same time. Simple? Not in the least. Let me explain why.

Here I was, looking for the writers after the reading for my number one wish list item. I found Kofi Akpabli, right beside the entrance. I smiled. I began searching for NAD (who was on the other side of the entrance taking photographs) and Alba (who had been captured by more than a dozen other people for book signings), only to look back at the entrance to find that uncle Kofi had disappeared. This went on forever and by that I mean FOREVER!

I waited.

And waited.

It was almost 10pm- still no photograph. By this time the entrance was practically empty, leaving just the organizers and myself. I kept waiting.

NAD: We’re leaving oo! It’s getting late.

I could’ve cried! I still had not taken my photograph! I looked at Kobby Blay (the photographer) and looked at them, my face looking like I could cry any second. Realization struck and he quickly led me to them. Finally!

Nana was shocked; Kofi, not so much because I had made him aware earlier; Alba was….can I say happy?

So at 10 something pm, two legendary photographs were taken- the all serious photograph, and the swag-filled photograph (a splendid bonus!). As if that was not enough, I, Kuukua Tsetsewa Yawson, a simple happy child, had the opportunity to sit in the same vehicle with all the writers! ALL THREE OF THEM! Not just Nana, not just Kofi, not just Alba! The whole squad! Saturday felt like my birthday all over again (minus the cake lol).

Saturday was all in all, an awesome day for Oseikrom and we’re looking forward to more of such events in the years to come. I’d like to say thanks again to NAD, Kofi and Alba for being sebitically all shades of fantastic in their writings, readings and interactions. I’m officially never missing another reading session for anything in the world!

Kukie?.

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By Maame Akua T. Yawson

The writer, Maame Akua T. Yawson, is a fourth year Architecture student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology and blogs at www.notesofakukieblog.com.

The post Sebitically speaking: A romantic encounter with Oseikrom appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The event is scheduled for 5:30 pm at Kumapley Hall, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Dubbed “Romancing Oseikrom Sebitically,” it offers a lively evening of literary pleasure and though-provoking discussions on Ghanaian contemporary life.

Patrons from within and outside KNUST campus are expected to be charmed and enthralled by excerpts from books such as Sebitically Speaking, Romancing Ghanaland, Tickling the Ghanaian and I Speak of Ghana.

This is the first time the duo is performing outside Ghana’s capital and the Kumasi session is set to snowball into future readings in the other regions.

For the second time running, the reading pair are featuring Alba Sumprim, author of The Imported Ghanaian and A Place of Beautiful Nonsesense as their Guest Reader. Alba’s sensational outing at the Accra event is still talk of the town.

While the Jamrock event scored very high in the number of high society patrons which included Deputy Minister of Tourism Dzifa Gomashie, PPP running mate, Bridget Dzorgbenuku, Prof. Adams Bodomo, Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, and Eugenia Tachie-Menson, the Kumasi event is expected to record the largest audience ever at any book reading in Ghana.

‘‘As intellectual entertainers, we have been receiving requests to come out of Accra. We cannot continue not to serve other regions. We have to do this, and Oseikrom is deserving of this historical first’’, said Kofi Akpabli, communication lecturer and CNN Award winning journalist.

Under their Dakpabli Readathon, the campaign by the two authors to promote reading for pleasure among Ghanaians started in 2011. With 10 books between them, the two writers continue on their mission to make reading hip again, and to take writing and reading to the level of pop culture.

‘We believe that reading should be done for pleasure as well, and not only for exams and industry. By doing this we also aim to diversify the social offerings currently available on our entertainment scene”, stated Nana Damoah who is also a chemical Engineer and an alumnus of KNUST College of Engineering.

In their readings so far, the two have received sponsorship from THREADEX, WearGhana, Norte Sobolo, AJ’s Housekeeping Services, Lincacar, WatsupTek, hyperActive and MTN, the latest sponsor, who streamed the JamRock event live.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kumasi catches Akpabli and Damoah book reading fever appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.