©AfreePress-(Lomé, April 10, 2023)- On Saturday April 8, 2023, Kégué Stadium at Lomé hosted the apotheosis of the sports activities organized as part of the celebration of 15 years of Compassion International in Togo.
This memorable celebration brought together all the children and young people benefiting from Compassion International program in Togo. The ceremony was enhanced by the presence of the Minister of Sports, Dr Lidi BESSI KAMA and the President of the Togolese Athletics Federation, Ms. Dogo Falilatou, noted the AfreePress news agency.
The event started early in the morning with a parade of participating teams. Activities continued with three football finals (junior, women’s and senior), athletic disciplines, as well as Kids Games, etc.
The young athletes in competition demonstrated their talent and a passion for sport to amaze the sports authorities present and the public who were massively mobilized.
For the first leaders of the NGO Compassion International Togo, this initiative based on the theme: « Burning sparks to make a difference in the nation » aims to offer the opportunity to young athletes in clusters and Child and Youth Development Centers (CYDC), to demonstrate their talent and their passion for sport, while promoting their personal and physical development.
“We retain by this event, the celebration and the promotion of the talents of these young people that we have in the program. They are more than 76,000 and we give the opportunity to talented people to be able to participate in the various competitions, whether it is football for juniors, seniors and for young girls within the framework of this program, but also athletics for identify talent. Sport is cohesion and solidarity. So, the goal for us is to bring together children and young people from the north of the country to the south, so that together we can celebrate talents, » said Olivier Koffi AHONON, National Director of Compassion International Togo.
The Minister of Sports, meanwhile, welcomed the commitment of Compassion International Togo for the holding of this sporting event. She stressed the importance of promoting sports activities among young people to foster their personal and physical development.
“Today, I was very impressed by the quality of the performances on the pitch. We have seen around 20,000 children and young people here at Kégué stadium and that is thanks to Compassion International, which is doing wonderful work on the ground. The NGO is celebrating its 15th anniversary today and it is 15 years of success, because we have seen these children grow up and seeing all these energies on the ground, I tell myself that our country is lucky to have this NGO which operates alongside the government. These children are the future of Togo, we are here to encourage the management team of Compassion International Togo to do more. We have come to convey to them the words of encouragement from the government, from his Excellency the President of the Republic Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé so that this organization knows that it can count on the Togolese State”, declared Dr. Lidi BESSI KAMA.
The day ended with the presentation of trophies and medals to the winning teams, as well as to the most talented athletes.
The smiles on the faces of the young athletes at the end testified to the joy and satisfaction of having participated in this sporting event.
It should be noted that the apotheosis of the celebration of 15 years of Compassion International in Togo will take place on April 11 at Palais des Congrès in Lomé. It will be marked by the release of nearly 300 young people at the end of the program.
Raphael A.
