Kofi Ampeah Woode
Ghana Army’s 155 Armoured Regiment (155 Armd Regt), located in Damongo in the Savannah Region, has celebrated the 2023 Boxing Day with flood victims of the flood-stricken town of Buipe, as part of the end of year activities for the Unit.
Events of the day – 26 December 2023 – commenced with a football match between troops of 155 Armd Regt and the Buipe Youth Team, with other games like Oware, Checkers, Ludo, Monopoly, UNO and Playing Cards, following suit, as some personnel of the Regiment interacted with the flood victims and donated some relief items to them, concurrently.
The items donated included assorted soft drinks, 15 jute bags of clothes for all ages, 7 jute bags of shoes for children aged between 6 to 15 years, and 4 jute bags of backpacks and school bags, after which the Regiment hosted and treated about 350 of the flood victims to lunch.
The Commanding Officer (CO), 155 Armd Regt – Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Philemon Adotey Hoffman, in a few remarks, indicated that activities, such as the kind organized by his Regiment, offer the military an opportunity to further strengthen the civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) efforts of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
The CO added that the event was also intended to help put smiles on the faces of the victims, and reignite hope in them, particularly during the Yuletide and the end of year festivities, encouraging them to contribute to building peace in the Savannah Region.
He thanked the Overlord – His Royal Majesty Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor II, and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) staff at Buipe, for their support and assistance, in organising the programme, and also appreciated all Officers, Soldiers and Defence Civilian Staff, families and friends of the Regiment, who selflessly donated items for the programme.
The head of the flood victims, in return, appreciated the military and noted that it was a rare opportunity to interact and dine with military personnel, and be given words of encouragement, and thus pledged his people’s support to maintain peace in the Region.
Floods struck the small town of Buipe in October 2023, displacing thousands of residents within the township of the Central Gonja District, with about 300 structures being submerged.
Credit: 155 Armd Regt
