Balance Crew celebrates Commonwealth Day

By Aminata Ceesay The Balance Crew members in collaboration with the Commonwealth Youth Council have on Monday commemorated the commonwealth day at the American Corner. The commemoration took the form of presentation, drama, poetry rendition, march past, among others. Speaking at the event, Dawda Cham, the social secretary of the Balance Crew, said: “The Commonwealth is a group of 53 states and it is one of the world’s oldest political associations. Its roots go back to the British Empire when some countries were ruled directly or indirectly by Britain. Some of these countries became self-governing while retaining Britain’s monarch as head of state. They formed the British Commonwealth of Nations. “The commonwealth aims to create strong links between rich and poor countries, bringing together a variety of religious faiths and demographics in one institution. Although the group has been criticized for being more symbolic than useful, it has helped to create strong diplomatic ties between its oldest members. “It does offer the opportunity for smaller nations to sit down with larger nations at the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), which allows them to make their projects and concerns known to encourage strong ties among members state in trade, sports, education, cultural exchange and industrial development.” Also speaking, the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Partner of Glife magazine, Momodou Sabally, made a presentation on the importance of involving the disables in national activities, saying that people with disabilities should be treated well and given more attention to whatsoever they are into. He added that it is a national duty to see that disables are given equal rights, and to increase awareness regarding sign language, to be used during programmes and other important events for the benefit of those having hearing problems. Landing Sallah, the secretary of the Balance Crew, said: “The Balance Crew was formed on the 24th day of March 2013. It is a CBO with the sole aim of promoting excellent ideas and to create a platform for positive attitudinal change and to enhance social-economic development of our beloved country and Africa as a whole. It comprises young people who are talented. We believe whatever is been taught in the four corners of the classroom should not only stop there but has to be applied in the field to innovate new things, that’s why we came up with a motto which says ‘education to innovate’, ‘learn, think and create’. As we all may know the beginning of everything is always tough but we were able to tackle all constraints and today we are a better organization.” He added: “In 2015, we coordinated an EU project which was about a nationwide sensitization and awareness programme on climate change and coastal zone management in partnership with the national TV, GRTS. This project was especially beneficial to farmers and fishermen who lived in coastal areas and are always unknowingly affected by climate change. The project has gone a long way in teaching the local people ways of preventing the harmful effects of this global phenomenon.”]]>