Lamentations and admonitions about the dangers of teenage pregnancy, environmental degradation and the loss of Ghanaian cultural values were brought alive with effect in poetry recitals at the Volta Basic Schools Drama and Poetry Festival in Ho on Wednesday.
The festival under the theme “Developing your writing and reading skills, your power of success” was organized by the Volta Regional Directorate of the Centre for National Culture (CNC) in collaboration with the Ho Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The dramatized renditions by pupils of the Anglican Junior High School, Methodist JHS and Ho Kpodzi JHS captured the attention of the packed auditorium of pupils, students and teachers as if under a spell as they nodded to the Ewe lyrics and proverbs to drive home the seriousness of the messages.
But no sooner had the attention shifted from poetry to prose (prepared speeches) than the audience’s focus was lost.
The sponsors of the two-day competition, which would feature nine schools, were EPP Books Accra, Unimax Macmillan Ghana Limited, Cocoa Processing Company, Tema, Promasidor, Accra.
The rest are Captain George Nfodjo (RTD), the Member of Parliament Ho Central, SIC Life Insurance, Ho and RLG Communications, Ho.