WE CAN ONLY BUILD ON SUPER 2015... NO EXCUSES! In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen!

There is a new wind blowing within the Odadee family and it’s refreshing; for want of a better and more deserving expression.

From the day those first promotional posters of the maiden Torch and Bonfire Night hit social media circles, you could tell there was a new wave; an awakening of sorts. A new spirit of pride in West Africa’s best high school (nobody can convince me otherwise), a new spirit of togetherness (the old fusing with the new..yes, although the new generation don’t want it said, they have, with their incredible ideas and exuberance, largely driven this new wave), a new spirit of forward thinking (establishing a general council and instituting a mentorship program to start preparing tomorrow’s Odadee).

2015 was an awesome year for Presec-Legon. When the 2005 Year Group made the kind of noise they made at the July 1 Games, anyone who had a sense of smell for determination and vision would have known that the group were on to something.  But even the most clairvoyant couldn’t have foreseen a fraction of what they would do to the Presec-Legon fraternity in those couple of months leading to the Bonfire Night and THE NIGHT itself.  Yes, THE NIGHT. The group galvanized all Odadees to work together to achieve the unthinkable; Odadees from the media, industry and academia all playing different roles to ensure that that sleeping, dormant, lethargic Odadee would not only awaken, but wake up straight to action.

That action culminated in the contributions made by several year groups and individuals to the completion of the Alumni and Mentorship Centre (awesome idea by the 1990 group).  Today, we are building systems and putting institutions in place to ensure that we never go back to those days of dormancy and lethargy.  The Mentorship project is one such awesome system we are putting in place.  Another is the institution of the Odadee General Council, a council made up of the Global Executive Team and Year Group Presidents (you can call it the Odadee Cabinet). We also have a wonderful website in place now. www.odadee.net. Please sign on to this website if you haven’t yet. It is an incredible resource for networking, project promotion, fundraising, learning and many more.

So this is where we find ourselves. We are a crucial point in the history of Presec-Legon. Anybody can easily tell that this is the point where we have the best foundation to build on. I do not think future Odadee generations would forgive us if we don’t ensure that we build a solid structure on the laid foundation.

Nii Okine Okantey’s administration and those before him had dug well and deep into the ground to prepare the area for the laying of a solid foundation. The current administration, led by Rev. Ebenezer Markwei has laid this foundation very strongly (by skillfully fusing the old and the new) and has begun to build the first key structures.

So what is the way forward? I don’t think I can predict how we will build on this. I won’t even attempt to suggest what we should do.

I know this for sure, though. Provided we all decide to contribute from our small corners, 2016 will be an even more exciting year for our school. How do I know?

Here goes…

I would start with the first item on the Odadee calendar i.e. the July 1 Games. It is the first event anybody would expect me to start with. It is the event that the General Council has scheduled as the preparatory grounds to sharpen the organizational skills/event management skills of the Year Group in the 10th Anniversary before they come up with the event we all expect to remain a banger i.e. the Torch and Bonfire Night.  However the 2006 year group says no. They want to start even before the July 1 Games.  Indeed, they want the July 1 Games, instead of being preparatory grounds, to be the first banger.  Therefore, they have chosen another preparatory grounds; the organization of the inter-year group fun football competition. Watch this space for details. In any case, there are two other reasons I couldn’t have started with the July 1 Games, and one of those reasons is that the 1976 Year Group has already cut the sod for the construction of a modern school gate.

This year’s 25th Anniversary Year Group is the 1991 Year Group.  With the approval of the Odadee Council, the Group is constructing a Sports Gymnasium for Presec. Fundraising activities would include selling of donation coupons and a maiden Odadee Invitational Golf event.

The Golf event will be held on April 9 at the Achimota Golf Club and will involve over 100 Odadee Golfers from across the various Golf Clubs in Ghana. Golfers outside Ghana who would want to fly in just to participate are welcome to do so. This will be a first-of-its-kind experience.

Details of the event, how to contribute to the fundraising through the coupons and the group’s special gofundme project is coming soon to a social media outlet near you.

Now I can move on to the July 1 Games.  Like we say in certain circles here in Ghana, the 2006 Group ‘have taken the event World Cup’. We are still in January and these guys already have computer-generated images of their concept for the Games ready. They have several interesting games planned to suit all interests. They have football that would involve other invited schools, they have bull ride, I had to google to understand what they meant by human fussball (but I promise you that would be a real fun part of the day). They also have bouncy castles set up for the kids.  The 2006 Group has planned the July 1 Games to be what it was originally set up to be; a fun day for Odadees, Aburi Old Girls and their families. For those who have never been to any of the July 1 events, this year seems like a good time to start.

Then just three (3) days later, we put the Odadee spirit on an aircraft and fly it to the US for the North America Odadee Reunion.  July 4, 2016 will be historic. A buzz like no other ever experienced in those parts of the world will be made by Odadees from all over North America.  If you live in and around the US, don’t miss this.  If you live elsewhere and can make it there, you are welcome.

In October, we will have the grand homecoming.  This will be three-days of pride, fun, loyalty and a show of commitment to our school.  It will start on a Friday with the Torch and Bonfire Night, the AGM and a series of homecoming events on Saturday and the Commemoration Service on Sunday. If somehow you manage to miss all the other events on the Odadee Calendar this year, you should know you cannot miss this one.

In November, we will all converge again on the Presec campus for the 78th Speech and Prize Giving Day and the unveiling of the Odadee Gym.

The activities of the year will be crowned with the first ever Odadee Dinner and Awards Night in December.  This occasion will be used to celebrate our success within the year, take stock and plan for an even better 2017. We can only move forward.

Throughout the year, you would also learn about many other projects at different stages of completion.  For me the biggest is the Presec Endownment Fund. When the project team knocks on your door, show love to the school that helped shape you in so many positive ways.

This will be an exciting year and should represent the beginning of even more exciting years ahead.

I have always been proud to be an Odadee.  Since last year, that pride is bursting at the seams and this can only get better.  I am happy to belong to this one big happy family.

In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen!

In Thy Light We Shall See Light!