2017 SDGs Photo Contest: 17-year-old winner urges gov't to focus on developing rural communities to eliminate poverty


The 2nd place winner of the 2017 SDGs Student Photo Contest, Matthew Paa Kwesi Williams, a 17-year-old student of the Morgan International Community School has called on government to as a matter of urgency take proactive measures to implement policies that would lead to the development of rural communities in the country.

According to him, rural communities in the country deserve to be accorded with the needed support by government towards realization of growth like the urban areas to drastically reduce the level poverty they are engulfed with in order to ease the burden on people especially children who are the hardest  hit.

The young talented winner made the call at a media briefing in Accra on Tuesday November 14, 2017.

The event, an initiative of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC Accra) seeks to put spotlight on the Matthew Paa Kwesi William who emerged as the World’s 2nd best for that matter overall Africa winner in the 2017 SDGs Student Photo Contest.

It was also an avenue to highlight the importance of SDGs and the need to strongly advocate for its achievement in Ghana.

Addressing the press, Ms. Cynthia Prah, National Information Officer of United Nations Information Centre Accra, commended Matthew Paa Kwesi Williams for putting Ghana on the global map with the best image which vividly highlighted the SDGs goal 1 in Ghana that had won him the honor in the contest.

Ms. Cynthia Prah disclosed her outfit is considering the idea of organizing similar event in the future but on the national level and intends to partner with UNIC Tokyo (sister Organization) with support of other sponsors to promote the SDGs.

“The SDGs are our baby, we need to ensure that Ghana follows through and by the end of 2030 we would’ve achieved a lot if not at all, ensure that no one is left behind”. She added.

Ms. Cynthia Prah appealed to institutions and philanthropists in the country to come on board and support the winner’s project which he intends to roll out soon which aimed at addressing the challenges of poverty, an attribute of SDGs goal 1 being Ghana’s major problem.

For her part, Head of Morgan International Community School, Ms. Felicia Sackey was optimistic the key principles embraced by the school over the years which hinges on innovation, creativity and critical thinking coupled with words of encouragement and mentorship have yielded result contributing to the success story of the 17-year-old award winner.

Paa Kwesi, a Baccalaureate Diploma student of Morgan International Community School located at the Agona Swedru, Central Region was adjudged one of the winners under the Award of Excellence category in the just ended SDGs Student Photo Contest in Japan, Tokyo.

His award wining photo which came with the caption “No one has it easy in life” and a title “the struggle of childhood” sheds light on the plight of a poor girl child who is determined to keep her poverty stricken, filthy environment clean without wearing a slippers or sandals.

It was taken in a village called Manso near Agona Swedru, a town located in the Central Region of Ghana, in a community where the gap between the rich and the poor is huge with poverty staring most people in the face.

According to the proud winner, his inspiration to take such a picture emanates from a feeling of pity towards a child who is determined to work  but was covered in dirt without no sandals or slippers on her feet.  A scene that depicts the struggle most school-age children in rural areas go through on daily basis in life due to poverty.

“The passion she worked with was simply amazing”. “With help from United Nations Development Goals, I believe that the lives of such children can be improved and their burden” he indicated.

For his prize, he was handed a prize money of JPY20, 000 in addition to a brand new Nikon digital camera with 2 customized photobooks and a certificate of recognition.
Paa Kwesi believes the world should be a better place for all devoid of poverty and other factors that limits humans and children should have better and equal opportunities to live a life of dignity which is clearly depicted in SDGs.

With his level of commitment backed by passion, Paa Kwesi is about coming out with his own Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to support the global agenda in his own small way whiles at the same time contributing his quota to the success of Ghana in  meeting the set targets of the SDGs.

He is currently nursing the idea of a project called “Pixel Action”; an online platform which will serve as store where photos on both achieved and yet-to-be- achieved SDGs will be saved for public consumption.

The SDGs photo contest is the first of its kind which was launched in Japan last year, amassing a total of 624 entries from 47 countries, including Ghana.

It was initiated by United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo (UNIC Tokyo) in Japan and supported by the Sophia University with special cooperation from Getty Images Japan.

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