By:   SEVERIOUS KALE DERY

THE Queen of Mampong Akwapim, Nana Akua Perbia I, added another dimension to an exhibition mounted by traditional leaders, to showcase the contribution of traditional leaders in the development of their areas.

The exhibition, which was organized by the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) was to showcase what traditional leaders can do for the development of their traditional areas.

Instead of the usual pictures of develop0ment activities and other items mounted by other traditional leaders, Nana Perbia decided to mount a food exhibition, which ended up attracting all the participants at the exhibition.

She lined up various local food including fufu, banku, aboloo, yakayaka, kenkey and apeprensa.

It was a welcome gesture for the participants who ignored the usual protocol of being conducted round the exhibition and crowded the food stand, which had enough to feed all.

Nana Perbia, a trained nurse, explained that she decided to mount the food exhibition after she had been enlightened by CIKOD through numerous training sessions and workshops.

She said at the hospital, a lot of people reported there with nutrition-related problems and she felt that she needed to demonstrate that local dishes could be nutritious.

Nana Perbia said many people often prefer eating fried rice and other western food to the local food and said there were lots of rich nutrients and other valuable ingredients in local foods.

The function itself was not just an exhibition, but an array of Chiefs and Queens, who appeared in their rich traditional attire to the admiration of all.

It created an avenue for people to rob shoulders freely with the traditional leaders and afforded them the opportunity to learn at first hand, the role of Traditional Leaders in national development in general and their traditional areas in particular.

Graphic Showbiz    -                 Thursday, October 25 – 31, 2007             Page: 17