Africa’s Youngest Philanthropist, Marcus Love Anafu has been awarded with the Ambassador for Peace laurel. At the 2018 Universal Peace Federation’s Pre-Launching Project for Guns Down 2020 initiative, the young lad was outdoored as the face of the project. The initiative seeks to silence all guns and promote peace in Africa and beyond by 2020.
The awards event held on 21st September 2018 was organized by the Universal Peace Federation, an NGO in consultation with the United Nations (UN) and Youths and Students for Peace (YSP) came as pre- launching of a bigger peace project to come off in 2020. The project which was supposed to be a music and sports festival with awards was used to mark three happenings – UN International Day of Peace, Founders Day, and a celebration of the legacies of Late Kofi Annan, Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah and others.
What was intriguing about this event is the recognition of Marcus Anafu, the well-known young Ghanaian philanthropist who founded a charitable organization at age 17, and heads it as its Chief Executive Officer. The registered NGO which goes by the name Love Foundation Club has grown to be one of the impactful youthful charity organization in the whole of Africa and especially in West Africa.
Starting in 2016, the foundation now has members and volunteers coming from around the sub region with some even as far as the Zambia and South Africa-Lesotho. With the vision of becoming a worldwide organization that will be well rooted in the fight against poverty, streetism, hunger and all other human sufferings especially among children, the foundation has brought together several youths across Africa to work toward this.
Marcus Love Anafu whose own life is the inspiration behind the foundation and the work of the organization seeks to inspire other young Africans to rise up from all their afflictions and help make life better for the less privileged.
The young man who used to be a street hawker, selling kerosene before his family could survive now leads a team of young people mostly made of young students to work towards alleviating human sufferings especially among children. Since peace is not only equated to the absence of war, the mission of Love Foundation Club is basically to champion the need of peace, quality education and health of the less privileged especially in our part of the world, Africa.
The award came as the recognition of the works he and his young team members are doing as youths in charity and community development. What makes this award so special is the fact that no young person has ever received this award in the world.
There is a call thrown to the general public especially the youth to be part of this call to work for peace. The personality and popularity of Marcus Love Anafu is expected to mobilize peace loving youths to the main launching of the project in December 2018. The scope of the event is to mobilize one million people and host not less than 40 thousand on a one-day event that will have segments and different activities held at different venues and at different times.
The awards event started at 9am with a peaceful walk from 37 Military Hospital to the Trade Fair Center. Other programs such as music performances, speeches and signing of peace a charter and spoken word performances coupled the awards in the Ghana International Trade Fair Center’s auditorium.
Some dignitaries that were present at the event are Ambassadors of Peace from other African Countries, UN and AU Representatives, business moguls, religious leaders, sports and music and personalities among others.
What is the Universal Peace Federation? The UPF is an organization in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). It is a global alliance of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a world of peace in which we live in freedom, harmony, cooperation and co-prosperity for all. It is guided by a vision of humanity as one global family of God, living in accordance with universal principles. She draws her membership from Ambassadors for Peace who are committed to the vision of the UPF.
The Ambassadors for Peace – are individuals whose lives exemplify the ideal of living for the sake of others, and who dedicate themselves to promoting universal moral values, strong family life, interreligious/international harmony, renewal of the United Nations, responsible mass media, and the establishment of a global culture of peace.