The Lebanese community living in Ghana has taken it upon themselves to sponsor the children of Ghanaian soldiers who have paid the ultimate price in the course of serving with the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Disclosing this on Friday January 17, 2014 during a courtesy call at the office of the Ministry of Defence, the Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana, HE Ali H. Halabi said the gesture was in recognition and appreciation of the tremendous sacrifices Ghanaian troops have made to Lebanon since the inception of the Peace Support Operations of the Mission.

Mr Halabi said even though the Lebanese community currently sponsors some Ghanaian students at the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), it was high time this gesture was extended to the children of soldiers who had paid the ultimate price for the peace in Lebanon.

He assured the Military High Command that in the absence of a suitable candidate, the scholarship will be extended to cover children of such soldiers from other Peacekeeping Missions, whom he referred to as ‘children of martyrs’.

The Minister for Defence, Mark Owen Woyongo, expressed his gratitude to the Lebanese community for such a kind and thoughtful gesture. He said Ghanaian soldiers have put down their lives in many peacekeeping theatres and excelled wherever they were deployed.

The United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established by the Security Council in March 1978 by its resolutions 425 and 426. Its first Force Commander was LT General EA Erskine, a Ghanaian. Ghana has contributed troops and staff officers to the Mission since its inception, rotating the troops every six months. To date, 30 Ghanaian Peacekeepers have lost their lives in this theatre.

Discussions between the two dignitaries also covered areas of training and Defence Industrial Collaborations.