The people of Yendi in the Northern Region have held their annual bicycle racing competition to foster peaceful co-existence among the various communities. Both energetic male and female youth from the various communities took part in the race which started from Adibo and ended at Yendi. This year's competition was held on the theme; "Ride to Support Peace in Dagbon", and organised by the Bang-Gu-Manga Integrated Rural Development Society (BIRDS), a non-governmental organisation, with sponsorship from Bayport Financial Services. At the end of the race, Tanko Issahaq came tops in the male category, while Sabratu Abdul-Rahaman won in the female category. They were given a bicycle each, while other winners received other items and DVD players. The Executive Director of BIRDS, Alhaji Sulemana Alhassan Iddi, noted that the objective of the ‘Yendi Ride for Peace', which was introduced in 2004, was to engage the youth to redirect their energies into activities that would unite them and promote their common interest. He said it was the vision of BIRDS to expand the competition to include people from Togo, La Cote d'Ivoire and other neighbouring countries. Alhaji Iddi appealed to chiefs and royals of Dagbon to sit together and discuss ways of bringing lasting peace to the area. He said as a result of conflicts in Dagbon, huge resources and opportunities had been lost and pleaded with the youth not to allow themselves to be provoked or used to perpetuate violent conflicts. The Area Manager of the Bayport Financial Services, Mr William Mahama Majeed, expressed worry that the youth, who were supposed to be the future leaders of the country, 'were those used to create unrest and violence in the society. He said development thrived in areas where there was absolute peace and that it was for this reason that his outfit offered to sponsor the ride for peace competition. He said as part of its corporate social responsibility, Bayport had been making development interventions in its operational areas, including a recent donation of exercise books and other educational materials valued at about GH¢50,000 to various institutions nation-wide. Mr Majeed further said Bayport Financial Services, in collaboration with the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), offered scholarship packages to children of GNAT mem-bers entering senior high schools and that such scholarships were for the tertiary level as well. . He encouraged the general public to turn their lives around by patronizing the services of Bayport Financial Services as they could have access to credit in less than 30 minutes. Source: Daily Graphic