Sir Knight Brother Derx Baffour was on Saturday (Sept 3) installed as the new Supreme Knight of the Knights of Marshall with an announcement of the setting up of a non-governmental organisation, the Marshallan Relief and Development Service (MAREDES), to spearhead and co-ordinate charitable acts of the Noble Order to the church and humanity. The establishment of the NGO is in consonance with fundamental principles and tenets of the Noble Order of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, which is well known for its charitable and philanthropic work both in the Catholic Church and in society. Sir Knight Baffour, who is a pharmacist by profession and Chief Executive Officer of Cyndex Pharmacy, was initiated into the Noble Order in 1983 where he rose through the ranks to become Grand Knight of Council 48, Greater Accra Regional Secretary, Supreme Propagandist and a Mystics Psychology lecturer. In his installation address at Sekondi, Sir Knight Baffour, who becomes the 29th Supreme Knight, said the NGO, which will have Sir Knight Eddy Prah as its chairman, will among others provide physical, spiritual, economic and social relief to persons and groups affected by poverty, conflict, disaster and political circumstances, undertake relevant research necessary to influence policy change, undertake training and other capacity building initiatives with the aim of empowering poor people and communities as well as raise funds to support the objectives of the organisation. He donated an undisclosed amount to support the registration and initial activities of the NGO. The Knights and Ladies of Marshall is a Catholic friendly and charitable society with branches in the United Kingdom, Liberia, Togo, Benin with its headquarters at Sekondi in Ghana. It was named after Sir James Marshall, a former Chief Justice of the Gold Coast and Nigeria, who converted from the Anglican faith to Catholicism and spear-headed the rebirth of the Catholic Church in Ghana in 1880. Sir Knight Baffour pledged to focus on two major issues during his two-year reign as the Supreme Knight of the Noble Order, namely deepening members’ relationship with God as well as deepen and strengthen fraternal relations and enhance networking among Marshallans to address welfare, peace and other issues facing members of the Marshallan fraternity. “It is my strong conviction that with these tenets, charitable acts will naturally flow from us to support the Church, the country and humanity,” he added. In line with this, Sir Knight Baffour announced the setting up of the Marshallan Centre for Fraternal Relations to offer “timely assistance, support and professional advice to brothers in need” with Worthy Brother Tony Baffour as its chairman. According to him, similar bodies will be formed at the Regional and local levels. To address the financial needs of members in need as well as a source of social security benefits, Sir Knight Baffour also announced the establishment of the Marshallan Security Trust (MST) to offer a customised insurance programme to meet current needs and financial plans for the future. He committed an undisclosed amount as a start-up capital for the scheme which is expected to offer substantial returns to the individual members and also, accrue benefits for the Supreme Council and the host councils. He announced the start date of the scheme as January 2012 with a seasoned insurance broker, Bro Anthony Apallo as its co-ordinator. Sir Knight Baffour further announced the establishment of a Marshallan Museum and Heritage Centre to preserve the Noble Order's rich heritage and to develop a system for documentation, retrieval and storage of cherished paraphernalia of the founding fathers with Sir Knight G. M. Osei to be responsible for the centre. He also announced the reintroduction of the Best Council Award as part of efforts to promote excellence and to encourage competitive spirit amongst the councils. The victorious council will receive a coveted trophy to be donated by the Supreme Knight. Sir Knight Baffour reminded members of the Knights of Marshall that this was the time for them all to build on the legacy of the founding fathers and the dream of other illustrious sons of the noble order, who have left indelible marks on the Marshallan shores of time. “Individually and collectively, we should strive for excellence, so that posterity will grade us properly in the history of the Noble Order,” he noted.