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04/05/2011

BBC Radio Scotland - Skiing for Ghana

Ghana is famous for cocoa, Kofi Annan and football, but not skiing. Until now...

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, the first Ghanaian to go to the Winter Olympics, has a greater goal - to bring skiing to Ghana, just a few degrees north of the equator. Can he do it?

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Six years ago, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong strapped on a set of skis for the first time. Fast forward to 2010 and he's the first Ghanaian to take part in the Winter Olympics. This is an incredible achievement, but ultimately Kwame has a greater goal: to bring Skiing to Ghana.

Ghana is famous for cocoa production, Kofi Annan and the extraordinary national football team. Ski resorts are not on the list. However, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong wants to build the first ever artificial ski slope just a few degrees north of the equator. 

He's the first ever Ghanaian to compete in the Winter Olympics and he wants others to follow. The lack of snow in his native land won't stop him. He's gained the approval of the tribal chief in Mamfe where the slope is to be situated and initial work will begin next year against the picturesque backdrop of Ghana's Akuapem Hills. 

Kwame is taking the task very seriously; "I want to remove the stigma of sport in Africa, where too often it's considered something that dummies do," he says. "Education can go hand-in-hand with leisure and recreation. It doesn't have to be a choice of one or the other. I want people to see that.".

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