A new flag for Mfantsipim School
will be unveiled by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed
Forces, Vice-Admiral Matthew Quashie (MOBA 1970), at the school tomorrow,
Thursday, June 19, 2014.
The event will be on the theme:
“Energising Mfantsipim’s esprit de corps for contemporary challenges”.
An anonymous student designed the
first flag of Mfantsipim during the period Rev W. T. Balmer was at the head of
the institution to express the school’s esprit de corps.
At a ceremony on June 3, 1910, John
Mensah Sarbah, the Ghanaian nationalist, unfurled the flag with a rich red
background and the word “Mfantsipim” emblazoned, with the Union Jack ensconced
at an upper corner.
The students were asked to engrain
the symbolism of the flag in their minds and “never tarnish or stain it through
dishonour or by means of any dishonourable act”.
As part of internalising the
traditions of the school, students then were expected to be mindful always of
the school’s motto — Dwen Hwe Kan — which inculcated thoughtfulness and
foresight and to so equip themselves as to be a credit to the school and
society.
The intent was that when they went
out to say they were trained by the school, that was sufficient to guarantee
good moral character and high intellectual endowment.
Further, to inculcate in the
students the spirit symbolised by that special flag, the students were asked to
use the military fashion to give three salutes at the flag post.
It has been difficult to find
out when and possibly why that practice was stopped or fell off the school’s
discipline code. However, in the last few years, a flag of black and red
stripes has been used.
In consideration of the
collective will to strengthen the Mfantsipim brand, it became necessary to
launch a competition among students and Old Boys to select a new flag for the
school.
The winning entry was
submitted by a group of Old Boys at the KNUST, under the name TEAM TAK, whose
membership are Messrs Ekow Aggrey-Mensah, Yaw Kuffour Sarbeng, Edem Kwame
Yankah, David Kwantwi-Mensah, and Gilbert Benjamin Cudjoe.
The
meaning of elements in flag:
The Black colour represents the
African, while the RED colour represents his blood and sacrifices.
The left section of the flag has
eight rectangles to symbolise the ‘Faithful Eight’. Its location on the flag
represents the integral part of the origin or beginnings of the school.
And just as one reads from left to
right and top downwards, the first red rectangle continues to the right and
downwards to represent the continuation of Mfantsipim’s heritage, traditions,
history and legacies that run through the blood of all who have passed and
continue to pass through the Hills of Kwabotwe.
The crest rests on a red background
to highlight the enormous responsibility present, as well as future generations
carry towards fulfilling the dreams, prophecies and aspirations of the founding
fathers of Ghana, Africa and humanity, while the WHITE border depicts a new
limitless future, new opportunities, new global possibilities and new uncharted
destinies for the school and its graduates.
This new flag, therefore, is
to re-establish a commitment to reinforce the esprit de corps of the school and
renew the understanding: “Never tarnish or stain it through dishonour or by
means of any dishonourable act.”
Thus, tomorrow, more than a
century after the first flag was unveiled, we will have another opportunity to
launch Mfantsipim into a new era of enhanced relevance of the school to the
advancement of Ghana, Africa and humanity with the unveiling of the flag.
