Dr Abdallah Munir Dawood, Secretary, National Jalsa Planning Committee (NJPC), Ghana
By the choicest grace and favour of Allah the Almighty, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana reached a century in 2021. Just when the Mission was about to unfold its series of centenary activities to express its profound gratitude to Allah and to inspire its members to be thankful in every way for Allah’s blessing upon the Jamaat, Covid-19 struck and shuttered all our plans. For this reason, things could not move according to plan until the prohibitions of Covid-19 were officially lifted in 2022.
Under the directive and guidance of the Amir and Missionary-In-Charge of Ghana Jamaat, Maulvi Noor Mohammed Bin Salih, the Mission, through the National Jalsa Planning Committee (NJPC), decided to hold the 91st Jalsa Salana in 2024 as its Centenary Jalsa and began working towards this.
The NJPC is the body responsible for the planning and organisation of the annual national convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission. It is made up of several subcommittees that work tirelessly around the clock to ensure a fruitful Jalsa. Each subcommittee is headed by a chairman and a deputy who report to the Afsar Jalsa Salana (who is the overall head of the NJPC).
The subcommittees of the NJPC are as follows:
1. Facilities
2. Utilities
3. Seating
4. Public Address System (PAS)
5. Jalsa Gah
6. Health (Female)
7. Health (Male)
8. Security
9. Finance
10. General Feeding
11. Protocol Feeding
12. Protocol
13. Traffic Control
14. Executive Reception
15. Exhibition
16. Publicity
17. IT & Social Media
18. Secretariat
19. Transport
20. Statistics
21. Education Excellence Awards
Although all the subcommittees are crucial in ensuring a successful Jalsa, the activities of only a few will be highlighted here. It is instructive to note that the entire workforce, which is made up of members and non-members of the NJPC, works voluntarily without any monetary incentive. It is even more inspiring to note that, all such people contribute financially to support the organisation of the Jalsa.
Being a Centenary Jalsa, the participation is expected to be higher than usual and for that matter, huge financial resources are needed to organise it successfully. At the onset, it looked difficult and almost unachievable, given the current economic situation of the country in general. Here again, Allah has shown His mercy and favour upon the Jamaat. At the time of writing this report, preparations are far advanced, at about 90% completion, alhamdulillah.
Facilities
The core mandate of the Facility Subcommittee is mainly infrastructural development. This includes accommodation, roads, washrooms, stage and decoration, market, sanitation, and general development.
Through an integrated approach, the subcommittee delivers efficient but cost-effective services covering all aspects of its core mandate to ensure the smooth organisation of the Jalsa. Since it was announced after the last Jalsa that the Jalsa of 2024 will be the Centenary Jalsa, the Facilities Subcommittee rolled out its plan and organised and mobilised resources to begin the grounds work.
By the grace of Allah, the work done to date is about 90%. The chairman of the subcommittee, Mallam Ishak Issah, has assured the NJPC to complete all work on the grounds before people troop in for the Jalsa, Insha-Allah.
Utilities
The Utility Subcommittee is responsible for the provision of two important amenities, stable electricity, and potable water, to all quarters of the Jalsa grounds throughout the period of the Jalsa. In line with this mandate, and to ensure effective workflow and efficient output, the subcommittee is sub-divided into two departments; Water and Electricity.
The Water Department is responsible for providing a constant flow of water for sanitary purposes, and portable, treated and filtered water for drinking and cooking purposes.
This year, the subcommittee started work much earlier than it did in previous years, which has resulted in the completion of its major operations ahead of time. Major activities undertaken include the installations of both water and electric power plants, laying of underground water pipes to supply tap water, provision of water reservoir tanks at all vantage points, laying of electric cables, erection of lamp poles, etc.
Feeding
The NJPC operates with two distinct feeding subcommittees: General Feeding and Protocol Feeding, catering to different participant groups.
The feeding arrangement changed a bit this year. Rather than having a central kitchen under the auspices of the General Feeding Subcommittee, there will be several regional kitchens that will be provided with logistics and funds to cook for participants from their regions or zones.
The fundamental objective is to feed every participant of the Jalsa breakfast, lunch, and supper. Being a Centenary Jalsa, the number of participants is expected to be significantly greater than the participation in the previous conventions.
Approximately 45,000 local and international participants are expected to attend the Jalsa. Arrangements have been made to take care of guests with special dietary needs as well.
Public Address System (PAS)
The PAS Subcommittee is responsible for organising and managing the public address and related services, which include the acquisition and set up of reliable public address gadgets and logistics such as microphones, loudspeakers, LED screens, etc.; the amplification of speeches at the right amplitude; the management of sound feeds; and the management of the audio-video systems for both speakers and the audience.
They are also responsible for the newly introduced translation system, which involves simultaneous translations of English and Urdu speeches into local languages via radio frequencies (FM). Four frequencies have since been acquired from the National Communication Authority (NCA) for this purpose.
This subcommittee is the ‘heart and soul’ of the Jalsa, so to speak, since the ultimate goal of the Jalsa is to deliver soul-inspiring speeches to those physically present and those listening/ watching via various technologies.
Health
Within the NJPC structure, there are two health subcommittees, i.e., the Health – (Male and Female) Subcommittees. Their mandate is to provide medication and take care of the health needs of all participants – males and females, during the Jalsa.
Even though the infrastructure of the clinics is built by the Facilities subcommittee, the chairpersons and their deputies are actively involved in the process to ensure the structures are suitable for their purposes.
The subcommittees usually set up with their full workforce a day prior to the Jalsa. Their setups and operations are strictly guided by the standard operating procedure (SOP) and principles of the Ghana medical and related services.
An ultrasound section was added to the male clinic last year and it is hoped to be available this year too. The dominant cases the clinics treat include malaria, fever, minor cuts and injuries from accidents, eye screening, sugar, and high blood pressure checks.
A platform to undertake the annual blood donation exercise has also been prepared in advance. It is worth noting that the annual blood donation of the Jamaat yields the highest blood donation of any religious organisation in the country.
Security
The Security Subcommittee is in charge of orderliness, sanity, and, to a large extent, the safety of persons, facilities, and logistics on the Jalsa grounds. This mandate is carried out mainly by the members of the Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya, i.e., the youth wing organisation of the Mission, under the chairmanship of the President.
Personnel of the subcommittee also include members of the National Security Forces, i.e., the police, military, fire service, and other emergency responders. The Security Subcommittee contributes to ground preparations and post-Jalsa activities, with a focus on comprehensive training for effective event security, while specific operational details remain undisclosed.
