Ghanaian Hugs Tree 24hrs to Clutch World Record

A Ghanaian has secured a Guinness World Record after hugging a tree for over 24 hours under what is called “tree-hug-a-thon”.

Abdul Hakim Awal, a 23-year-old resident of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region broke the record of Ugandan environmental activist Faith Patricia Ariokot.

He undertook the attempt which was eventually verified as successful at the Kumasi Cultural Centre. It lasted 24 hours and 21 minutes.

Abdul was not permitted any breaks during his record attempt – he had to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration, GWR reported.

He told the record keeper that his adventure was geared towards propagating the essence of trees.

“We know how trees, an essential resource which the entire human race depends on, are becoming scarce in Ghana. Though we have been taught about the preservation of trees since the early years of our lives, the contribution of everyone is not as significant as it should be. This attempt for the longest time to hug a tree, to me, spells out an important task to preserve human life by preserving trees.”

He has since committed himself to planting a total of 1,461 trees across Ghana.

Marathon
Record attempts are considered to be ‘marathons’ only when they exceed 24 hours in length. As the current record stands, Longest Tree Hugging has translated into a marathon following Abdul’s.

This means that future challengers will be permitted breaks (a total of two hours per day) in order to combat the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.

Previous Holder
Faith Patricia Ariokot, a 29-year-old made a record for the longest tree-hugging when she wrapped her arms around a tree trunk for 16 hours 6 seconds to become the first official holder of the record.

She became successful in February after two earlier attempts as her camera failed to record much of her first attempt, and her second try was cut short due to a thunderstorm.

Her attempt was aimed at encouraging tree planting and preservation.