Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. celebrated a major milestone on Thursday. 500 members of sorority traveled to Ghana in honor of its 118th Founders’ Day. It marked the first time the org traveled overseas to celebrate the anniversary.
Hundreds of Alpha Kappa Alpha members visited Ghana for its 118th Founders’ Day
The members visited historic sites, including Cape Coast Castle and the Assin Manso Slave River. Both sites played crucial roles in the transatlantic slave trade, My Joy Online reported. The trip also featured a community service component to further its commitment to serve local communities.
As Black Enterprise reported, AKA’s supreme basileus, Danette Anthony Reed, said, “We have a program called the CHIP Childhood Hunger Initiative PowerPacks. While we are here on January 15, we intend to pack at least 1,000 PowerPacks. These will include essential food items such as rice, tomato paste, and packaged fish. Every member of the group will contribute in one way or another, making this a collective effort.”
The sorority traveling to Ghana was also a way for members to honor their African roots. AKA’s international regional director Carrie J. Clark described the event as a “sacred moment.”
“Last night’s welcome reception was nothing short of extraordinary,” she captioned her Instagram post. “As shared in my greeting, ‘Our Founders envisioned a sisterhood committed to service to all mankind. That vision did not have borders then, and it does not have borders now.’ What we are experiencing this week is the living expression of that dream, carried forward with intention and purpose.”
Locals praised Alpha Kappa Alpha for celebrating in Ghana
Diallo Sumbry, the CEO of Adinkra Group, which helped organize the trip, said the presence of AKA members in the country will boost tourism and lead to business connections between the U.S. and Ghana.
“What this shows is that years after the Year of Return and into the Black Star Experience, we are still attracting large numbers of people from the diaspora to come to Ghana,” he said, per My Joy Online.
“We’re very happy that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has decided to celebrate its 118th Founders’ Day in Ghana,” he said.
Gilbert Abeiku, deputy chief executive officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, added, according to Black Enterprise. “It’s a historical occasion; it’s a historical moment, not just because it’s the first time that a group this large from America, a college-educated group of Black women, has decided to celebrate their Founders’ Day and chart our new chapter here. But what this shows is that years after the Year of Return and now into the Black Star Experience, we are still attracting a large number of diasporas to come back to Ghana.”