2024 CEANA Convention communique

The Council of Ewe Associations of North America (CEANA) held its 31st Annual Convention from August 29th to September 2nd, 2024, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton, 4705 Clydesdale Parkway Loveland, CO 80538, USA, under the

theme: ‘Mina Miatu Ewe Dukɔ - Help Build Eweland - Peuple Ewe Ensemble Batissons La cite’. 

This year’s Convention was hosted by the Ewe Association of Colorado under the presidency of Mr. Cornelius Ackumey, with the help of his capable executives and convention organizers. Approximately one thousand (1000) guests from the USA, Canada, Europe, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria attended the event, including all the members of all the twenty (20) constituent Associations of

CEANA.

 Additionally, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide watched it on social media platforms such as CEANA’s YouTube/Facebook and other outlets. This year’s annual fundraising to support CEANA in completing the construction of a

kindergarten building at Dodome-Awaisu and a Computer Library in Kpalime in Togo was very successful, and over $190,000.00 was raised.

Even though Thursday, August 29th is considered an arrival day, folks who arrived earlier or on Thursday were treated to Old School

70s, 80s, and reggae music.

The Convention officially opened on Friday morning, August 30th, with the CEANA Council of Representatives (COR) board meeting. Dr. Tsatsu E. Nyamadi, President of CEANA, chaired this meeting and all the weekend’s events. The morning’s official business included a review of operations for the past year. The board of directors reviewed the budget presented by the executive council and approved it unanimously by all present, with minor modifications. The board also formally

voted and approved the following two motions:

1. The CEANA convention $30 levy of convention attendees is discontinued, effective 2025 convention

2. The CEANA Association Challenge is now mandatory for all Associations

Later that morning, many families went on an excursion to view the scenery of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the Seven Falls, and the US Air Force Academy.

On Friday evening, the 1 st , a Grand Durbar of Chiefs and Queen Mothers took place, featuring a rich display of royal regalia by the Chiefs and the Queen Mothers. They were treated to a well-choreographed Ewe cultural performance by the Ewe Association of Colorado dance group and Gbolo group from New York. Torgbui Agbelorm Agbotokor II, Chief of Salo and the Representative of the

Council of Ewe Associations in North America (CEANA) in Ghana, spoke on behalf of the chief and the queen mothers present. 

He praised CEANA for its leadership in Eweland. He encouraged the traditional leaders to be united and help CEANA in the development of Eweland. The President of the Ewe Indigenes of Nigeria, Honorable Albert Aiyeadum Atisese, thanked CEANA for the historic visit of its delegation to Badagry I Nigeria.

On Saturday morning, August 31st, delegates and guests from the various CEANA Associations were ushered into a general conference amidst jubilation and celebration. Mr. Cornelius Ackumey, the second Vice President of CEANA (VP2) and President of the Ewe Association of Colorado, delivered the host’s welcome address, welcoming everyone to this year’s convention. Mr. Ackumey

promised that the Ewe Association of Colorado had worked hard to ensure all attendees would have an exciting convention like never

before. 

He urged all to relax, enjoy all that Colorado offers, and be entertained throughout the weekend. He used the occasion to render a heartfelt tribute to the late Mr. Derick Glymin. Mr. Glymin was one of the founding members of the Ewe Association of Colorado and had long served the CEANA fraternity. His passing occurred weeks before the convention. Mr. Glymin was eulogized with a video presentation on the big screens in the auditorium. Mr. Ackumey also thanked Mr. Divine Klutsey,

the convention’s general coordinator, the members of the Colorado Association, and all the volunteers who worked and are still working hard to ensure a very successful convention.

 

Dr. Tsatsu Nyamadi then took the helm of affairs and delivered the State of CEANA address.  The President congratulated all the 20 Ewe Associations for their unity, zeal, determination, and purpose, which have kept the CEANA organization alive and thriving wonderfully all these years.

 He thanked and praised all the donors whose benevolence donations enabled CEANA to complete the construction of the EP JSS 3-Classroom with an Office building at Peki-Dzake in Ghana. He thanked them for the ongoing kindergarten building at Dodome-Awuaisu in Ghana and a Computer Library in Kpalime in Togo. Dr. Nyamadi also said that CEANA awards scholarships (since 2002) to students in Ghana, Togo, and Benin every year. 



According to the president, over 500 scholarships have been awarded to date, and he felt glad to acknowledge that one such scholarship recipient, a female, is now a Medical Doctor.

Honorable Kofi Attor, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of Parliament, Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, brought greetings from the Speaker and conveyed the Speaker’s gratitude for the invitation; however, the Speaker could not attend in person due to some official business matters. The Rt. Honorable Alban Bagbin commended the leaders of CEANA for leading the way in developments in the Eweland, doing that with donations from individuals who contribute to CEANA. He wished other associations would

follow CEANA’s initiative. He wished all attendees well and a successful convention.

 

Honorable Emmanual Kwasi Bedzrah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho West and Chairman of the Volta Regional Caucus in Parliament, also extended greetings from Ghana and the people of the Ho West constituency and attested to the fact that, CEANA is currently building a kindergarten school building in his constituency. He praised CEANA for its leadership in helping rebuild the

Eweland. Both Honorable Gakpeh, MP for Keta constituency, and Honorable Joycelyn Tetteh, MP for North Dayi, hoped their constituencies would soon benefit from CEANA’s benevolence to construct a project there.

 

Mr. Daniel Agboka Dzegede, the Executive Director of Volta Development Forum (VDF), spoke about how the organization is well- positioned to collaborate with private and governmental entities to help bring about sustainable developments to the Volta Region of Ghana. He mentioned that VDF is fully aware of the challenges faced by individuals from the diaspora when they return home to

invest. Mr. Dzegede indicated that they had assembled a knowledgeable team to assist with the process and address the challenges diasporans encounter. He noted that he once lived here in the US but has since returned to Ghana and has established Volta Gate Estates at Ho, also known as the oxygen city. Mr. Dzegede urged everyone to recognize the tourism potential of the Volta

Region, take advantage of it, and help develop the Region.

 

Honorable Yawavi Adjra, Mayor of Yoto 2, in Togo where Dawu is located, was also present and made a few remarks. She expressed the citizens of Dawu’s appreciation to CEANA for providing the people and citizens a brand-new school building for the students in the community, ensuring a safe place for them to learn. Mayor Adjia went on to say that CEANA’s goals and mission are commendable and encouraged everyone present to donate generously in aid of CEANA to do more.



Her Excellency (HE) Hajia Alima Mahama, the Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the United States of America, graced the occasion as a special guest of honor to the President of CEANA. She praised CEANA for all the good work it is doing to create better living conditions for the citizens of Eweland. Her Excellency also reminded the attendees that their remittances to friends and families back home are helping the economy of Ghana thrive. According to the Ambassador, remittances from the diaspora are higher than gross domestic earnings from the country’s exports. “We should hold ourselves in high esteem for our ability to support Ghana,” said the Ambassador. She announced that Ghana’s mission is working to begin issuing Ghana Cards soon and that when that process is complete, it will first be rolled out in Washington DC, Metro, and New York, before extending it to other cities.

 

Mr. Charles Goh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Patriot Management Corp and Frontline Properties and Maintenance Inc. USA and CEO/Founder of Paradigm Roofing Systems and Charlie Max Investments, was the Keynote Speaker and Guest

of Honor. He earmarked the audience what he would be elaborating on during the banquet. Mr. Goh praised the CEANA leadership for the past 30 years for carving a niche for itself by finding ways and means to support development projects in the Eweland.

This feat is yet to be matched by any other national organization known to him. He advised that much has been done building school classroom blocks and libraries, renovating hospitals, and even building a foot bridge. It is time CEANA looked into creating opportunities for Eweland citizens by investing in capital investment ventures. According to the keynote speaker, CEANA needs to

seriously think of investing in an enterprise that will provide employment opportunities for more folks and, in return, earn revenue to

fund some other small-scale projects they usually undertake. He mentioned that farming is the next big thing for Ghana, and he urged CEANA to look at that very seriously. Mr. Goh also suggested a cassava farm project in Adaklu that could be a starting point. 

However, CEANA is more than capable of dreaming of large-scale projects for which members can raise funds, but there are

other ways of fundraising for such large-scale projects. He jump-started the fundraising with a substantial donation for himself and his

wife, Mrs. Rev. Charity Goh.

The Saturday evening banquet is CEANA’s signature annual fundraiser and a showdown between the various affiliate organizations in what is termed the Association Challenge. This year, once again, the Ewe Association of Washington DC Metro, Inc. and the Ewe Association of Greater Boston went at it again until Washington won with a record $26,000.00, with Boston claiming the second place

with a self-record of $25,501.00. The evening ended with the awarding of plaques to members of the various Ewe Associations in North America and others who donated at least $1,000 toward projects in 2023-2024 and the official transfer of the symbolic Convention Stool, signifying the mandate to host the next CEANA Convention, to the Ewe Association of Dallas, Texas. The Ewe

Association of Dallas entered the banquet hall all dressed up in Cowboy boots and hats, dancing to Agbadza music. It was spectacular. Mr. Winfred Gbedemah, the president of the Ewe Association of Dallas, was declared the next 2nd Vice President of CEANA.

 

A well-attended non-denominational church service was held on Sunday morning. The service was officiated by a team of clergy led by Rev. Martin Osae of the Ghanian Community Presbyterian Church USA in Irving, TX; Rev Divine Tamakloe of Global Evangelical Church Kingdom Chapel NJ; Rev. Stella Sekyere of Grace Presbyterian Church Houston, Texas; Rev. Charity Goh and

Prof. Samuel Nyamuame of Binghamton University among others.



 

In the afternoon, the convention guests converged at the CEANA Convention picnic, which featured dishes from Eweland amid Agbadza, Ewe Highlife, and Borborbor tunes. Sunday evening was crowned with another signature event, “Mise Gli Loo – Toli Night,” a rendition of a cultural pastime of evening storytelling.  On Monday, September 2nd, 2024, Convention delegates and guests departed to their various home destinations across North America, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Europe with a renewed sense of unity,

friendship, and purpose.

Mr. Steve Dei, who is the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of CEANA, was the Master of Ceremony (MC), assisted by Emefa Pearl Kpekata (Authentic Mama), a radio host at TopFM in Accra. CEANA RADIO/TV provided live streaming, media, video. Photography coverage was provided by Sankofa Media of Chicago, the Hodododuio Show, Chatting With Nicole, and Afenya Media, among many.

 

The following resolutions/actions were, hereby, adopted:

1. Approval of Ewe Association of Dallas, as the host of the 2025 CEANA Convention

2. The 2024-2025 Financial Budget