Youth Debut at End of Year Party

Atlanta, Georgia – Dec. 2008 --- G-WAG opened the doors to its members, families and friends to their end of year event on Saturday December 13th. The free event which was attended by about 80 guests also marked the debut of the Association’s much anticipated youth play. The organization has an important mission to expose its youth to Ghana’s rich cultural heritage in an effort to perpetuate cultural education in the diaspora. It is their belief that only by making the youth a key focus can we guarantee continuity in this direction. In a play titled: Anansi and the moss-covered rock, members of the G-WAG Youth Club gave a remarkable performance of the popular trickster spider.

Guests were ushered into a festively decorated hall filled with tunes of Ghanaian music. Dinner consisted mainly of traditional foods catered by Ethnic Palates – a G-WAG member-owned catering service. Shortly after guests were settled to dinner, all the children were seated in front rows followed by the rest of the audience to witness “Anansi and the moss-covered rock”. In this hilarious play, Kweku Anansi, the most popular character in Ghanaian folklore uses his usual creativity and wit to trick all the animals in the jungle to get food that he is too lazy to work for. The trickery continued until the Owl who had been watching him secretly decided it was time Anansi was paid back for his deeds. With the help of the other animals, they reclaim all the stolen food and bring Anansi to justice and shame.

At the end of the play, Mrs. Jayne Deku, the Chairperson of the Planning & Programming Committee introduced the cast which was made up of children aged 3 to 10 years, as well as Mrs. Adiza Harruna (PR Officer) who played the role of Nana (Granma). The little heroes received a hearty round of applause from the audience for their star performance. The play was produced by Audrey Fagan Reid and Agnes Hayfron Barnor (both members of the Youth Development Committee) and is based on a story by Eric A. Kimmel.

Ms Reid thanked members of the Youth Committee as well as the production crew: Mrs. Yvonne Baffuor (Set Designer), Mrs. Jayne Deku (Stage Manager), for contributing to the success of the play. She reiterated the need for continued support and commitment by all members and the community as a whole to further advance the G-WAG objective of promoting cultural awareness. In response to her appeal, guests made cash donations and pledges to support the youth program.

The party came to a close with a note of appreciation by Mrs. Jayne Deku

G-WAG launched its Youth Program in September 2008.Through carefully designed programs such as: Folklore-based drama, lessons in cultural dancing, language arts, and Ghana's history and resources, youth exchange programs between Ghana and the US, they hope to engage the youth in a way that would make them take more pride in their heritage and also build a stronger community here in Georgia.

To find out how you can join or support our cause please contact us at www.ghanawomen.org or call our Public Relations Team at: 641 715 3900 Ext. 4898