Ghana National Council's Achievements

The overview of the Ghana National Council's history tells a lot about the tumultuous journey the council had gone through since its inception. The Ghanaian community since the 60's had been resilient and had strived to provide for themselves. They had realized that there were benefits to be derived from fending for themselves by forming a national organization. These benefits can be summarized under two main achievement captions, Tangible Achievements and Intangible Achievements, which are defined below.

The Executive Comittee for 1998-2001 contributed a lot to the present achievements of the Council. These achievements may be summed up as follows:

1. Revised Ghana National Council Organizational Structure and made it more dynamic to accomplish Ghana National Council's aims and objectives.
2. Defined the job responsibilities of elected GNC executives to enable them understand the details and responsibilities of their offices.
3. Instituted controls and accountability in the GNC accounting system. The council now has invoicing, check requisitions and purchase order systems.
4. Improved the funding for the Ghana National council programs by writing business proposals to corporations for the necessary funding for these programs. The council got $ 5,800 from the Western Union for the year 2000 Ghana Independence Day Dinner Dance, $3,500 from Money Gram for Ghanafest 2000, and for this year's Ghanafest, Western Union has committed a $5,000 sponsorship.
5. The council acquired the Internal Revenue corporate tax-exempt, 501 © (3) status and the State of Illinois sales tax-exempt status in year 2000.
6. The council acquired an office space and equipped it with telephone, a computer and fax machine. .
7. The council started setting aside annually 1/20 or 0.05% of its monthly dues and 1/10 or 0.01% of the its annual profit for a Ghana Development Fund Account for the Ghana House Project.
8. Recommended to the Council, the appointment of all necessary standing committees as stipulated in article X11 of the constitution.
9. The council has undertaken the creation of a Ghana National Council Web Site for the dissemination of online information about the council and its activities. This project will go live on June 18, 2001.
10. Improved the quality and funding for Ghanafest program booklet by aggressively soliciting the help of advertisers and donors. These achievements can also be summarized under two main achievement captions, Tangible Achievements and Intangible Achievements. These two are described below.

    Tangible Achievements

    Under the tangible are achievements that we can point to as being of material value to the community, such as the following:
    • The institution of the annual Ghanafest celebrations; a cultural exposition that showcases the Ghanaian and African culture to the American public. The festival is an educational and cultural in principle, since it teaches the public especially the African American community and our youth about the pride in having a rich and authentic heritage.
    • The Ghana National Council organized a fundraiser for the 1996 Ghana Olympic team. An amount of $2,500.00 was sent to the Ghana Olympic Committee as the Ghanaians in the Chicago Metropolitan area's contribution to the Ghana Olympic team.
    • The Ghana National Council organized a fundraiser for the "Ghana Black Queens" who had qualified for the 1999 Women World Cup in the United States. An amount of $4,000.00 was sent to the Ghana Embassy as the Ghanaians in the Chicago area's contribution to the Ghana's women soccer squad. In addition, at a farewell get together for the Black Queens after the games, the Ghana National Council presented to each of the twenty players and the coaching staff a one hundred dollars ($100.00) cash, resulting in a total additional donation of $2,300.00.
    • The Ghana National Council in conjunction with the office of the Honorary Consul General and the NDC party hosted the president and the first lady of Ghana, during their visit to the Chicago area in 1996. A grand dinner dance was organized for them at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
    • The Ghana National Council has always played a major role in hosting at its own expense, visiting Ghanaian Government officials to the Chicago Metropolitan area, This enabled such visitors to feel more at home while attending to their official assignments.
    • Finally, we have put our limited resources into the creation of a Ghana National Council Web site. We have now joined the elite Web site family.

    Intangible Achievements

    Under the intangible are the non-quantifiable achievements that have contributed to the improvement in the quality of our lives and the personal relations we have with each other as immigrants. Among these are the following:
    • As a result of the Ghanafest program, there is a very high level of camaraderie among Ghanaians in the Chicago area. It is the only day in the year that most Ghanaians have the opportunity to see, mingle and exchange greetings. The festival binds people of different ethnic and religious persuasions together in unity and with one destiny.
    • The Ghanafest program has created a cultural consciousness and pride in Ghanaians; the awareness is on the increase to identify with the rich Ghanaian culture and heritage. Ghanaians now openly wear traditional Ghanaian fabrics and clothing designs to parties, outdoorings and funeral rites.
    • As a result of the Ghana National Council, the Ghanaian community in the Chicago Metropolitan area has become a microcosm community of Ghana. People of different ethnic and religious persuasions have come together in unity under the umbrella of a national organization to fight for a common course. The type of unity resulting from being under a national umbrella organization in Chicago is unparallel in any other Ghanaian community in the United States and Canada.