Message from the Secretariat
Dr. Maxwell Cobbina who succeeded Dr. Aheto, continued the legacy of his predecessor. Under his leadership, the Council hosted the then President of the Republic of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, one year and hosted the then first lady Nana Agyemang Rawlings also, the next year.
Dr. Samuel Amoako, succeeded Dr. Cobbina as the next secretary general, and concentrated his efforts on strengthening the partnerships and alliances with African-American leaders. During his two-year term, it was common to meet luminaries such as Charles Rangel, the member of Congress from Harlem, and the former Mayor of New York City David Dinkins.
Mr. Kwamena Eshun, became the fourth Secretary-General. Taking a cue from his predecessors, Mr. Eshun devised a strategic initiative for the development of the Ghanaian community. Unfortunately, his tenure was curtailed after he was transferred to North Carolina. Although he continued to play a major role in the council’s affairs, the day-to-day management was thrust into the hands of Mr. Mawuli Agbenu, the Deputy Executive Secretary General.
Mr. Thomas Mensah, who succeeded the Eshun regime, was elected Secretary General in one of the most highly contested elections. He defeated Mawuli Agbenu, the incumbent Deputy Secretary General, and Ms. Brenda Bismarck, the Deputy Public Relations Officer and Kwahuman Representative. Thomas quickly set about solidifying the council’s financial status, a task begun under Mr. Eshun. Today, the Council is on sound financial grounds, thanks to the efforts of Eshun and Thomas. Suffice it to say that Thomas was the only Secretary General who was reelected since Dr. Aheto.
Today, the Deputy Executive Secretary General Ivy Rose Quarshie, the first female to be elected to the position, and myself, are following in the footsteps of our predecessors. We are committed to strengthening member associations; expanding the Council’s influence to play a major role in Ghanaian politics while harnessing our enormous resources here to gain political power. We would also like Ghanaians to be a major force in American politics as well.
Every last one of the preceding Secretary Generals and their deputies has enjoyed significant support from the rest of their Executive members, the representatives of member associations, and the Ghanaian public at large.
We are hopeful that for our agenda to be carried out successfully, we would need the same level of support our predecessors benefited from. Such ambitious goals as economic empowerment, Ghanaian women’s development, the AIDS crisis in Ghana, and other issues pertinent to the development of Ghana, can be achieved only through a concerted effort. To this end, we are counting on your support to make the council better, and leave this august organization in a better position than we inherited.
Mission
We are a recognized powerful, innovative, and responsive umbrella organization representing various associations of Ghanaians living outside Ghana. Our culture and advocacy for peaceful co-existence, better lives, political equality and economic emancipation is not limited to Ghanaians but extends to all people of color and other people who share our vision.
We are a recognized liaison between Ghanaians and the Governments of Ghana and the United States of America or any other nation where we operate. We are suppliers of best talent and resources for governmental and private programs. We are not affiliated to any political party.
We own and effectively operate facilities which provide social, educational, and cultural services to the Ghanaian youth and adult. Our programs provide our youth with exceptional avenues for academic and spiritual excellence and growth. We conduct our business in an ethnical manner, act with integrity, fulfill our obligations to society, and respect ourselves and other people, regardless of race, sex or religion.
We do not accept the status quo as imposed on us by other interests. We relentlessly and effectively strive for continuous improvement and excellence and equality in race and international relations. We are proud to be part of the global family of people of African ancestry living in a world of equality.
NCOGA Photo Gallery (click on this)
We created a brand new Yahoo Flickr account and corresponding Flickr Group to better manage the images contributed to this project.
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO TAKE YOU TO THE PHOTO GALLERY http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncoga/
Flickr is a great online photography community that allows people to do all sorts of things with their images including tagging/labeling the images with keywords like Ghana or Kwahu to allow everyone else a better chance at finding what they’re looking for. It is even possible to locate on an online map, the exact place on earth that a specific image was photographed (depending on the type of camera!).
We encourage everyone who has pictures to share to create their own Flickr account (it is free!) and upload their images. It is very important that you add the keyword description tags to the images so that everyone who uses Flickr (including us!) can find the specific images we’re looking for. In our case, it is important the every image include the following tags: “ncoga.org” ncoga ghana NYC “new york” africa community 2008
Of course, you add the additional tags relevant to the picture. Once your pictures are tagged, you can join the NCOGA Flickr group, and then add the images you want to share to the group’s pool of pictures where they are made available to everyone in the group.
Of course, you can just ask the NCOGA web development team to do all of this for you under their own Flickr account.
