The Ghana Students Association (GSA) held an Independence Day of Ghana Celebration on Saturday afternoon.
The event was catered by Mama Africa–located in Urbandale–and celebrated Ghana’s independence from the British Colony.
“It’s celebrating the Ghanaian culture and then also getting an opportunity to educate others in the Iowa State community about the Ghanaian culture, the Ghanaian food and everything,” Ayisi Nyarko, a graduate student in agricultural education and the treasurer of the GSA, said. “Seeing different people from other African countries, the U.S., all over [the world] coming in and enjoying our culture… it’s something that brings everyone together.”
Ghana, which gained its independence in 1957, was the first Western African country to gain independence from the British. Now, every year on March 6th, Ghana celebrates its Independence Day around the globe. Iowa State is no exception to this day of celebration.
To celebrate, the GSA held an afternoon full of activities, including student presentations, networking opportunities, a professional development seminar, a keynote speech, a banquet, a cultural display as well as dancing and flowing conversation. The event captured the culture and community of Ghana while educating Iowa State students, faculty and staff about the importance of Ghana in the world’s history.
“We’ve thought of this for quite a bit of time,” Sandra Boateng, a graduate student studying community and regional planning and communications and officer for the GSA, said. “Just today, I was like, ‘Woah, are we really having this today?’ It actually seems like it’s been a long time since we planned this. I myself was very anxious because I know everyone has put in a lot of resources and put in a lot of energy. … Seeing the outcome, seeing the smiles on people’s faces, I’m so glad I was a part of this.”
The GSA, initially founded in the fall of 2024, created the idea for the Independence Day Celebration in September. Since then, the student organization has been putting in work to ensure the event would run smoothly.
Though the group did their best to avoid bumps in the road, finding a caterer for the event proved to be more challenging than they had hoped.
“We went to Des Moines, we were able to get a caterer, and then three days to the event, the caterer said they could not [be our caterer],” Nyarko said. “Luckily, we were able to get one African restaurant.”
After quickly arranging documents for the university to approve, the caterer was in place for the event, and not a moment too soon.
The smell of the food wafting through the air was aromatic and delicious, enough to make any Iowa State student hungry.
While waiting for the banquet and cultural display, attendees conversed with one another, made new friends, shared dances and purchased from an “honesty policy” vendor table. This table allowed participants to select their purchase and then Zelle the vendor without ever saying a word.
“After we set up and registered our organization, we thought of doing something that brings everyone together,” Richard Adonu, a graduate student studying journalism and mass communication and associate coordinator for the Independence Day event, said. “There couldn’t be any other day for us than Independence Day, which is very key to all of us because it is the day we got our independence from the British colony. Ghanaians across the world, whenever it is March, we use this opportunity to remember where we came from and what has given us independence today.”
For more information on the GSA, visit their website or follow their Instagram page.
