MAY 15, 2020
According to our executive director, being a husband, dad, and provider has put a lot of pressure on him lately. He is sure you are going through the same and probably even more than he will ever know. Fortunately, four days before his birthday in April 2020 he received a special surprise gift via email from the Africa Scholars Forum of UMass Boston.
It stated that they wanted to recognize him for his community leadership efforts and invited him to give a keynote lecture at their eUbuntu African recognition event. He was initially shocked by this recognition. Although he has occupied leadership roles and volunteered his services to the public through non-profit affiliations and so forth, he never really expected to receive such appreciation for genuine efforts.
In fact, he had to let this invitation marinate in his mind for a bit. He then travelled down memory lane and realized that he had done a lot work behind the scenes for various African Diaspora nonprofits as a volunteer and by way of his entrepreneur journey as a Ghanaian-American. One not-for-profit, African Coalition (AC) of Mattapan and Brockton, immediately came to his mind, which was the first he joined forces with after graduate school.
As of 2016 till present, he is the current secretary/clerk of AC. In 2018, He joined African Bridge Network (ABN) of Boston as a volunteer and eventually became a team leader of their current human services industry initiative and project. In 2019, he joined Africans in Boston (AiB) as a general volunteer and later transitioned to current executive director position. Overall, from 2016 to now, he has been leading others and taking initiative behind the scenes in different capacities, whether it be in Boston or elsewhere.
To be frank, he did not expect someone from the outside looking in to acknowledge his work. In this case, it happened to be an institution of higher learning. After more than 24 hours absorbing this unbelievable praise, he responded to the email and wrote; “Thanks for the recognition, invitation, and great opportunity!” A few days later he officially accepted his invite to do the keynote lecture and to receive his community engagement award, which ironically took place on his birthday, April 18th. On one hand he was grateful for the invite and on the other hand he was more grateful to be alive for another year, especially during COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, he must give thanks again to the African Scholars Forum at UMass Boston for recognizing his community engagement efforts and contributions to the African community locally and globally. Luckily, the virtual event went well. Below are some positive words from attendees.
“Dear Tony,
I wanted to thank you so very much for delivering such an inspirational keynote address to our graduates at our eUbuntu African recognition ceremony last Friday! Our graduates have informed me that they felt uplifted by the insights that you presented about your rich experience and background! What a journey!”- #eUbuntu2020
Here is a public link to view the UMass Boston e-Ubuntu Ceremony 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoZr-L4LlyI&feature=youtu.be
MORE ABOUT THE AWARDEE
Tony K Ansah, Jr., M.P.A. is a self-published author and a social entrepreneur based in Rhode Island, U.S.A. He has written and published several books and content via poems, quotes, fiction, non-fiction, blogs, and articles.
His new book, Diary of a Ghanaian Diaspora Entrepreneur 3.0, can be found below:
text @ www.amazon.com/dp/B0871PJN4C
audio @ www.audiofrica.com/set/12-d-g-d-e-progress-revolving-around-african-business-innovations.
Tony has also received national & international recognition from Face2Face Africa, Modern Ghana, The African, Ghana News Online, SDG Philanthropy Platform and Alliance Magazine (just to name a few) for his articles about African business, culture, and philanthropy.
