NEA: Northern Empowerment Association

BOARD MEMBERS

Dr. David Mensah

Loosing my father at a very early age plunged me into a life of hardship. In my teens, while leading a vicious street-gang, Christ found me and I tasted His peace. Afterwards, I faced even more difficulties as I was sent away from my family because of my new faith. On the streets of Tamale, I met many other orphans and widows who were facing similar hardships. One day after watching a young friend starve before my eyes, I prayed that God would help me to get off the streets and be able to prevent many from a similar fate. He took that prayer seriously and opened doors miraculously for me to study and return to Ghana to direct this work.

Mrs. Brenda Mensah

Mrs. Brenda Mensah In my last year of high school I gave my life to Christ – and I meant it. After spending a year with Operation Mobilization, I knew that my direction was for full- time service and when I met David Mensah in 1979, was praying about where. I was advancing in a career in banking when my father and David were planning a trip to Ghana in 1981. I asked them to be looking for place of service where they thought my skills would be of benefit. They found one. God brought David and I together as husband and wife in 1982 with the goal that after his studies were finished we would return to Ghana to start work in the rural communities into which He would direct us. In 1988, we came as a family for our first visit to Janga, the Deg and South Mo areas. Seeing the needs firsthand – lack of food and water, poor healthcare, poor education, and the desperate state of widows - and knowing the NEA members’ vision to address these needs one by one in village after village captured my heart. We have now been at work in the country since 1990 and I remain grateful to God that He has directed my paths and privileged me with opportunity of working alongside David, the dedicated NEA board and our hard-working staff to live out the love of Christ and to impact the lives of 1000’s.

Mr. Attah Nantogma

Attah was born in Bimbila into a Moslem family. His father was the Paramount Chief of the Nanumba tribe, a very highly respected position in Northern Region, where there are only five such chiefs. At the age of nine, his father died leaving he and his 35 siblings in great difficulty. He became a Christian while at university and in 1978 he met some of the students who were in the process of developing NEA to help poor students as well as those that had been sent away from their homes because of their personal faith. He had tasted suffering first hand and also wanted to be a catalyst for change. His business and accounting skills have been invaluable to the NEA board over the years and he has remained NEA’s board chairman, by board consent, since he was elected in 1985 when the board was formally established.

Rev. Dr. E Adam Harunah

Dr. Harunah was one of the group of students that founded NEA back in the 1970’s. At the time these students were in secondary school, they saw that most of the Christians and help came from the south of the country but there was no group from the north, who understood the culture well, that was seeking to reach out with Christ’s love to the northern communities. Commencing NEA was the fulfillment of his and their aspirations for the future. It was part of their dream to use any skills acquired in any discipline to help their people develop. His studies led him to the University of Ibadan for Veterinary Medicine and to Germany for his MSc in General Agriculture and Vaccine Production. Dr. Harunah is currently the Director of the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Pong-Tamale which produces animal vaccines for the entire country. He became a Christian in 1965 and has since been ordained as a pastor with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Dr. Harunah is NEA’s Board Secretary and has been a key player in the development of NEA’s animal husbandry programs in the Janga and Carpenter area. He continually monitors the well-being of the animals, ensuring their optimum health. He feels that in this way the skills that God has helped him to obtain are put to His use.

Mrs. Grace Papanko

Grace Papanko was born in a small village close to Tamale. In her early years, her father became a Christian and suffered greatly for it. His decision caused the family of Grace’s mother to come and take her away from them. Grace was given the opportunity to go to school and in 1984 became a registered nurse. She met her husband Alex at church and he passed on his excitement for NEA’ vision to her. In her own words she says, “ I began to share his excitement and since we joined the NEA Board (when it was formalized in 1985), we have never looked back.” Grace brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in health issues to the table and is a valued member of the team. She is always willing to use her skills and influence to assist patients from the project area when they are sent for treatment to the hospital where she works. Alex and Grace have five children.

Mrs. Rhoda Akwetey (nee Haruna)

Rhoda was born into a polygamous Moslem family. When she was 10 years old her father died life became difficult for her. Financial support was cut off and she the relative she was sent to live with treated her cruelly. She was able to continue in school and through a classmate was introduced to Scripture Union where she became a Christian. To her family members, she was then seen as a disgrace and was regarded as an outcast. While in secondary school, she met the other members of the NEA group who helped her immensely in her understanding of the Christian faith. She went on to become a teacher and has since moved up in the ranks of the Ghana Education Service. She is married to Victor and they have four children. Rhoda has been a board member since NEA 1985. Although her husband’s work has meant that much of their life has been spent in southern Ghana, Rhoda is an active participant, traveling long distances to participate in board meetings. Her skills and knowledge in education are brought to bear on this facet of NEA’s development initiatives.

Alex Papanko

Alex was born in Buya, Northern Region and is a Bulsa by tribe. He became a Christian as a young boy in Middle School. Alex studied engineering at the University of Science & Technology in Kumasi. Following his studies, while he was working in Tamale, he got to know members of NEA and heard of their dreams for the North. Having grown up in a northern village, he was well aware of the effects of poverty on people in the forgotten rural communities and was especially excited by NEA’s goals of meeting both physical and spiritual needs. Alex has held various positions with Ghana’s power company, VRA, including the Regional (Area) Manager for both Brong Ahafo and Upper East Regions. Providing reliable power to NEA’s rural project sites has proved to be a challenge and Alex has provided a great deal of technical help along the way. His management skills, insight and long-term commitment are also of great benefit to this every expanding work.

Mrs. Sanatu Nantogma

When speaking of women leaders of northern Ghana, Sanatu Nantogma’s name is invariably mentioned. She is the firstborn of her father’s 26 children. She started school under a mango tree in the village of Demong, Northern Region – even though it was a big battle to get permission to do so. With a large family to support and with the concept of educating girls being ‘something new’ her father was able to give her very little financial assistance and continually tried to convince her to leave school and marry. She persevered, completed secondary and proceeded to nursing school. She became a Christian in nursing school which she says changed her world view. Sanatu completed further studies at COADY Institute, Antigonish, Canada and completed a Master’s degree in Social Science. Sanatu worked with World Vision International in several capacities, including Area Manager and is currently the National Director for Christian Children’s Fund of Canada in Ghana. Sanatu and Attah Nantogma joined the NEA board formally in 1985 and Sanatu’s experience in development and her input in gender issues are much valued – not just by NEA with whom she actively serves, but throughout Ghana and beyond. Sanatu and Attah have three children.

Dr.Mahamadu Seidu Zakariah

Dr. Zak, as he is more affectionately known, was born in Kusawgu, the eldest of fifteen children. Zak attended Tamale Secondary School, through the help of a scholarship from the local council and through the sacrificial giving of his parents and grandmother. It was while at secondary school that he too began developing friendships with David, Sayibu, Adam and the rest and became part of the planning of NEA. He also found himself involved with Scripture Union and there met Christ. Zakariah graduated from Ghana Medical School in 1981, being awarded the external examiners’ prize in medicine. Dr. Zak completed further studies in the U.K. obtaining his surgical diploma, FRCS in 1993. After returning to Ghana, he was the Regional Director of Medical Services for Volta Region before joining the surgical department with the Ghana Police Hospital in Accra. Although Dr. Zakariah’s studies have kept him out of Ghana for some time, and his present position is not in northern Ghana, he still finds many ways to contribute to the organization.

Mrs. Evelyn Adjetey

Evelyn was the first girl born in her family in southern Ghana. At an early age, she was sent to live with an uncle who sent her to school and took her to church. After completing Middle School, she returned to live with her father, but was told he could not afford to send her to secondary school. She did all kinds of odd jobs to help the family while her brothers went to school and eventually applied to Community Health Nursing Training School. Her father did not assist or support her in this, but another family member did. In an unusual turn of events, she was invited to come to England by a family that had been helped by her mother when they were stranded in Ghana. While there she studied midwifery. Through her husband Stephen, she got to know the work of NEA and joined the board with him. Evelyn not only brings valuable input regarding community health issues to NEA but has also been involved in teaching community health to women leaders in the Carpenter/South Mo area. She and Stephen have 5 children.

Mrs. Cynthia Harunah

Cynthia was born to Edmund Mahami, lawyer, and Dolores Mahami, teacher. Cynthia is Mamprusi by tribe, as are the residents of Janga where NEA’s Project 1 is located. She completed her primary and secondary school studies in Northern Region before being admitted to the Ho Polytechnical Institute for Catering. She completed further studies in Tamale Polytechnical Institute and has held several positions in her field, including work at the Savelugu School for the Deaf . She is currently teaching Home Science at the Junior High level. Cynthia heard about NEA through her husband Adam and she has become a very dedicated member of the NEA board. She keeps abreast of all NEA’s activities and is always willing to take on any tasks that fall to her.

Rev. Stephen Adjetey

Although Stephen hails from the Ga tribe in the south of Ghana, he spent all his working life in Northern Ghana. Until his recent retirement, he directed the Presbyterian church’s “Mile 7” agricultural development project. Stephen got to know the various students that were planning NEA through Scripture Union in Tamale. He became a big brother to them and was very much a part of the initial planning of the work. His knowledge in agriculture in northern Ghana, rural extension work, bullock traction and his keen desire to see many people knowing Christ’s freedom from physical and spiritual bondage and been constant over the many years of the work.

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