Descendants of enslaved Africans urged to reconnect with their roots at Pikworo Family Reunion Durbar
Dr. Lakisha T. David says reconnecting descendants of enslaved Africans with their ancestral homes promotes healing, identity restoration and stronger cultural ties.
The Director of the African Kinship Reunion Project, Dr. Lakisha T. David, has called on communities in Ghana to warmly embrace descendants of enslaved Africans returning to trace their ancestry, describing such reunions as a vital step towards healing, reconciliation and historical restoration.
She made the appeal during the Family Reunion Durbar held at the Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga on Thursday, July 2, to welcome Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons, whose DNA ancestry test traced her roots to the Paga community.
Dr. David explained that the African Kinship Reunion Project was established to identify descendants of Africans who were taken into slavery through DNA testing and reconnect them with their ancestral homes across Ghana.
“The purpose then is the same today, and that is to find the descendants of our ancestors who were taken away. I wanted to find their descendants and help them find home,” she said.
She disclosed that what began with DNA testing for only a few individuals has grown into a much larger initiative, revealing approximately 6,000 relatives in the African diaspora.
According to her, many descendants are eager to reconnect with their ancestral families, cultures and identities.
“They want to know you. They want to know your names, your parents’ names, your language and your history. In knowing you, they will come to know themselves as well,” she stated.
Dr. David urged the people of Paga and other Ghanaian communities to warmly receive members of the African diaspora who return in search of their ancestral roots, stressing that the reunions foster mutual understanding and strengthen cultural bonds.
“This is about reunion. This is about repair and recovery. They are people who want to find home, and this is our home in Paga, in the Upper East Region. We hope you will welcome them and understand them too,” she said.
She also highlighted the role played by Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons, who, after discovering her ancestral roots through DNA testing, has advocated in the United States for greater access to ancestry testing for African Americans seeking to reconnect with their heritage.
According to Dr. David, Representative Ammons questioned why descendants of enslaved Africans should bear the financial burden of discovering their ancestry and subsequently championed House Resolution 453 to expand opportunities for African Americans to reconnect with their ancestral roots.
As part of the durbar, participants reflected on the painful legacy of the transatlantic slave trade through a dramatic narration depicting the capture of people from Paga, their forced march through the Pikworo Slave Camp, and their eventual transportation to the slave castles at Cape Coast and Elmina before being shipped across the Atlantic.
The moving presentation concluded with a solemn message of remembrance and resilience:
“Never again shall the tears of Paga be forgotten. Remember Paga. Remember the captives. Remember their journey.”
Mike 105.3FM I Navrongo | Elizabeth Apusaama
