Mfantseman Kuw in Finland’s New Year party

LAST Saturday, January 10, 2026, the Mfantseman Kuw Finland Association organised a New Year party in Helsinki.

Organised under the theme “Unity and Progress,” the colourful event was aimed at ushering in the association’s activities for the year 2026.

It was well attended and graced by representatives of Ghanaian migrant groups such as the Ghana Union Finland, Asanteman Finland, Brong Ahafo, and the Ghanaian Muslim community, as well as Finnish friends and other nationalities.

A history of Mfantseman Kuw Finland

The Mfantseman Kuw was registered in Finland on February 25, 2013. It was started when a group of Ghanaian migrants in Finland thought of bringing together people in Finland who are from the Fante ethnic group in southern Ghana. Later, members of other ethnic groups and Finnish people were welcomed to join the association.

The Mfantseman Kuw was formed mainly to assist its members to be informed and well integrated into Finnish society, and to seek the general well-being and advancement of its members as good citizens and residents in Finland.

It also aims to assist members in times of need and in celebrations of personal achievements. Such areas include death and funeral support, youth and gender advocacy, support in social activities, education, and counselling on civic participation, to ensure that the association is beneficial to its members in as many diverse ways as possible.

Unity in diversity and exciting displays

Last Saturday’s event featured impressive and diverse cultural displays from the Akan culture in Ghana, of which the Fantis form a major part. The event was spiced with rich cultural dance performances and colourful attires, which were a delight to watch.

The association often collaborates with others at events where its members adorn colourful kente and other Ghanaian fabrics. In line with its mission to showcase Ghanaian or Akan/Fante culture in Finland as a way to promote unity in diversity, the association also treated the audience last Saturday to typical Fante highlife and other types of Ghanaian music.

Invited to the stage by the Master of Ceremonies, Mr Frank Aidoo, who is also the Abusuapanyin of Mfantseman Kuw, various individual guests and representatives of associations delivered inspirational messages.

A particular side attraction was a competition in which children danced to highlife music, coordinated by Mr Kofi Essuman, the Okyeame of Mfantseman Kuw, and Madam Miriam Boateng, one of the organisers of the association.

Collaborations

Social networks of family, friends, and migrant associations have become important points for interaction, securing information, and education about various issues.

The way forward for 2026

In the year 2026, the Mfantseman Kuw Finland aims to work even more on collaborations, networking, and other activities to promote unity, peace, and the wellbeing of its members and others even outside the association.

Mfantseman Kuw strives to be a network that creates important social capital, as well as an outlet for sharing information and knowledge. Public agencies, migrant associations, and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Finland have been publishing information to help educate people about issues concerning health. For example, one important way Mfantseman Kuw supports its members is by helping to organise burial or funeral rites of a deceased member. This is also a good way to display Ghanaian culture, as many people mostly wear Ghanaian-style funeral clothes and designs made with fabrics from Ghana.

Mfantseman Kuw has been collaborating with other organisations such as Asanteman, Brong Ahafo, the Ghanaian Muslim group, and the Ghana Union Finland—the major Ghanaian migrant group in Finland—to promote the wellbeing of Ghanaian migrants in Finland. The association hopes to increase such activities in 2026.

Generally, migrant associations formally create awareness among their members and other migrants, usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active in society. Mfantseman Kuw hopes to support such efforts by contributing its quota as best as it can.

As stated previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants—through participation in the decision-making process and by acting as a representative voice—is highly appreciated in Finland.

By Perpetual Crentsil

perpetualcrentsil@yahoo.com

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