Dentaa opens up about MBE Status and her African Dream
Dentaa Amoateng is a Ghanaian TV personality based in the United Kingdom (UK) who was in June 2016 awarded Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England.
The MBE accolade was bestowed on Dentaa for her contribution to improving UK and African relations in the UK, through her work as CEO of her organization – Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Enterprise. The first GUBA Awards ceremony took place in London, England, in October 2010.
The GUBA Awards is the first ceremony of its kind to specifically recognize Ghanaian achievement and the only awards to be endorsed by the Ghana High Commission in the UK. In our quest to find out more about Dentaa, her GUBA Foundation and recent MBE status, Oral Ofori of TheAfricanDream.net reached out to her in the UK for a chat, details of which we gladly share with you below:
TheAfricanDream.net (TAD): Dentaa how did you find out that you have been made an MBE?
Dentaa Amoateng (DA): I received an email informing me of this appointment and I am still in shock till this very moment. This is an incredible honor and I am humbled and grateful.
TAD: What are some of the privileges it accords you that you wouldn’t mind talking about?
DA: MBE stands for the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and it was awarded for my contribution to improving UK and African relations in the UK, through my organization – GUBA Enterprise. This appointment will increase our exposure to the African community in the UK, making our efforts to unite and empower our communities more possible. Our connection to notable UK dignitaries will aid in our aim to improve trade relations between Africa and the UK.
TAD: How does it extend to your very immediate family?
DA: My family are extremely supportive and I am always grateful for them. They have been a rock for me all these years so this is as much an award for them as it is for me.
TAD: Talk about how your organization GUBA, what is it and how did it come into being?
DA: The Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards is a non-profit organization that focuses on enriching local communities and ensures that it encourages the youth to work and positively impact their communities. I started this organization in 2010 because I felt that there was a need to acknowledge achievers within our community.
Since its inception in 2010, GUBA has grown to accommodate various strands and now known as GUBA Enterprise – an umbrella organization which holds the GUBA Expo, GUBA Foundation and the GUBA Careers Fair. Under the enterprise, the GUBA Expo was held in May 2016 to equip small and medium African businesses with much needed information and expertise on how to grow and market their businesses internationally.
The GUBA Foundation is the charitable branch of GUBA, set up to tackle the prevalent health issues within the African community in the UK. For the last two years, the aim has been to find ways to help autistic families, and to reduce the stigma attached to autism in the African community. The lack of knowledge regarding autism in the African community is a reason why an initiative such as the GUBA Foundation is vital. The current project is on infant mortality; reducing the number of deaths of babies under the age of one in Africa. The GUBA Careers Fair is also scheduled to take place in October 2016 to open the African careers market to interested job seekers in the UK.
TAD: How do you intend to use your status as an MBE to advance good causes and could you briefly talk about some of such causes if you don’t mind?
DA: Our aim from inception has been to advance the African community in the UK, so that will be continued earnestly. Currently, under the GUBA Foundation we are raising funds to end infant mortality in Africa. With my current status, I hope to appeal to a larger audience, those of great influence that can effect change, to get a national dialogue going on the issue. This will get us closer to finding a suitable international solution.
We will continue effecting positive change within the UK and Africa and hope that the MBE brings more exposure into underrepresented issues.
TAD: You are an African with Ghanaian roots, talk a little bit about what the African dream is for you?
The African dream to me is for Africa to be fully self-sufficient and a continent where women are recognized as equal to men and have risen to positions of influence in all areas of life.
A continent that demonstrates strength in its diversity, where differences are respected and fuel education, collaboration, and innovation rather than conflict, distrust, and animosity.
My dream is to stop the normalization of corruption for law and order respected to be respected. Citizens with an embedded moral compass protected. This is my dream for Africa for the next decade.
Find out more about Dentaa and GUBA at www.gubaawards.co.uk
Source: TheAfricanDream.net / Oral Ofori
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
