A new study abroad program through Kent State’s Department of Pan African Studies will bring students to Ghana next May.

Under the leadership of Mwatabu Okantah, assistant professor of Pan-African Studies, students from all campuses will have the opportunity to take a 10-day trip to Ghana, a country located on the coast of West Africa.

“I want to show my students the real Africa,” Okantaha said. “People don’t know this version of Africa.”

The last time the university offered a study abroad trip to Ghana was in 2011, under the leadership of Fran Dorsey, a now-retired associate professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies.

“I want people to realize that it’s the 21st century in Africa too,” Okantah said. “And African people are well aware of that. Some are even deeper into this century than we are.”

While this is a newer study abroad option, Okantah hopes the program will be able to extend into a semester-long opportunity in the future.

Okantah will host an informational meeting on May 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Oscar Ritchie Hall for students interested in the program.

“I want students to have a general idea of the trip,” Okantah said. “This will give them a year to start preparations because they’ll need a passport and time to save up some money.”

There will be scholarship money available to help defray some costs of the trip, but Okantah said he is doing everything he can to keep the cost down.

Lauren Rathmell is a diversity reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].