Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng touched down at the Columbus airport Thursday after a long flight.
Boateng is in Athens for the weekend to accept the African Heroes award from the African Student Union.
“The African Hero’s award is sort of designated to recognize hard work both at home and here,” doctoral student Prosper Yao Tsikata said. “Each year, our students nominate a person who has excelled in many different areas.”
This year, the nominee is Boateng, a surgeon from Ghana. He was nominated by second-year graduate student Prince Adu, who is studying international development studies.
“I nominated him because I’m privy to the good works he’s done in my country in Africa,” Adu said. “This man, he’s the first locally based cardiothoracic surgeon in Ghana.”
Boateng trained in Germany and practiced there for a while, Tsikata said, there was no access to such medical care in Ghana.
“What it meant before was anybody who did not have access to care outside the country perished,” he said.
That’s when Tsikata first heard Boateng’s name.
“I know him from a distance,” he said. “He appeared in the news very often in Ghana. He was the brains behind the cardiothoracic center, which is the first of its kind in the African sub-region. I have followed news on him ever since.”
Boateng also set up a foundation called the Ghana Heart Foundation to help fund medical expenses for needy children who come to the center.
“What he’s done to save a lot of lives in the country is what’s earned him the recognition — the fact that he masterminded this through his hard work, perseverance and motivation,” Adu said.
Boateng will receive the award at the African Heroes Night event at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Baker University Center Ballroom. Tickets are on sale on the first floor of Baker.
“We are really, really excited about this year,” African Student Union President Manu Ngueyanouba said. “We started planning at the beginning of the year. It’s an annual event. The first time was more than 10 years ago.”
The first African Hero was Nelson Mandela, and African Heroes Night is held Feb. 11 to honor the anniversary of Mandela’s release from prison.
African Student Union members urge the public to attend and be a part of the festivities.
“We will give him the award, but there will be a lot of African culture events, dancing, music, drummers, a lot of different African dishes to be eaten,” Adu said. “There will be a lot of distinguished guests, including President McDavis. I would entreat everyone in the OU and Athens community to come experience rich African culture and witness an event where we recognize a distinguished personality from the continent who is here to inspire us, to make our continent a better place.”
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