At the end of April, the Dartmouth African Students Association hosted its annual “Africa Week,” to celebrate the diversity and culture of the continent. Events included an opening ceremony featuring student presentations, a karaoke and spoken word night and a gala.
This year’s events, which DASA co-hosted with the house communities and the Special Programs and Events Committee, centered around the theme “Ìwé Ìfé: A Love Letter to Our Continent.”
DASA social media and marketing chair Ivie Aiwuyo ’26 described Africa Week as a time for attendees to celebrate their culture and “feel a sense of familiarity.” Aiwuyo, who was born in the United States and raised in a Nigerian community in Chicago, said it is comforting to be around Nigerian people.
“Especially for those who are away from home for the first time, it’s just nice to have a sense of familiarity and connection,” Aiwuyo said.
DASA member Jesuferanmi Ayanlade ’27, who is from Ghana, said anyone was welcome to attend Africa Week events, regardless of national origin.
“Whoever feels some sort of connection to the continent is more than welcome,” Ayanlade said. “Africanness as an idea transcends whatever demographic people usually associate with it. It goes beyond racial or financial lines.”
Aiwuyo added that while most of the food served during the events was cooked and brought by student members of DASA, other dishes were catered by TamBo’s Kitchen, a West African restaurant located south of Boston.
Food in particular, Aiwuyo said, is a way to “engage with our culture, especially being in a predominantly white space.” While attending a barbecue held on the lawn of Shabazz Hall, Aiwuyo said her favorite thing about Africa Week is that it “creates a home away from home.”
“I get so much joy planning it, being part of it and just coming together,” Aiwuyo said. “I’m always laughing at any event I go to, and eating good. It’s definitely a very rewarding experience.”
For many, Africa Week is a designated time to reflect on what it means to be connected to the continent. This often occurs through service and education, according to DASA operations leader Ganza Belise Aloysie Isingizwe ’26.
For this year’s Africa Week, students raised donation funds for Saakpuli, a village in Ghana. While traveling to the region on a foreign study program, a group of DASA members pledged to remain connected with the village when they returned to Dartmouth.
“Our professor helped coordinate community service, so as we visit these communities we come back with things to give them,” Aiwuyo said. “We provide them with clothing and menstrual products, things that the community really needs.”
Aiwuyo said Africa Week is a space for people to reflect on what it means to be a Dartmouth student of African ancestry.
“I think about the double privilege of being at Dartmouth but also being African,” Aiwuyo said.
