The reason for introducing the name Sankofa into our product line is a long story. We will give you the shortened version. Janet Opoku, the mother of company founder Joseph Constant grew up in a small village a few miles outside the capital city of Ghana, a country located in West Africa. When the idea came around for a name for the product line, Mrs. Opoku suggested using a name that people won’t forget but most importantly a name that carried a strong sense of belongingness to the people of Africa. Why, all of the products that will be sold through the company are derived from Africa. During the search for a name, Joseph Constant and Janet Opoku ran across the word Sankofa. After reading through the meaning and history behind the word we thought to ourselves one thing, PERFECT!!!!!! The word Sankofa is a principle and cultural custom among the Akan-speaking people of Ghana, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire that holds that there is wisdom in learning from the past to both understand the present and shape the future. Implicit in Sankofa is the deep study and reading of African history and culture and the application of its lessons to our experiences of educational success and excellence. The actual definition behind the name is this:
“We must go back and reclaim our past so that we can move forward;
So we understand why and how we came to be who we are today.”
What a beautiful yet powerful thought isn’t it. Out of respect for Janet Opoku, out of respect for her ancestors; most importantly out of respect for the people of Africa we proudly carry this name to symbolize the legacy set by the Africans. Here’s a question that I want you to think about as you are reading this: We know who we come from and know where we are going, do YOU? Click
here to move on.
