From left to right: Katy Yan Li, Yuriko Hirose, Daniel Vaca and Liana Januss discuss Ethnic Dinner.
Photo courtesy of Anh Ta
This week, Lawrence International (LI) Executive Board is working hard toward one of their flagship events, Ethnic Dinner. Aptly named “Akoma: the Heart of West Africa”, this year Ethnic Dinner offers up delicious Western African cuisines, along with presentations and selected music from some Western African countries, namely Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. This is a collaborative efforts by not only LI Board, but also International Students Services (ISS), various African students and many volunteers.
“One of the most difficult things […] was that there were so many people and a lot of ideas,” said sophomore Daniel Vaca, an LI Board member. “We had to evaluate to find something that works.”
The West African theme was chosen as this is the first time in recent years that this region is represented at LI Ethnic Dinner. When putting together the menu, the music and presentation, the board consulted and recruited the help of junior Maamie Oppiah, sophomores Ayomide Akinyosoye and Adrian Odamtten, all of whom are originally from West Africa.
“We thought this would be a really great opportunity to educate people and also for each of us personally to learn more about these countries,” Vaca added.
For junior Liana Januss, who volunteered to help table for the event, the dinner is an incredible opportunity for her to get to know Western African culture better. “I’ve never had Western African food before,” said Januss. “It’s definitely very unique because it’s not readily available here.”
“Akoma” will be taking place at Warch Campus Center Esch-Hurvis at 6 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 16.
This article was updated on Oct. 18 to correct the name of the event to “Akoma.”