Staff of an Accra promotional firm, Team Tiki, donate proceeds from a recent event to the M'adamfo Pa Orphanage. (Courtesy Team Tiki)
Ghanaian Party Promoters Invite Youth to Be Generous
Part 6 of a series on Africa's Rising Stars
A small group of ambitious young men and women in Accra are working hard to create big social events for youth, fundraisers through football and other extravaganzas.
Their mission is to change the Ghanaian entertainment scene. Their strategy is to manage their work with top-notch organizational skills and to fuse those high-powered events with social responsibility. Their target is all of Africa.
In order to drive that social strategy home, the company decided to brand themselves Team Tiki. Tiki isn’t an acronym for anything, publicist David Debrah says. “It’s just Team Tiki.”
Debrah says the Team Tiki staff understands what fun and entertainment is all about.
“So, when we set out to do something in that direction and we go all out," he said. "We kill it.”
The key is charity work
“We’ve achieved a lot – our parties,” Debrah said. “There were a lot of youth entertainment groups at the time before we came but we came into the system and we made a mark. We’ve been recognized since then even till now. So yeah, we’ve achieved a lot. “
A group of ambitious promoters discover that Accra's youth have more fun when they help local charities
But the secret to their success among Accra youth is the charity work they perform.
“Why we do what we do is that we want to address certain issues," Debrah said. "We don’t say we are throwing a party to raise funds for charity but then after each and every one of our events, we go back to society.”
For example, he says, they recently identified the M'adamfo Pa Orphanage and launched the One Goal, One Child Project; a football fundraiser for the orphanage.
“So that’s the main charity thing we have in line right now,” he said.
Other charities they have supported are foster homes, hostel workers and the Akua Adoma Memorial Hope Foundation that helps young people suffering from brain tumors. Another charity is being targeted for their Carpe Diem II event on February 28.
Organizing worthwhile events and pulling the support and cash from them for charities is what sets them apart from other event organizing groups.
“It has really helped us,” said Debrah.
‘If the reward doesn’t come … push it’
Debrah says the group’s inspiration comes from their motto: Giving a 100 percent effort yields a 100 percent result.
“I am saying this because if you cast your mind around, then we look at everybody that has made it … Starting from Obama right down to everybody else: Husain Bolt, Bill Gates," he said. "Everybody."
Debrah says the team's desire to succeed is based on resilience and perseverance. He is confident that he and his colleagues have found the secret to their success.
"When you want to start something in life right, you don’t go thinking about the money first," he said.
Debrah believes that commitment to philanthropy will be "the foundation on which groups are built.
Money isn't everything
“The youth of today want to make it and want to make it very fast," Debrah said. "People have very brilliant ideas but then come into the system with money consciousness. They want to make as much money as possible within the shortest possible time."
“Everybody should understand that you should be happy about what you are doing," he continued. "Once you are happy doing what you are doing, keep doing it. And then at the right time, the right reward will come. If the reward doesn’t come … keep going, be resilient to the system – force it, force it, push it!"
As Team Tiki finds their way forward, they continue to target youth entertainment, expand their membership, contribute to charities and impact their society.
