National Garifuna Council Hits the Road to Keep Garifuna Culture Alive

The new executive of the National Garifuna Council (NGC) has set out on a nationwide familiarization tour to connect with its twelve branches. So far, the team has visited its southern and western branches, with three more stops still ahead. Each session runs for about two hours and gives members a chance to hear directly about the NGC’s mission and vision, the responsibilities of branch leaders, and how the national office can better support local initiatives.  Alex Nolberto, NGC’s National Director, explains that the tour is part of a broader effort to boost branch strength, recruitment, and organizational growth. With this renewed focus, the NGC aims to ensure Garifuna culture and traditions continue to thrive nationwide.

 

Alex Nolberto, National President, National Garifuna Council

“The intent behind this tour is, as I said, to interact with our membership, our executive teams at the various branches to understand what their needs are, how their recruitment is going, and how we can assist by strengthening those branches. What we’ve been finding out, or what we’ve been seeing so far, is that there has been a reduction in membership. The numbers are not of the quantity that we expect, but the intent is that we will then derive a strategy to boost our membership. What we’ve learnt as well is that there isn’t a significant amount of knowledge as it relates to how the organization works. And so that’s one of the things that we’re doing as well, we’re educating the membership. And the information is not just for the executive membership, so anybody who is of Garifuna descent or who wants to partner with us are welcome to these interactions, so we can discuss how we can move forward. We want to encourage Garifuna people, whether you are a member now or not, to come out and support, to get the information. And then join and support the organization. That’s the only way that we can advance the agenda of the Garifuna people.”