Ghana Museums and Monuments Board International Volunteer

ST. JOHN, U.S. Virgin Islands-Virgin Islands National Park welcomes international volunteer Mr. Samuel Acquaah, head of Education Department of Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and Officer-in-Charge of the historic Christianborg Castle, or Osu Castle. He has worked for the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board for 13 years and managed Osu Castle for 8 years. Mr. Acquaah's official position at Virgin Islands National Park is in the capacity of an International Volunteer-In-Parks (IVIP) in the park's newly reorganized Volunteer-In-Parks (VIP) program. This cross-cultural professional development opportunity is the product of many months of work and collaboration with the U.S. Embassy Ghana, U.S. State Department, the National Park Service Office of International Affair, Virgin Islands National Park, and Christiansted National Historic Site.

Mr. Acquaah has a Bachelor of Arts with a focus in History, Culture and Tourism from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, a Master of Philosophy in Art and Culture from the University of Education, Winneba, and a Master of Arts in Tourism and Hospitality Management from HUC in China. These qualifications have equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of history, cultural dynamics, tourism, and educational strategies.

As an International Volunteer at Virgin Islands National Park, Samuel Acquaah hopes to bring his vast knowledge, experience and expertise to connect with the communities in the U.S. Virgin Islands and help to foster a deeper understanding of West Africa's shared history and heritage. He also looks forward to getting a behind-the-scenes look at how a premier U.S. National Park Service site operates.

Mr. Acquaah brings to the U.S. Virgin Islands a unique perspective that is often missing from the historical record in terms of the cultural richness of pre-colonial West Africa, and also an understanding of the tribal communities that were trafficked from Gold Coast, modern day Ghana, during the transatlantic slave trade. The historical significance of these connections to the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix remains that a large amount of the enslaved persons during the Danish Colonial period came directly from Danish slave castles that are in the care of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.

Mr. Acquaah came to St. John on October 20, 2024, and will be working on a number of programs and public outreach events with the park's visitor services division before he returns to Ghana in mid December. During his time at the park, he will also be available to accompany park rangers for school field trips in the park as well as requests to visit schools and classrooms. These requests can be made via the provided Virgin Islands National Park contact information in this press release. There will also be two separate opportunities for the general public to attend programs hosted at Virgin Islands National Park's Resource Management and Science (RMS) Building conference room at Lind Point on St. John. On Saturday, November 16, join Mr. Acquaah for Akan Adinkra Symbols of Ghana: Form Function and Context from 5.45PM to 6:45PM (shuttle service from Cruz Bay Visitor Center will depart at 5:30 PM). Also, mark your calendars for Saturday, December 14, for Cultural Similarities of West Africa and the Caribbean from 10 AM to 2 PM (shuttle service from Cruz Bay Visitor Center will depart at 9:30 AM).

Virgin Islands National Park would like to thank the U.S. State Department and the National Park Foundation for providing funding to support this project. The park would also like to express thanks to our partner, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park for facilitating the distribution of the National Park Foundation grant in support of this project.