The Human Factor Leadership Academy, a K-12 educational program in Akatsi, Ghana, received new custom marching band uniforms for its 35-member ensemble.
The band stepped out in style at Ghana’s Independence Day Parade on March 6, displaying national and personal pride. The uniform design incorporated red, yellow, and green colors from Ghana’s flag.
When the band members received the uniforms, they were at first in a state of shock— “total amazement, total thrill, total joy,” says Steve Bothwell, who initiated the new uniforms and is a board member with the International Institute for Human Factor Development. “The second reaction was tremendous pride. They thought they were now really good. They thought they were on top of the mountain.”
The uniforms were in the making for about a year. Bothwell along with board chair Doug Brown and academy founder and CEO Dr. Senyo Adjibolosoo received about $23,000 in donations toward the purchase.
Fruhauf Uniforms Inc. made the 70 uniforms with a lighter polyester material to combat the sweltering African heat and tailored them to each individual band member.
Directly after the parade, the students continued to show their pride by marching back through town to the high school to perform for another three hours—in uniform.
“This was in the middle of the day, in the heat of the day, where it’s hot and humid, and they just continued to play and play,” Brown says. “I got chills when I saw what was happening. We had people from the community come in and just watch and see these kids in these new uniforms. It was amazing.”
