Ghana Health Brigade 2026: GovState returns to the Motherland

Ghana - Door of No Return

This summer, 24 members of the Governors State University (GovState) community returned from Ghana after a transformative ten-day service-learning, cultural and wellness experience in partnership with Global Health Brigades. Co-led by Nicole Bing, Department Chair, Department of Communication Disorders, College of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Marlon Cummings, Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, the delegation worked alongside local residents to construct vital sanitation and plumbing systems while engaging deeply with Ghana's rich history and cultural heritage—from local artisan workshops to the unimaginable darkness of a dungeon where the enslaved spent their last days in Africa. Below, student, faculty, and community participants reflect on the personal and professional impact of their journey. 

Nicole Bing, (center) Chair, Department of Communication Disorders, College of Health and Human Services.  

“Bringing Governors State University students to Ghana is about so much more than experiencing another culture. It is about creating space to build respectful partnerships, to serve alongside global communities, and learn that health and well-being are deeply connected to how we care for one another. The 2026 Public Health Brigade reminded us that when education, service, and community come together, we empower communities, and leave changed by what we have shared and learned together.” 

(Dr. Bing has co-led six Global Heath Brigades to Ghana.)

Inala Bruce Rose, GovState Student, College of Education and Human Development:

"I saw the truths of the Atlantic slave trade with my own eyes. Then I realized, that even through all of our pain, sorrow, cries, maltreatment, and abuse, we still rise up everyday. I realized our history isn’t just pain, it’s perseverance, hospitality, kindness, inventive, nurturing, and love.

If people don’t come to see it with their own eyes, they will never understand the true horrors of the slave trade that still affect families, brothers, sisters, and black people today."

Marquis Parks, (forefront) GovState Communication Student and 2026-27 Student Board of Trustee:

"Visiting these sites inspired me to carry those stories with me and reinforced the importance of preserving history so future generations understand both the tragedies of the past and the resilience of those who survived them. I returned home with a greater appreciation for cultural diversity, a renewed sense of purpose, and a stronger commitment to using my education and leadership experiences to create positive change in my own community and beyond."

Deborah King, (far left) GovState Assistant Professor, College of Education and Human Development:

“It reset my sense of what I owe. As someone outside the diaspora, I felt the weight of standing in a place that documents a crime my own side of history produced. My job was to witness clearly, to let the facts land, and to carry them out with me. This history must be taught without flinching.”

Janet “Ama" Amuh, (center) GovState Student:

“I learned practical skills about infrastructure and history about the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Overall it was an immersive experience: socially, emotionally historically.”

Pictured here, Janet Amuh's grandmother (on the right) currently lives in Accra, Ghana.

Zion Banks, GovState Director of Communications, Office of Marketing and Communications and Communication M.A. Student:

“I am not the same person who left for Ghana in late May. The journey was transformative in ways I never imagined, allowing me a new perspective on history (the Transatlantic Slave Trade) and culture (a simpler life). Visiting Africa and working with the brigade also allowed me a deeper connection with my now-deceased parents. My father taught us the value of hard work, and my mother longed to travel to Africa but was never able to fulfill her dream."

Marlon Cummings, (center) Dean of the College of Education and Human Development: 

“We take time to focus on building community with the people we are serving (or working with) and we dive deep into the background of the country which really helps to contextualize the experience.”