HONORARY CITIZENSHIP GRANTED FOR PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS AND SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Los
Angeles, CA (July 29, 2013) –
In August of 2013, on Ghana’s
Emancipation Day, the country will recognize an icon of the Diaspora,
Nana Rita Marley, widow of the late superstar, Bob Marley. This
historic event will take place at the nation’s annual Golden
Jubilee celebration of OAU/AU and the Pan-African History Festival
(PANAFEST), wherein Sister Rita (Nana
Afua Adobeya1) will be granted
honorary citizenship of Ghana along with a Ghanaian passport.
In
the words of H.E. Dr. Erieka Bennett/ Head of Mission, AU Diaspora
Africa Forum, “We are thrilled to see the Ghana government
recognizing the tremendous contribution Nana Rita has made to Ghana
socially as well as economically. This is a historical day for
those of us from the diaspora. Congratulations to our beloved
Nana Rita Marley,” adds H.E. Ambassador Kwesi Quartey, Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, “Indeed Mrs.
Rita Marley continues to leverage her unique name recognition to
showcase Ghana and talk up Ghana’s pan-Africanist role and tourism
potential at every opportunity.”
Fifty years
after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech
and the passing of Dr. W.B. DuBois, and more than 32 years after the
passing of her husband, the Honorable Robert Nesta Marley, Mrs.
Marley has now accomplished the main part of their dream: returning
to Africa not as slaves, but to give back to the less privileged.
ABOUT RITA
MARLEY
The talented
Rita Anderson was born in Cuba and raised from an early age in
Trenchtown, Jamaica, destined to become the matriarch of the musical
Marley family. Now, for over 30 years, Rita Marley has been a
principal figure on the music scene and has maintained a prominent
role.
Mrs. Marley
has worn many hats to manifest her continued commitment to her
husband Bob Marley, her family and her people, as well as to fulfill
her mission to enlighten, educate and entertain through
her music. She is the
benefactor of many humanitarian causes and the Rita Marley
Foundation. RMM’s operations are based on the principles of love
and compassion, with its work geared towards the alleviation of
suffering in less fortunate communities.
Establishing
a second home in Ghana in 1993, she began the task of working with
the local Elders and Chiefs towards the provision of a road, a water
supply and electrification. An on-going task since then is the
development of the school and the health care center. Today, she
continues her mission of sharing, caring and working together with
all Africans, supporting activities in Kenya, Ethiopia and Jamaica.
Learn more at: http://ritamarleyfoundation.org/.
