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Monifa Ayinde
President of the Grenadian Cultural Association of British Columbia, Canada( GCABC)
Service Beyond Self
Her confidence is palpable, her charm, undeniable, but these are not the only attributes Monifa Ayinde can claim. She is also resourceful, extremely organized and a naturalborn leader. A Grenadian by birth, Monifa has led the GCABC selflessly for the past 17 plus years. Born in Grand Anse St, George’ s, Grenada, she migrated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1971. She is now semi-retired.
Monifa’ s employment life in the Province of British Columbia covers a 35 year period working with the Provincial Government, Douglas College and several profit and nonprofit organizations. Although she held several positions over the years, working on the Caricom Education For Employment( C-EFE) project in the Caribbean seven years ago remains at the top of her list.
She was the recipient of various awards, including The Dame Nita Barrow Award for Community Service in B. C. presented by the Barbados Cultural Association of BC, The National Congress of Black Women Foundation Award for Community Service and the Vancouver Police Department Award for Service to the Diversity in Policing. Monifa was appointed to The International Diaspora Consultative Committee( IDCC) for Grenada’ s Homecoming in 2012. For fun, Monifa enjoys reading, music, travel, dancing, taking long walks and entertaining family and friends. She is also the roti master!
Monifa became involved with the GCABC at its inception in 1998. Over the years in Vancouver, she realized there were lots of pre-conceived ideas and misinformation about the“ small” Island of Grenada. It was therefore a no-brainer for some of the Grenadians living here to form an Association to dispel some of the myths about their beautiful Islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. With assistance from the late Casper Shade and George( Mario) Bullen, they began to showcase and educate about this gem of the Caribbean.
Presently, Monifa is a Director representing the GCABC on the board of the BC Organization of Caribbean Cultural Associations( BCOCCA); she is a Board Member on the BC Provincial Committee for Diversity in Policing; a member of the Coquitlam Festival Planning Committee and an executive on the TriCity Seniors Action Society.
Monifa is very passionate about working with people. She explained, " I worked with youths and seniors throughout my entire professional life. As a senior myself, since the pandemic, I have become very concerned about seniors in the Caribbean / black community. Based on a recommendation from one of our young