The Ndi Igbo in Waterloo Region marked annual the Iri Ji new yam festival celebration on Sunday September 8th at the Breslau Community Centre in the Township of Woolwich.
The Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Maazi Eric Njoku, shared insights into the planning journey and expressed gratitude to all who attended. The event was well-received, featuring captivating entertainment from children and maiden dancers, an Ogene group, and a vibrant masquerade performance. What made it truly remarkable was that the various stages of the event were managed entirely by Igbo youth from the Waterloo region. From the MC to the dancers, servers, and protocol officers, they showcased their talent and leadership. Check out the video to appreciate the incredible work done by the president and the Igbo parents of the Waterloo region. The festival finale was hosted by Somadina Muojeke and Eucharia Ezemobi
Special guests present included Mayor of Waterloo, Dorothy MacCabe, Mayor of Kitchener Berry Vrbanovic represented by Ayo Owodunni of Kitchener ward 5, Regional Councillor Colleen James, Head of Wateroo Regional Police Service, Chief Mark Cromwell and Geraldine Stafford and Victoria Dicaro from the Waterloo Police equity, diversity and inclusion team and Carrie Price representing the Caribbean community. Others personalities that sent in their greetings included Senator Martyr Deacon, Hon MP Bardish Chagger, Hon MP Tim Louis, Hon MP Mike Morrice and Mayor of Cambridge Jan Ligget.
The President of the association Mrs Grace Ogor welcomed all guests. In her words, “Honourable guests, we have a growing population of Ndi Igbo and the larger African-Caribbean group in this region and we follow closely with developments both at the regional council level and the municipalities. As we build a sustainable region, we support the passenger Cambridge to Union GO rail line project. We ask for targeted programs that would support the retirement of seniors who spent the most of their lives in a different cultural context. We ask for improvement to wait times as the region moves to merge the St Mary and Grand Rivers Hospital. Increasing the existing capacity would no doubt improve access to healthcare. The New Yam festival centres on agriculture and productivity and we solicit for resources to improve the ease of doing agricultural related activities in the region by members of our community. Our goal as a people is to work actively as productive residents in the Region of Waterloo.”
The Chairman of the occasion, Chike Okonkwo in his address called for more concerted effort to promote the Igbo culture in the diaspora and advised against actions that would be seen as not promoting unity both within and outside the Igbo community. He explained the significance of the new yam festival and oversaw the iwa ji traditional ceremony
The father of the day was Sir Ben Anene and the mothers of the day were Chief Mrs Julie Udeh-Ubaka, Chief Mrs Augusta Ubaka.l and Mrs Ngozi Udekwu. During the breaking of the Kolanut by Maazi John Okonkwo, all ethnic communities present were recognized and partook in the prayers including the caribbean, yoruba, indigenous and ethiopian communities
Waterloo region include the seven municipalities of Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Woolwich, Wilmot, Wellesley and North Dumfries. Waterloo is a region in Ontario Canada.
