Adinkra: The Semanhyiya American School Logo

We’re thrilled to have a school name that conveys the special story that led us to this point. Semanhyiya, which means, “if I had never met you”, speaks to the fact that if Fred and I had not met in the Spring of 2013, his dreams of attending University himself, and of bringing opportunity through education to children in his village of Senase, would still just be dreams. We searched to find a logo that would represent the kind of learning we expect to take place in our school and the values we plan to instill in our students.

In looking for a way to honor the Ghanaian culture with our logo, Fred suggested we look up Adinkra. Adinkra are visual symbols that represent spiritual, moral and familial beliefs. Before having a written language, this was an important part of Asante culture because the symbols were used as a story telling device. Each symbol has a name and meaning, many derived from proverbs or historical events that convey traditional wisdom and aspects of life or the environment.

After finding several symbols that we felt communicated our message, we finally decided on the Wisdom Knot, or Nyansapo, which symbolizes wisdom, intelligence and patience. Just as academic success is crucial to the future of these children, we believe that developing good character is just as important.

The goal is for the logo to send a message that our school values learning through experience, reasoning and logic, and that hard work, perseverance and determination will lead our students to achieving their highest potential.