Gertrude Atongi manages programmes on maternal and child health in a Brooklyn hospital while her foundation continues to support vulnerable communities in Pusiga, a town in Ghana’s Upper East Region.
Atongi is the Programme Manager overseeing family well-being initiatives at a New York hospital. Alongside this, she runs the Atongi Family and Friends Basic Needs Foundation, which she co-founded with her late father, Anthony Atongi, in 2003. The foundation works in both Ghana and the United States, focusing on education, healthcare, and support for vulnerable groups.
Anthony Atongi died in December 2021, but the organisation he helped build has kept going. “He could have left Pusiga and never looked back but that is not who Anthony was because he stood in the shoes of the people,” Gertrude Atongi said.
The foundation has donated beds, mattresses, clothing, toys, school supplies, and medical equipment to health centres and communities in Pusiga. It also took on the reconstruction of an Islamic school in the area and continues to provide pupils with uniforms, footwear, and educational materials.
About 150 vulnerable individuals have been enrolled in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme through the foundation’s efforts. It has organised health screenings and helped about 50 students pursue secondary education. In July 2023, the foundation launched a community feeding programme in Pusiga, serving meals to more than 150 vulnerable people and providing financial support to some families.
“Our goal is to assist underserved special groups, such as women, youth, and people with special needs, because they have a right to a better life,” Atongi said.
Atongi’s own career in healthcare and human services began in 1993. She has worked with organisations such as the Brooklyn AIDS Task Force, the Jewish Child Care Association, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She joined a Brooklyn hospital in 2016 as a Family Support Worker Supervisor and became a Programme Manager in 2019.
Her academic background includes two master’s degrees in nursing and social work. She also trained in infant and family mental health. On 10 September 2021, she earned endorsement from the New York State Association for Infant Mental Health as an Infant Mental Health Specialist. In 2024, she received a second endorsement as an Infant Family Reflective Supervisor, a role that involves consulting and supervising professionals working with families in early intervention and home-visiting programmes.
Atongi is a peer reviewer with Healthy Families America, assessing home-visiting programmes against national best-practice standards.
The foundation’s work in New York supports families living in shelters in Brooklyn and Queens by providing hot meals, hygiene products, clothing, and other essentials. It has partnered with the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation on food pantry activities, Halloween events, school programmes, and holiday distributions. In November 2024, it hosted a Thanksgiving event at a Brooklyn family shelter. The following year, it organised a back-to-school giveaway distributing school supplies and farmers’ market vouchers before holding its fourth annual Thanksgiving celebration and participating in a holiday toy drive.
Beyond Ghana and the United States, the foundation has extended its reach to Jamaica. In 2021, it donated supplies to the Mustard Seed Community in Ocho Rios. In Ghana, it partnered with Amazing Grace Children’s Charity in May 2025 for a free medical care and toy drive. Later that year, it worked with the International Pentecostal Mission Food Program to provide food and school supplies to families.
In 2026, the foundation teamed up with the Hope for All Songtaba Foundation on 31 August for a community back-to-school event, offering educational resources and supplies. In September, it distributed school supplies to families in Brooklyn shelters and took part as a community partner and exhibitor at the African Immigrant Commission of New York and Connecticut’s African Heritage Month Celebration on 12 September.
The foundation has received multiple awards for its community work. In October 2024, it earned a Humanitarian Award from 3G Media Group. In September 2025, the African Immigrants’ Commission of New York and Connecticut recognised it with three awards. It also received Lifetime Achievement Awards attributed to former US President Barack Obama in 2014 and to former President Joe Biden in 2024.
More than 20 years after Gertrude Atongi and her father started the foundation, it still provides food, school supplies, healthcare support, and other help to people in Pusiga and communities in New York. Though her father is no longer alive, the work they began continues.
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