African community leaders credit Asian leadership for success of Africa House
African community leaders credit Asian leadership for success of Africa House
By Maileen Hamto
More than 100 people gathered at the opening ceremony of a refugee service center for Africans who are newcomers to Portland.
The realization of a longtime dream of community leaders and volunteers, Africa House Refugee Center is the latest accomplishment of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO).
In recent years, the African population in the Portland metro area has grown considerably. More than 20,000 Africans from 25 different countries now make Portland their home.
Africa House is a multilingual community-based center that provides African refugees family-focused access to services, such as job training, health education, referral for social and support services, family intervention and leadership workshops, community engagement, and more.
Asian community leaders were among those celebrating the grand opening of Africa House. Organizers say Africa House follows the same model that has worked well for IRCO’s Asian Family Center, established in 1989 to serve refugees from Southeast Asian countries. The first family center of its kind in Multnomah County, the Asian Family Center was specifically designed to meet the unique cultural and language needs of Asian Pacific Islander youth and families.
“I find the Asian community as part of my family, because of the similar struggles we have,” said Karifa Koroma, chairman of Africa House’s 16-person advisory board. As a college student in the 1970s, he moved from Sierra Leone to Oregon, and has since been a strong advocate for the African immigrant community. “(Southeast) Asians and Africans have the refugee issue in common. Now that we’re in a new country, we’re trying to help each other.”
IRCO Executive Director Sokhom Tauch, who came to this country as a refugee from Cambodia in 1975, is pleased with the opportunity to work alongside leaders of the African community to share lessons learned from the struggles of the early immigrants from Southeast Asia. “Being united is the best thing to be in this country.”
The diversity of the African refugee and immigrant community posed some early challenges in pulling together a cohesive community effort. In time, community leaders put their differences aside to work toward a common goal: to build a community service center that serves the diverse needs of African refugees and families.
Koroma was successful in ensuring that the advisory board represented diverse leadership from various African communities. “It took us a long time to get here, but the journey was worth it. Now, Africans are able to come together as a strong community — under one roof — speaking with one voice,” he said.
Funded by a three-year $200,000 grant from the federal Office of Refugee Settlement, Africa House seeks to provide culturally specific services to African refugee families.
The center has a team of trained multilingual staff and volunteers who are dedicated to helping individuals and families become successful and self-sufficient, says Djimet Dogo, program coordinator, originally from Chad.
“It’s our responsibility to help refugees integrate into American culture, to their new life in the United States. We help with everything from life skills and employment training, to referrals to medical services,” said Dogo. “We help new refugees go to the DMV or register their kids to school. If there’s a problem at school, we mediate and help parents understand how the school system works.”
Currently in the Montavilla neighborhood, Africa House is in a leased facility owned by a former Iraqi refugee, Wally Matthew. “It was hard for us to find a place,” said Dogo, who is grateful for Matthew’s generosity. Matthew reportedly rents the facility to IRCO for less than market value.
Contributing to the success of the community center is one good turn for Duke Tran, IRCO board president, who emigrated from Vietnam with his family in the 1990s. He is credited by the African leadership for being one of the driving forces behind the establishment of Africa House.
“It’s a great accomplishment for the African community. It was wonderful to work with people who really wanted to make this happen. Now, our city has a one-stop resource center for African refugees and immigrants,” he said.
Africa House Refugee Center is located at 8535 S.E. Stark Street in Portland. To learn more, call (503) 802-0082 or visit www.irco.org.
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