Training immigrant health partners in Minnesota

BY BERLINE PIERRE-LOUIS, TC DAILY PLANET

November 28, 2011

In Irene Asong-Morfaw’s native Cameroon, the cultural opinion is that “boys are the heroes and boys can’t get in trouble.” This mindset, she feels, prevents boys and men from having to be responsible for their sexual health. Asong-Morfaw says that a woman may know that there are ways to prevent pregnancy or STI’s but if her husband or partner does not approve of birth control or condom use she may feel she can’t pursue these options freely. That’s why she is part of the Partnership Project, a Planned Parenthood program designed to meet the reproductive and sexual health needs of African-born persons in the Twin Cities in a culturally appropriate way. The project uses community leaders as lay health educators to deploy culturally relevant sexual and reproductive health information into the community.

Minnesota’s immigrant population increased rapidly during the 1990s, and has continued to grow, though at a slower pace, during the past decade. A large and growing proportion of new immigrants come from from East and West African countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Kenya

At last, the Minnesota Oromo share their secret

Who knows the Minnesota Oromo?

Who knows their dark secret?

Fifteen thousand Oromo live in Minnesota but they blend in almost invisibly, like a stealthy, anonymous population in the state.
They are teachers, doctors and lawyers; they run retail shops and corporations; they attend Viking games, relax at coffee shops and stroll at malls. They are sometimes called “Ethiopian immigrants” because they are indeed from Ethiopia.

But among friends and family, or if you ask them specifically, they carefully call themselves “Oromo.”

Who are the Oromo?

They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, numbering 31 million, and they are the subject of a new report, “Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of the Oromo Diaspora,” prepared by The Advocates for Human Rights, based in Minneapolis.

African Community Organizers Lay Foundation for Collaborations

by Nelima

Leaders from about 20 organizations convened at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) to engage in a conversation on the needs of the African community in Minnesota and lay the foundation for their collaboration. The conference was facilitated by the African Federation, Inc (AFI) and the Immigrant Development Center (IDC) to promote AFI’s National African Diaspora Mobilization Project (NAMPD), which aims to establish a strong network of African serving organizations in the United States. The project is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF).

Round Up: Africans in the Minnesotan Mainstream Media

by Nelima

Here’s another round up of how the mainstream media is covering the African community.

• New Islamic mortgages now available in Minnesota
• Bill Would Ban Headwear on Driver’s License Photos
• Somali Student Group Protest s Bare-Head ID Bill
• Another gloomy economic roller-coaster ride
• This time will Liberians be forced to leave?
• Maplewood man convicted of $438k fraud
• FBI watching Somali Muslims in Minneapolis

Weekly Round Up: Africans in Minnesotan Media

by Nelima

I went scouring the web again to see what the media is covering in the African comunity. Blind, Inc. gives new meaning to ‘goin’ it on your own’, Pan African Student Leadership conference is this weekend, Muslims invite FBI chief to Minneapolis mosque, M.anifest is coming to America (the same article as Hip Hop has M.anifest),  With War Over, Liberians In Minn. To Be Sent Back, Minnesota Honors Students at Banquet, Ethiopian scientist says physical exercise lowers risk for MCI, Omeka! program brings cultures together. There were a bunch of reports following last night’s open house at Abubakar As-Sadique Islamic center, I will post those after I put up the article I wrote on the event. Did I miss something? Please share.

Calling on African Teens to Join the Youth Power Peer Education Program

 

Youth Power, image courtesy of Planned Parenthood

Please pass this on any African teenagers you may know ….

*Youth Power is a peer education program for African youth (those born in Africa or 1st generation American-born) in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Participants must be between ages 13-17 by the start of the program on 02-12-2009.

* When you sign up, you’ll get 30 hours of training. We teach you all about reproductive health and how to talk about important issues with your friends and family. You’ll have the skills and knowledge to teach others in your community about responsible decision making, preventing teen pregnancy, and other related issues.

We Makin’ Arab Money … Tougher Than Nigerian Hair … Creative Or Insensitive?

by Nelima

My youngest brother who is a Dj told me something interesting this morning. He was doing his regular gig on Sunday and was about to play the song ‘Arab Money’ by Busta when his friend asked him not to play the song as it may be offensive to the culture of the many Somali’s in the club. For those of you who don’t know the song here are some of the lyrics (Not too sure about the Arabic ones, each website had a different version) …

Shalai Lai Lai Halilili Hai Lo!
Hi Li Ba Lai Hey Hi Li Bai Lo!
We gettin’ Arab money!
We gettin’ Arab money!
Ha La Shiki Hai Lili Ba La!
Milli Ai Lai Shi Lili Ba La!
We gettin’ Arab money!
We gettin’ Arab money!

Something You Should Know About African Immigrants in the US …. Pass It On

by Nelima

Over the weekend I was chatting with some friends about the need for mentoring programs for young Africans. I was taken back to the time when I was part of a forum on getting immigrant girls to think about college. I was assigned to a group of about six African girls and we started to explore interests and career ideas. What struck me the most was that all, but one of these girls were not sure about going to college. “How will I make college when I don’t know if I’ll finish college?”  said one. This was such a different attitude from my high school days. Granted not everyone was expecting to go to college, but I’d never heard anyone say that they weren’t sure they’d make it through high school. And even most of those who didn’t make it to college were hindered mostly because of limited space and funds, but if the opportunity was available they would go to college.  

With that in mind, I would like to share some excerpts from a page on African immigrants to the US, which I found on Wikipedia a couple years back. Feel free to share, feel obligated to share if you are a mentor.

Memorable MinneAfrican Moments of 2008.

As we say goodbye to 2008 , here’s a recap of some of the events that rocked the African Community in Minnesota.

• For Kenyans, the year started off pretty badly as their home country was marred by the worst violence in her history following elections at the end of December. In January Demonstrators braved sub-zero temps to rally against the violence at the State Capitol. Read more here.
• Also in January, Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter,  Angelique Kidjo, kicked off her US 2008 tour at a packed St. Paul’s Ordway Center. Read the review here. 
• Despite the controversy surrounding his visit Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, graced us all with his presence at the Minneapolis Convention Center in April. Read more here. 
• In June the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commision held historic public hearings in St. Paul to document the public testimonies of Liberians in the U.S. Read more here.

Understanding our Forefathers

by Eva

Considering the recent celebration of Nigeria’s Independence on October 1st and the upcoming Kenyatta Day celebrated by Kenyans on October 20th, I find myself trying to draw parallels between my life and that of the Late president Jomo Kenyatta. After all, for a certain period of his life, the Late President was living overseas as a student and an underground champion for his country.

Though I cannot claim to be as grand a figure as the Late President, I acknowledge that the parallels I seek however are those that compare my life as an African living in Minnesota to Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah and many other Africans that came before us. They found themselves living far from home for a certain period in their lives and interestingly for reasons similar to those that propelled most of us to live overseas.

As Africans we have a multitude of opinions on these leaders’ political careers and hard though it is, I want us to avoid their politics. Instead, I want us to study how they lived as immigrants and the good they did for their country and their communities while they were away from home. As we celebrate Kenyatta Day on October 20th and as we reflect on our purpose abroad, I certainly think that we would not be amiss in seeking inspiration on how to do better by studying what Jomo Kenyatta and others did right while they lived abroad.

My challenge to you fellow Africans is to look at the good they did for themselves, their country and communities. Their failures or missteps, if any, should serve as lessons on what pitfalls we need to avoid. Great Leaders and legendary figures though they may be, they were first and foremost as fallible as the rest of us.