East African Women's Center - Building community for Somali and other East African Women and their Families



The Advisory Council was formed to help the Women’s Center put into action what refugee women from this community want and need. With support from the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, our monthly gatherings will provide six refugee women with the experience of working with a board at the same time as women from the larger community gain a better understanding of refugee women, their strengths and their challenges. “Our Council is important because mainstream and women from the community are sharing and discussing issues that are facing women, like housing, schools, and health,” say Kali Ali. “We come together to discuss how to help each other and solve problems and find resources that can help us.” The Advisory Council includes six women from the Women’s Center. Komosse Toure, Nafiso Weyrah and Fossia Mohammed have been participating in the Center’s activities since fall 2006 and are currently in the ESL/Transition class working towards Child Development Associate (CDA) certification and acceptance into a GED class. Hawo Karshe and Kali Ali are staff members; Hawo is our Childcare Coordinator and Kali is “5th Day” Coordinator. Kali and Hawo are also working towards their CDAs. Fadumo “Kongo” Mahamad is our “Cultural Mother” and was our assistant sewing teacher until recently. The women from the community at large include: Mary Benbenek, Professor of Health at the University of Minnesota; Johara Mohammed, a Bush Fellow and student at the University of Minnesota; Mara O’Neill, Director of Capital Investments at First Children's Finance; Pearl Savage, Coordinator of the Cedar Riverside Adult Education Collabrative;
	“It's great experience for me to be with this group of intelligent women who want to help each other and are enthusiastic about the job that we are doing together,” says Kali Ali.
		Lori Stone, Development at the Center for Victims of Torture; and Mary Laurel True, Director of Service-Learning and Community Engagement at Augsburg College. “I feel honored and privileged to be a part of the Advisory Council of the Women’s Center,” says Mara O’Neill. “The women from the East African community who are on the Council are emerging leaders in their community. Because all the members of the Advisory Council share a spirit of collaboration, deep respect for each other, and passion for the work of the Women’s Center, the Council will be a safe place for these women to hone their leadership skills.” Together these 12 women are committed to creating more and better activities that reflect the needs of the Center’s women and their families, bridge cultural differences, and support successful integration into life in the US

The Advisory Council acts as a bridge between cultures, with learning and understanding going in both directions.