August Meeting was All About Friendships

If you had to choose 10 characteristics that you would like a true friend to have, what would they be?


That is exactly what attendees had to do at AWC August meeting. They were given a list of 30 characteristics to choose from, and it was not easy to do. “Some are somewhat similar so it makes it difficult,” someone complained.

Here’s an example: would you choose “sense of humor” and/or “fun to be with?” Both are good characteristics to have but they are really not the same—got it? Well, we had an interesting and fun time doing this activity.

Not one of us in at the meeting was a native of Minnesota therefore we all had had experiences loosing close friendships as a result of our move. We also talked about keeping long term friendships alive, even those ones in distant lands. Some of us even had surprising reconnections with friends we thought were lost forever. We discussed the different layers of friendships, all of which we appreciate and cherish —some close, some not-so-close. Many of us had developed new and unexpected friendships that we never imagined possible.

A 2006 research study from Duke University and the University of Arizona showed that Americans have almost one-third fewer confidants than they did in the 1980s, and that “ties are more family-based.” Another statistic showed that there are now twice as many people who report not having close friends to share their problems with.

Fortunately, today we have a variety to convenient ways to keep our friendship bonds intact. We can phone, text, email, and use social networking tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and the like, to stay connected. However, don’t forget that nothing beats face-to-face connections so meet in-person as often as possible.

Building and maintaining friendships can be fulfilling but can also get complicated. Having a healthy number and layers of friendships is definitely a great way to go.
Action Item:
Make your list of 10 characteristics you would like in a friend but remember to also check yourself and make sure that you too are striving to be all of those things to your friends.

July Meeting at Global Market - Leadership through Board Service

We talked about leadership enhancement through board service. Some of the reasons people join boards include looking for a meaning way to give back, opportunities to use professional expertise, enhance leadership potential, networking, etc.


Rita Apaloo, President of AWC, led the discussion—she has assisted with board governance for several years, currently sits on advisory boards of seven different small businesses and facilitates a community involvement leadership program for minority business leaders that includes board leadership training.


To kick off the meeting, attendees paired up to review sample financial statements of an unknown business. The instruction was to relate or share anything at all that they notice about the reports. Let's just say that the list was not a long one. When asked for feedback on the assignment, the ladies said things like “I was confused; I wasn't sure what to do; I went blank, etc.” The purpose of the activity was to give them a flavor of what goes on in a board room and discuss the importance of knowing how to interpret financial reports as a board of director.


Once we got that out of the way, we got back to business as usual—having fun, connecting, learning and having a wonderful conversation.


We did have a small hurdle—we met in the common meeting area of the Global Market and the noise level was a bit high and presented a holding conversation problem. Lesson learned.


While participants learned the many benefits of serving on boards, the take away was that you can feel comfortable in the driver seat (making the decision to serve) once you understand your motivation, do your research, ask the critical questions and take all the time you need to ensure it is the right fit for you. Board service should leave you feeling good and rewarded, not overwhelmed and anxious.


Participants received information about resources around the Twin Cities where they can receive board training and additional information on serving on boards.

Certified Life Coach Janayah Bagurusi Presents at AWC Meeting

 “You are whole and great as you are. However you may want something more; to take it to that next level. A life coach will have a conversation with you about what it is that you want, ask the critical questions, hold you accountable and help you move forward at your own pace.” – Janayah Bagurusi

The threat of stormy weather and warnings of flash floods did not shut down our June monthly meeting. Our presenter, Janayah Bagurusi, arrived before our 6:00 p.m. start time, and several people braved the pouring rain and lightning to connect and participate in the important discussion of personal and professional life coaching.

Life can be a puzzle. We have all the pieces available to us but until we can put the pieces together correctly, it is difficult to see the (big) picture and follow our dreams. So it was only fitting to start our meeting with this idea of putting “the pieces” together. Working together on the puzzle also allowed us to exercise our team-building skills—and we did it in record time!

With Janayah’s help, we learned what coaching is and is not, completed a life-areas-ranking worksheet, and received a handout of 101 Reasons for Getting a Coach for business or career, dealing with life issues and personal success. We also had the wonderful opportunity to witness a live coaching session with a volunteer audience member. Finally, we concluded with a lively discussion and heard from people who had had coaching experience and those who were new to it asked some great questions.

Thank you to all who braved the weather to attend. The goal of AWC is to provide our members and friends with interesting and relevant information and experiences. Your attendance, especially in such weather, was assuring to our team and has inspired us to do more. A big thank you to our presenter Janayah Bagurusi, who did a fabulous job!

As always, we had a good time, connected and/or reconnected with others and learned something new. To inquire about consultation or if you have questions about coaching, Janayah can be reached at coaching@bagurusi.com or 651-226-0587.

President and Publisher of Mshale Newspaper, Tom Gitaa, Pays a Visit

When you have Tom Gitaa, a community leader who is also a leading community newspaper publisher as a speaker, what do you do for an icebreaker activity? Current events trivia of course!

The ladies in attendance are on top of their game when it comes to current events. They were highly aware and knowledgeable of topics including the BP oil spill, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military policy, the local nurses’ association talks and potential strike, Minnesota failing schools, American Idol, the 2010 World Cup, etc. We had lots of fun discussing the news. Tom did weigh in somewhat but not very much. However, we could tell that he was impressed and enjoyed our perspectives and insights.

Tom shared his story about coming to the US as a student, getting involved in community and eventually starting a newsletter, which turned into what is now Mshale – The African Community Newspaper. He is the president and publisher of Mshale, which has been in existence since 1995. It is based in Minneapolis and serves the upper Midwest of the United States, reporting primarily on the activities of the African immigrant community. Tom founded the paper while still in college. The paper is considered an authority on the African immigrant community in the Midwest and held in high esteem around the United States within the ethnic media publishing industry.

On the surface, it sounded like he stumbled onto the paths of publishing and leadership. “I became a community leader by default,” Tom said. That’s because he is a sought after commentator and opinion leader on issues pertaining to Africa and the African Immigrant community in the US. However, if you listen closely to his interests and life experiences, you will see how everything he has been involved with and worked towards all played a role in molding his leadership.

As a community leader and publisher, Tom says that he and his team are very intentional when it comes to working respectfully and equally with all African communities and building trusting relationships. “Give now and get later,” is how Tom describes volunteer work. He is the president of the board of directors for Books for Africa, the largest shipper of donated books to Africa. He also sits in the board of directors of the Minnesota International Center (MIC), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. MIC is affiliated to the World Affairs Councils of America.


“My volunteer experiences have been very rewarding, exposed me to many opportunities and connected me to amazing individuals,” Tom said. His advice is to get involved even when it feels scary and uncertain because each person brings something to the table (otherwise they won’t allow you to participate) and take the time to get to know the people you come in contact with.


It would have been so wrong, I mean so very wrong, to let Tom get away without giving him a hard time. So we alluded to the fact that he talked about his children and other family members but did not mention a companion. He said that his lovely wife passed away a few years ago and he has been too busy and occupied for a romantic relationship. Then came the bombshell question, “Are you technically saying that you are available?” Tom reluctantly said yes. There you go—single ladies.


In closing, Tom extended an invitation to members and friends of AWC to attend Mshale’s 2nd Annual African Awards Gala, which will be held on September 18, 2010 at the Downtown Hilton in Minneapolis, MN. Tom has provided a special AWC discount. Contact us for the code to get your discount ticket.


A great time was had by all!

Group Outing to See Zimbabwean Nora Chipaumire Dance

Cost of ticket: $20
Cost of parking: $8
A chance to hang out with Nora Chipaumire and learn from her: Priceless

There is something empowering about supporting people and things you believe in and are passionate about. The main thing that binds AWC members and participants together is “Africa.” Whether it has to do with thoughts, feelings, history, origins, people, culture, food, art, whatever, there is no doubt that that one word/idea binds us all.

So how excited do you think we were to venture out as a group to see the dance performance of a daughter of Africa, Zimbabwean Nora Chipaumire, choreographer, director and dancer? You guessed it—very much excited!

To be honest, the music was wonderfully familiar, the lighting and graphics were amazingly cutting edge but the choreography was very different from what we expected. Why and how you say? Well, we are very used to the theatrics of the African performance where there's usually an entire troupe on stage interacting with each other and the audience with music, movement, expressions, singing, grunts and/or loud noises and the whole spectacle of a drama. Nora put us to work— following the lone dancer, at times two, leaving us to interpret the scenes and then allowing us to enjoy the interesting choreography all at the same time. One thing we all agreed on was that the experience certainly broadened our perception of an African/African-inspired performance, which is a wonderful thing to have happened.

Prior to the performance I took a few minutes to look Nora up on the world wide web and was intrigued by a statement on her site: “My goal is to use cultural currency as a means to engage the world at large/agitate for human rights!”

I got a chance to asked her what she meant by that and was please that she didn't think I was “coo-coo.” It was my take away and something I've been thinking about a lot. She said that in this global, cultural world that we live in, one thing we have going for us is that we (Africans) are rich in 'cultural currency' and we must not hesitate to use it because what we have is uniquely ours and that is what we have to bring to the table. “When we don't use it [cultural currency] and other people do, we get pissed. We need to not only use it but also value it,” Nora Chipaumire said.

I don't know about you, but it makes a lot of sense to me and I, for one, plan to use it as often as possible.

See, not only did I broaden my perception and experience but I also learned a valuable lesson.

Take-Aways from Power and Possibilities: Minority Women Leadership Conference at St. Catherine's University, MN

On April 21, I attended the Power and Possibilities leadership conference for women of color at St. Catherine University. The keynote speaker was Elizabeth B. Kautz, president of United States Conference of Mayors and current Mayor of Burnsville, Minnesota. There were many other women leaders with impressive accomplishments, participating in the program.

I was definitely wearing my “AWC hat” so I decided to share my take-aways from this awesomely inspiring event with you:

1.Leadership begins from early on; even in your childhood when you're not as aware of it. The lesson here is to take the time to reflect on the past and discover seeds planted and discover how and what specific events and individuals helped you develop into the leader you are.

2.There are people around you who would like to help---only if you will let them. So don't shy away from asking for help; learn from others if necessary.

3.The “possibilities” is understanding the needs around you. Very often we are so focused on what it is we want and not what the needs are. Pay attention to your surroundings and listen carefully.

4.Walk (into a situation) with confidence, courage and a plan. Don't be afraid to ask for a chance to come up with a plan—because nothing happens with one.

5.Know your environment, resources and have the courage to move forward.

6.Include people in the design of your plan. You know what they say: no man is an island.

7.Your mission and vision are (or should be) bigger than you.

8.Be organized, put it on your schedule and keep moving. Putting it on your schedule makes it less likely to forget or run into conflicts.

9.Don't let others define you. You are (or should be) the author of your path. Don't let others definition of you stick---it's theirs, not yours.

10.When collaborating with others find the connecting points that everyone can rally around. That way the goals are not yours or theirs, instead everyone has a stake in it and therefore are motivated to make it happen.

11.Disagree but don't throw arrows (don't eradicate their ideas or existence) because when we do, we weaken our community. Disagree wisely and intelligently.

April Meeting and Ethnic Food Drive

We had a wonderful conversation with Dr. Richard Oni, guest speaker at our April meeting and ethnic food drive. Dr. Oni shared the history and experiences of the African Food Shelf (AFS), which began with food distribution to 50 members of the African Community and has now grown to providing an average of 125 bags of food each month to families. AFS rely on the hard work of volunteers and the generosity of ethnic and mainstream grocers to help families make ends meet.

As you may know, ethnic food products can be expensive but it is one way that families deal with “cultural bereavement” that results from living faraway from home and being separated from one's family and culture. “When we eat our cultural foods, we are reminded of our culture, 'back home' in Africa and it makes us feel more at home,” Dr. Oni said.

AFS had decided early on that people would not have to go through an intake and qualifying process in order to preserve the dignity of the families in need. “Once you start scrutinizing people, a loss of dignity occurs,” said Dr. Oni. An unfortunate situation that many in the community have experienced at some food distribution centers. In addition, remittances sent to Africa to support family members are usually not included as a part of expenses when people fill out service eligibility forms, which makes their net income appears to be higher than it really is. For these reasons and others, AFS decided that qualifications for participation would generally be left to individual's conscious. Participants are registered at the time of pickup and provided assistance according to the number of people living in each household.

In addition to food distribution, AFS partners with the University of Minnesota medical students to provide blood pressure checkups and a nonprofit organization called African Health Action (AHA), which provides a variety of medical assistance including HIV/AIDS testing. Dr. Oni reported that at times they had to call the ambulance because some people are walking around with pressure high enough to cause a stroke and don't know it.

Due to funding cuts and a challenging economy, AFS has been forced to consider partnership with another food shelf organization, the Emergency Food Network, to continue helping families in need. However, eligibility status will have to be adjusted to meet their partner's standards for reporting.

Dr. Oni said that he is pleased to learn of AWC's effort to collect ethnic food products to donate to individuals and families in need because it important not only for nourishment but also for emotional well-being of members of our community.

AFS food distribution is held on a monthly basis at the corner of 69th and Humbolt Ave in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Dr. Oni can be contacted at troni@orbis.net.

Attendance at the April meeting was unexpectedly low and 43 lbs of food was collected, the lowest amount in the history of AWC food drive. According to our friends at CEAP Food Shelf, in Brooklyn Park, each individual receives a minimum of 15 lbs of food at distribution. So to put in in perspective, we provide food for less than three individuals—we can surely do better than that. We plan to make up for our loss over the next months by continuing to collect food items at our monthly meetings.
Many thanks to Dr. Oni and AFS for taking the time to visit with us and to the staff and management of the Flamingo Restaurant. This goes without saying, thanks also to the phenomenal ladies who attended and donated to our food drive. Your leadership and commitment are the ingredients the keep AWC cooking.