Refugee and Immigrant Women for Change (RIWC) International Women's Day Event

Dance performance of true stories of refugee and immigrant women.

The Refugee and Immigrant Women for Change (RIWC) International Women's Day event was held on March 8, at the University of St. Catherine from three o'clock to six-thirty in the evening. A crowd of approximately two hundred people, mostly women, youth and men of different backgrounds from ethnic and mainstream communities were in attendance. I, personally, was glad to see that refugee and immigrant women were present at the the table and fully participating in every aspect of the event.

RIWC is a coalition made of seven ethnic-community-based organizations (Asian, African and Latino), formed around the shared vision of fostering organizational leadership, community accountability and capacity-building of member organizations around gender equity for refugee and immigrant women. Learn more...

Welcome and opening remarks were made by Dr. Alan Silva, St. Catherine's Dean of the School of humanities, Arts and Sciences, and Mariam Mohamed, community advocate and board member of CAPI (RIWC member organization.

The main attraction was a dance performance choreographed to stories of refugee and immigrant women collected through eighteen focus groups and about one hundred and sixty-five participants (women, men, youth). The performance was entitled “We Are Not Below the Men: Riwa meets Kartee.” I thought the performance was very powerful. Even more powerful were the stories shared by participants of RIWC focus groups. You had to be there to see it and experience it for yourself.

As I watched the performance and listened to the stories, I jotted down some themes that ring true for many in our communities—hope they make sense to you:

• Many refugees and immigrants come to America in search of opportunities and “a better life” but...
• Some men feel frustrated about not doing (or having the ability to do) enough to support their families—they feel a strong sense of failure
• Some women hear—“you don't need a man to be a success in this country”
• Some women feel lonely and depressed--- not feeling taken cared of; no respected
• Sometimes divisions build between the old and the young, the men and the women, the parents and the children
• Some people look to religious leaders and institutions to keep the peace in their households, relationships and marriages
• Some men feel powerless
• Some elders feel disrespected, diminished, invisible
• Sometimes education (in different forms) can be a huge barrier to success
• Sometimes we (as individuals) are not always aware of our anger, depression or feelings of hopelessness
• Sometimes we are pleasantly surprise that the “old way” of doing things can actually produce positive results in these modern times—it reminds us not to be too quick to dismiss ideas from the “village”
• Sometimes we believe that the only way to succeed is through formal education—and we hang a lot (sometimes way too much) on that idea
• Some youngsters feel pressured to succeed—the entire family is watching and waiting...
• Some people step up to leadership even when they are not asked or when it involves serious sacrifices because they feel that “someone” has to “take care of our people”
• Sometimes we come to the conclusion that our children will learn in their own time
• Sometimes we are as proud of our daughters as we are our sons
• Sometimes we are confident that nothing can stand in the way of our success
• Sometimes we realize that we are doing the best we can; we can all work together; not on the top or the bottom but side by side
• Sometimes we get it---this America we now call home has its problems and its rewards too.

The performance and stories affirmed a lot of what I already knew. However, the real highlight of the event was the community dialogue. As a facilitator, I enjoyed the opportunity to really listen and encourage people to share their thoughts, insights and ideas about gender equity for refugee and immigrant women and RIWC in general.

One gentleman at my table summed it nicely, I thought. He said that our lives are full of complexities and social service organizations and experts are only now beginning to learn that we can't just fix one thing and send the individual on his or her way, we need to take a holistic approach and spend more time understanding.

I believe that community dialogue is always a great start for “understanding.”

News Release: African Women Connect (AWC) Introduces New Spotlight Column to Help Community-based Businesses, Organizations and Leaders Tell their Story

For Immediate Release

March 10, 2011

Contact: africanwomenconnect@hotmail.com

612-250-8478

African Women Connect (AWC) Introduces New Spotlight Column to Help Community-based Businesses, Organizations and Leaders Tell their Story

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn – AWC is responding to a community need for no to low cost marketing for small businesses, organizations and community advocates that have a tough time getting the word out about their existence, products and services. The new spotlight column will be an addition to AWC monthly e-newsletter that goes out to a cross-section of mostly African ethnic groups, including members of the mainstream population.

Community-based businesses require the support of community members to keep their doors open. Marketing is always a challenge for small businesses and even more so for ethnic minority businesses. In most cases, people in the community are just not aware that these businesses exist. With limited budgets and a challenging economy, investing in marketing is usually not top priority but nevertheless critical for business survival.

“We have been supporting community businesses several years and we are proud of this  initiative. However, an ongoing challenge has been finding such businesses and once we do, hoping that they would stay in business long enough to continue our support. Word of mouth is the primary way community-based businesses get the word out and we have seen time and time again that sometimes it is just not fast enough to keep the doors open,” says Rita Apaloo, AWC founder and president. “We hope that this will be a another avenue to continue our initiative of supporting our community.

A separate blog site will be established to keep the stories posed for business owners and the general public to continue to access. AWC will rely on its e-newsletter audience to help advertise this opportunity to community-based businesses. Anyone interested or would like more information about the project should contact AWC at africanwomenconnect@hotmail.com or 612-250-8578. Interested participants will be asked to respond to ten questions and provide a photo or logo. AWC hopes to have the first business spotlighted in its April newsletter.

About AWC

African Women Connect, LLC (AWC) is a Minnesota-based organization that promotes networking and relationship building for friendship, business and community. AWC also provides opportunities for personal development, sharing information and community involvement. More at www.africanwomenconnect.net.

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Pink & Purple Event brings awareness to Breast Cancer & Domestic Abuse



President of the African American Breast Cancer Alliance, Reona Berry, presents to attendees.



On Friday, October 22, AWC held its annual Pink & Purple event. Breast cancer and domestic abuse/violence are important topics that affect women and families and that’s why we provide the opportunity for a culturally-sensitive and open group discussion for African women. 

Our Speakers, Reona Berry, 20-year breast cancer survivor and president of the African American Breast Cancer Alliance (AABCA), and Kelly, a domestic abuse volunteer with Alexandra House, an emergency shelter for battered women and children, came prepared with good information and handouts to share. A big thank you to both ladies!

We are thankful for all who attended--your presence helped us hold our end of the bargain to provide an engaged audience for our speakers and partners who take the time away from their busy schedules to share valuable information with our group. We always want to be appreciative and respectful of their time and talents.

At the end of the meeting, one of the ladies said, “Every time I think I know all there is to know about these topics (breast cancer and domestic abuse/violence) I learn something new.” That usually rings true at every AWC meeting where we provide information. Even when the information is not entirely new, at least we get reminded of how important it is to be aware of these things and to know what to do or how to help when the need arises.

Here are a few pointers from the event:

1. Take charge of your health and well-being.
2. You can try to ignore cancer but it can’t ignore you—educated yourself and do your self-exam.
3. We women need to know that it is okay to seek help and accept support from others when needed.
4. The more you know the better you are.
5. Domestic violence crisis hotline provides an avenue to talk and ask questions without judging; they also provide legal advocacy and safety planning.
6. Domestic abuse is more than physical abuse—hitting (verbal, emotional, etc.)
7. In some cases, men are the victims.
8. Be proactive-- know what a healthy relationship looks like.
9. Pay attention and get involved at some level even when you’re not the one in need of help. Others need your support.
10. Build a network of people you can trust and rely on—be there for them and allow them to be there for you too.

All Dolled Up at the 2010 African Awards

Which camera? Ama, Lydia, Rita, Ayan, Felicia

It is always exciting to see AWC members and friends out and about in the community. When we run into each other, we can't help but take an AWC Moment to catch-up on life events. The Mshale African Awards was no different. The ladies clean up real nice...don't you think?

Ayan and Felicia

Rita, Melissa (MAWA) and Ama

Rita and Celebrity News Anchor Robin Robinson

First Member-exclusive Event

Members (Wokie, Beatrice, Ama, Liz and Julia) enjoy a relaxed, cozy and fun time together.

After five years of “getting the word out,” engaging hundreds of women from over 20 different countries, and testing the waters to see what works and what doesn't, AWC launched a campaign to sign up a total of 25 paid members by December 2010.

At a little over 50 percent of its campaign goal, AWC had its first member-exclusive event on Friday, September 17. The event was held at AWC President's home. “This is like hitting the start button again,” Rita said. “The first AWC meeting began right here in this room, February 2004, and it feels good to begin a new chapter in the same space.” As always, not every member could make it due to schedule conflicts.

The meeting was meant to discuss business, as in where AWC has been and where it is headed. We were hoping to get valuable input from the members on the direction of the organization and future programming. Needless to say that business talk did not progress as planned. The relaxed and cozy home atmosphere made it difficult to want to discuss business especially after a long workday. After trying unsuccessfully to discuss serious matters, we gave up and did what we do best—socialize and have fun. We had a wonderful time.

Throughout all the chatter and laughter, we managed to review our member handbook, which includes guidelines and facts about AWC among other things. One important point of dicussion was the move from spending a lot of time and energy on organizing events to focusing on member benefits and needs. Things will start to look and feel different for AWC members and friends in the coming months and we plan to make the transition as smooth as possible while still providing unique opportunities for growth and networking.

We are excited about bringing together a talented group of women who are willing to commit to working together to take AWC to a higher level of leadership, and in the process become ambassadors for AWC mission and vision!

Beatrice and Felicia. What's a get-to-gether without good food?

Before we go...Liz, Ama, Rita, Beatrice, Mimi and the kids got in too!

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.