The Canada For Africa Group (CFA) members have been occupied the whole summer 2020 putting together strategies to cope with COVID 19 crisis. From volunteering in food bank distribution to supporting vulnerable groups to helping international students or learning new skills, the African diaspora has been present in their respective communities, front and centre.
A quick snapshot of what has been happening:
Mentorship as in community building
From March 2020, our very own CFA community leader Rokhaya Gueye has built a virtual platform for professional women who offer seminars, coaching and mentoring sessions in diverse skills ranging from business start-ups, grant writing, event planning, counselling, etc. this network has close to 100 subscribers who share ideas, mentor and coach their peers online on a regular basis.
Our members are experts in their own right
Sahada Alolo, Co-chair of the Canada For Africa Group, also Chair of the Community Equity Council of the Ottawa Police has been working with the Ottawa Police leadership to advance equity diversity and inclusion in their institution. She also spent volunteer time in supporting Yvette Ashiri team, a black female candidate to be elected to Ottawa city council. Yvette Ashiri, along with Lyse-Pascale Inamuco were two black female candidates in the by-elections to fill the city of Ottawa Cumberland Ward seat.
CFA media advisor, Janvier Nahimana, has been a key player in talking to allies, friends of Africa. Through Mutcho Creative Studio, we will work hard to reach more voices in connecting African diaspora communities across and beyond Canada. Some of those voices will be featured on our website regularly. Among those is Geoff Regan, Member of Parliament, Halifax West who talked to Janvier Nahimana in September 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neJ62ZQtZHE&list=PLw6K3c-MprdjV2cf0RIiZOT3DXnYs4o5B&index=2&t=1084s
CFA senior advisor, Prime Nyamoya has been busy providing weekly columns on CHOQ FM 105.1, Toronto, reflecting on different subjects on the world economy. We have a few selection to share:
https://choqfm.ca/chronique/economie-les-pme-au-bord-de-lasphyxie-face-au-covid/
https://choqfm.ca/chronique/economie-limpact-du-recul-de-limmigration-sur-leconomie-canadienne/
https://choqfm.ca/chronique/economie-pourquoi-les-bourses-mondiales-progressent-malgre-la-crise/
CFA business advisor Dodji Ousmane and her company Stimugro Inc were actively involved in several projects to help communities in Hamilton Ontario, and in communities in Tchad, central Africa:
Networking, Networking and Networking ….
We have been mostly busy with building and strengthening our own network to connect better with Africa!
Highlights of encounters during the summer include:
- International Peace and Security issues are at the center of CFA-CPA advocacy. Initiatives to connect and join efforts with the Women, Peace and Security Network Canada (WPSN-C) were fruitful and will be essential in advancing women leadership in Canada’s engagement in peace processes in the world, and in Africa particularly.
- Virtual consultations have been happening on a weekly basis, meeting and sharing information with various community organizations within the diaspora among others. 613-819 Black Hub, the Alliance des Burundais du Canada; The African Canadian Association of Ottawa (ACAO) and Burundi We Want have shined in their service to diaspora communities during this pandemic.
- Building bridges with other organizations in Africa: Green String, a Kenya-based organization will be one of our partners in connecting Canadians to East Africa. Amahoro International, based in Uganda will also join efforts in building leadership skills of the African youth living in refugee camps.
- We connected with other organizations whose focus is also on Canada-Africa collaboration: We attended the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business events including “The Africa Free Trade Opportunity”; “Provisions & Opportunities for Canadian Business” with Minister Mary Eng and McKinsey & Company, and the “Enabling broad-based Canada-Africa Trade and Investment”. We keep an eye on the valuable information sessions offered by the Institute on Governance to keep abreast of international policies shaping the world with the COVID 19 pandemic. Our members participated in several meetings held by government officials, including the briefing by the Prime Minister on his trip to Africa earlier this year.
- Stay tuned for more news from Canada For Africa Group (CFA)!!!
Connect with us on twitter @canafgroup.ca-