About AFRICOM
CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
Greetings and welcome to AFRICOM online!
The Greater Philadelphia area is home to over 100,000 African immigrants from almost every country on the continent. Since the 1960s, many African communities have established organizations to maintain social and cultural ties and to assist newcomers. In May 2001, fifteen associations - representing Pan-African groups as well as nationalities from Cote D'Ivoire, Eritrea, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Zimbabwe - founded the Coalition of African Communities - Philadelphia (AFRICOM).
AFRICOM's mission is to empower the African refugee and immigrant communities by:
- Facilitating family access to health and social services, with special focus on women, children and the youth,
- Promoting economic development,
- Facilitating resolution of inter- and intra-group conflicts,
- Advocating on issues of concern to African communities, and
- Educating the media and broader public on African cultures and experiences.
The Coalition proactively seeks and develops partnerships with non-profit, public, private, educational and African American institutions in the Greater Philadelphia area to achieve its mission.
A good portion of the organization's time is devoted to the delivery of programs and services geared towards the integration of African refugees and immigrants into the American culture, society and educational system.
The main objective is to facilitate integration of youth, children and families among African communities in the Greater Philadelphia area.
AFRICOM will assist African refugee- and immigrant-based communities and organizations; build organizational capability to assume proactive role and effectively support the legal resettlement and adjustment process of African refugees and other immigrants in Pennsylvania and the United States in general. Refugee resettlement will be facilitated through grants from various agencies, NGO's and foundations.
As part of this activity, AFRICOM will develop and implement programs and services in the areas of employment and job training; education and enrichment for women, children, youth, and adults; and housing assistance.
In addition, the organization will ensure that African refugees and immigrants are assisted to attain self-sufficiency shortly upon their arrival in Pennsylvania; provide linguistic- and culture-appropriate support services and employment to them; and ensure coordination of public medical, cash and other support services and effectively promote and encourage their early self-sustenance.
Executive Officers
Board of Directors
| Name & Position | Business Title & Affiliation |
| Mr. Giordani Jean-Baptiste CHAIRMAN |
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Mr. Emmanuel Uso |
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| Mr. Lumbo Salomon 2nd VICE CHAIR |
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Dr. Susanna J. Dodgson |
publisher@mjota.org |
| Mrs. Zemoria Brandon TREASURER |
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Board Members
| Name | Business Title & Affiliation |
| Dr. Philip Udo-Inyang Board Member |
Associate Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering Temple University 1947 N. 12th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 Website: www.temple.edu/engineering Email: pudoinyang@africom-philly.org |
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