Mayor Bowser Announces FY2020 African Community Grant Awards

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Bowser and the Mayor’s Office on African Affairs (MOAA) awarded a combined $100,000 in grant funding to 11 community-based organizations that serve Washington, DC’s African residents.

“As a city that values and embraces our diversity, we are proud to partner with these community-based organizations that are advancing DC values and helping us build a safer, stronger, and more inclusive Washington, DC,” said Mayor Bowser.

The following organizations and programs will receive renewed funding for FY20:

• African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association will use Community Health Cultural Ambassadors to provide cancer outreach and screenings.
• Asylum Seekers Assistance Project will connect African asylum seekers to the knowledge, skills, and professional connections necessary to secure and retain safe, legal, and meaningful work.
• Ethiopian Community Center, Inc. will provide cultural and linguistically enriched summer programs to Ethiopian children and youth.
• Hepatitis B Initiative of Washington, D.C. will provide outreach, screening, education and linkages to health care to reduce Hepatitis B and C infections and liver cancer rates among Africans.
• KanKouran West African Dance Company will produce the 37th Annual African Dance conference, “Visit Casamance.”
• Life Asset will provide microloans and training to low income African entrepreneurs.
• Mary’s Center will provide teens with the skills they need to pursue post-secondary education.
• Multicultural Community Services will train community interpreters to provide African-language translation services.
• Renaissance Center for Culture and Education will engage children and their families through a culturally tailored after-school STEM, homework assistance, and nutrition program as well as a summer camp program.
• Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International will provide career services and assist African born residents in securing meaningful employment.
• Your Ethiopian Professionals Network will provide STEM training for newly-arrived young African immigrants.

The grant funding is aligned with the Bowser Administration’s priorities and is intended to enhance existing community programs focused on workforce and economic development, health and human services, youth engagement and education, and the promotion of African arts, culture, and the humanities.