A new movement in Waterloo, the Harambee Coalition, is focusing on the successes and issues of African-American families.
It started with newspaper articles during Black History month. Madelyn Ridgeway and Donna Andrusyk, Iowa State University Extension field specialists, read quotes and statistics that confirmed what they knew from working with Black Hawk County’s African-American families.
“These families have great parenting and co-parenting needs that were evident in these articles,” Ridgeway said. “Reading them encouraged me to explore ways to build capacity among local service organizations.”
Julie Pitzen, director of Family and Children’s Council of Black Hawk County Inc., read the articles too, and began seeking funding to learn more about the needs of the county’s African-American families.
“The articles highlighted issues that our organization can address through the direct parent education we offer,” Pitzen said. “But we need the buy-in of the families. We need to hear from them, learn what they see as needs and then bring together agencies and build services around those needs.”
That is Harambee — a Swahili word that literally means pulling together; in East Africa it describes efforts that build and maintain communities.
Ridgeway and Pitzen are pulling together with representatives of the Jesse Cosby Neighborhood Center, Jubilee United Methodist Church, Cedar Valley’s Promise, Neighborhood Hub Center, University of Northern Iowa and Eastside Ministerial Alliance to form the Harambee Coalition. They are looking at ways to coordinate services and are focused on discovering the needs of Black Hawk County African-American families. With funding applications pending, they plan to answer the increasing demand for specialized, family focused educational programming and advocacy services that will strengthen African-American families and assist youth in directing their energies toward positive growth opportunities.
“With improved communications, the Cedar Valley community can become a place of compassionate support,” said Rev. Dwight Webster of the Methodist Church. “The Harambee Coalition network can help us become people engaged in making our community a better place to live.”
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