UAO Announces New Executive Director

The Board of Directors of United African Organization (UAO) writes to you to announce a leadership transition in United African Organization’s executive director. As you may know, Alie Kabba, our longtime staff leader, has been appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the new government of Sierra Leone. There could be no better reason for a transition, and we are so proud of him and thank him for his years of dynamic leadership in Chicago.

On behalf of the United African Organization Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Nancy Asirifi-Otchere, to the UAO executive director position.  We are delighted that she has accepted the promotion and look forward to her execution of UAO’s new three-year strategic plan and to her taking a higher profile role in the African diaspora community. As we worked to develop our new strategic plan, it became clear to us all that Nancy’s knowledge of the UAO and insight into what community members need and want from UAO is very strong. We look to her to take the organization to the next level of development, and are committed to helping her achieve that. Nancy holds an MBA from the University of Southern Denmark and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Management, and is a DOJ-accredited immigration representative. For the past nine years, she has represented the UAO in various capacities including most recently, as UAO’s program director. Her promotion is effective immediately.

The UAO is a federation of many of the local African community-based organizations as well of individuals. Over the past decade, UAO has been a vehicle for African leadership development through community organizing, policy advocacy, and community research; provided a range of family support and immigration services to community members; and helped other organizations build their capacity. It hosts annual conferences including the African Youth Forum for immigrant Africans, native-born African Americans, and other immigrant young people.

Over the past 10 months the UAO completed a new strategic plan and succession plan with generous grant support from the Polk Bros. Foundation, the Field Foundation of Illinois and the Woods Fund of Chicago. The strategic plan zeroed onto six action priority areas:

1. A community-wide assessment;
2. The engagement of more second-generation Africans;
3. Development of the organization’s advocacy and organizing initiatives.
4. Organizational development prioritizing the staff leadership succession
5. Board strengthening
6. Increasing communications and fundraising activities.

If you have questions or comments, you can reach UAO Board Chair, Godfrey Chinomona  at godfrey.chinomona@uniteafricans.org.

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African Youth Forum on March 28th

Diversity Visa Program – 2016

Online registration for the DV 2016 Program will begin on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 12:00 noon, (EDT) and will conclude on Monday, November 3, 2014 at 12:00 noon, (EDT).

For fiscal year 2016, 50,000 diversity visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register. Entries will NOT be accepted through the U.S. Postal Service.

Apply online: https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/

Documents needed to complete your E-DV entry:

• Name – last/family name, first name, middle name – exactly as on your passport.
• Birth date – day, month, year.
• Gender – male or female.
• City where you were born.
• Country where you were born
• Country of eligibility for the DV Program – Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. If you were born in a country that is not eligible, please review the Frequently Asked Questions to see if there is another way you may be eligible.
• Entrant photograph(s) – Recent photographs of yourself, your spouse, and all your children listed on your entry. See Submitting a Digital Photograph for compositional and technical specifications.

1. You do not need to include a photograph for a spouse or child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident, but you will not be penalized if you do.
2. Group photographs will not be accepted; you must submit a photograph for each individual. Your entry may be disqualified or visa refused if the photographs are not recent, have been manipulated in any way, or do not meet the specifications explained below. See Submitting a Digital Photograph for more information.

• Mailing Address –
• Phone number (optional).
• Email Address
• Highest level of education you have achieved, as of today
• Current marital status
• Number of children – List the Name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, and country of birth for all living unmarried children under 21 years of age, regardless of whether or not they are living with you or intend to accompany or follow to join you should you immigrate to the United States. Submit individual photographs of each of your children using the same technical specifications as your own photograph.

Tackling Illiteracy

“What is your favorite thing about living in the United States”, I asked one student, trying to get him to form his own thoughts instead of only wanting to read pre-written sentences. “Basketball” he said without pause. “And why is that?” I urged him. “No English”, he said. We both laughed.

Literacy can open doors—a larger job market, access to better education and health services—but it is also required for many permanent residents applying for U.S. citizenship (some people, such as permanent residents 55 years of age or older who have been in the U.S. for 15 years or more). A basic level of reading and writing in English often stands in the way of permanent residents as they go through the Naturalization process, and the Untied African Organization provides support and resources to these members of the community.

As a part of my one month internship with the UAO, I worked one-on-one with clients to develop literacy in English. During my time here, I worked with four different students, some recently arrived high school students, some adults who had already been living in the States for more than 20 years.

The United African Organization serves a diverse community of clients, so my students’ levels varied greatly, from more advanced students who wanted to review citizenship interview questions like separation of powers and the Bill of Rights, to clients who were not even literate in their native language and had to start with learning the ABCs.

It was incredible to see the tenacity of some of these people, unfazed by the daunting task ahead, and the progress they are able to make in such short periods, especially considering the responsibilities that demand their attention outside of our short one to two hour lessons.

If you know someone in need of literacy support or who needs to review for the naturalization interview questions, please send them to our offices.

Volunteers interested in helping to develop literacy in the African immigrant community can contact the Nancy at volunteer@uniteafricans.org.