Vision Statement

The mission of African Challenges Corporation is to serve as an information, networking, and referral organization connecting new African immigrants and refugees to jobs, housing, health care, legal, educational, banking resources and other professional and social services in the state of Minnesota. By acting as a cultural bridge between recent immigrants and long-time residents, African Challenges Corporation can smooth out the many transitional challenges that immigrants face, thereby decreasing the time that it takes for them to feel at home in their new environment and accelerating them to become active, productive residents.

History

African Immigrants and refugees face a number of challenges as they begin to live in the United States. They need a safe, trusted resource to link them to available services and resources. An organization serving immigrant health issues (African Health Action) was repeatedly challenged with requests for other non-medical help:

• Where can I find affordable housing?
• What training do I need to gain decent employment?
• Where can I get help with immigration issues?

Other issues of high concern included transportation, need of translators, food, etc.

Out of these real life requests for help, emerged African Challenges Corporation.

In 2007, African Challenges Corporation began to serve as an informational, networking, and referral based organization connecting new African immigrants and refugees to jobs, housing, health care, legal, educational, banking resources and other professional and social services in the state of Minnesota. Since 2007, we have made several significant changes through our organization and are expanding on a daily basis. As African Challenges Corporation continues to grow, we continue to add more referalls and information to our database to better serve our community. African Challenges continues to confront the challenge of immigration to Minnesota, and we WILL create a pathway for you.

Statement of Need

The demographics of Minnesota’s population is changing. Minnesota is now home to the largest Hmong population in the United States, the largest Somali population in the world outside of Somalia, and the largest populations of Ethiopians and Tibetans in the U.S. Minnesota also has the highest percentage of refugees among its immigrants of any state in the U.S. (three times higher than the U.S. average). Even more amazing is the fact that if immigrants move a second time after arriving in the United States, Minnesota is their number one destination!

In the last thirty years, Minnesota has seen three major trends with respect to immigration. Southeast Asians came to Minnesota in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of the Vietnam war. Russians, Bosnians, Croatians came to Minnesota in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Beginning in the mid 1990s and continuing today, Minnesota is becoming the home of large numbers of immigrants and refugees from Africa.

In 2000, Minnesota ranked tenth in the nation with respect to African immigrants. However, between 2000 and 2006, Minnesota’s African immigrant population increased 85 percent – the fastest such growth rate among all U.S. states with a substantial number of African immigrants. As a result, Minnesota’s African American population is growing five times faster than the nation as a whole.

Board of Directors

One of the ways African Challenges Corporation shows uniqueness is through its dynamic, diverse, and dedicated board of directors. ACC’s board of directors is composed of a team of people from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, and experiences but with same vision, aspirations, and beliefs.

Executive Director
Alain Foiding
alain@africanchallenges.org

Board Of Director Members (Directors)
Christian Alintah
christian@africanchallenges.org

Mohamed Sarbah
mohamed@@africanchallenges.org

Hugues Wamba
hugues@africanchallenges.org

Famatta Hayes
famatta@africanchallenges.org

Deumeni Dieudonne
deumeni@africanchallenges.org

Special Committee
Pascal Tchami
pascal@africanchallenges.org

Achille Tiam
achille@africanchallenges.org