African Leadership Refugee Ministry has worked with so many individuals from the different countries of Africa - including Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Togo and Equatorial Guinea. We would love for you to acknowledge them in your midst, as they are the ones bagging your groceries at the store. They are the ones greeting you at the airport. Do not be ashamed to say hello to those that are different than you.
If you never heard anything about the ”Lost Boys” of Sudan, I am sure you’ve heard of the instability in Darfur, Sudan. In 2000, our ministry started working with a group of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, the name given to those that were orphaned in the 1980s as they were misplaced by the civil war in Sudan. In the early 2000, they were being settled in the United States in massive numbers; according to the BBC world news report, approximately 3,800 were settled in the United States. The “Lost Boys” - so called because they had to fend for themselves without parents or elders - set out on an extraordinary journey across Africa that took them to Ethiopia, back to Sudan and to refugee camps in Kenya. Nashville became home to almost 200 of them. These boys have gone through so many struggles that one has to appreciate their amazing hope that made them not give up on life. Many of the boys who have settled in Tennessee have called William Mwizerwa their father as he did everything in his power to help them and make sure that they did not get lost in the shuffle of their new environment. Today, we are happy to report that all these boys are stable and happy in their new home here in Nashville. They have graduated from college or community college, they are getting married and some are even getting a chance to make a difference in their country. If you would like for a “Lost Boy” to come and share his story at your school, please contact us.
The story of the Somali Bantus is the one that most people are not familiar with, as this is a group that did not get a lot of the media attention in most corners of the world. The Somali Bantus, also known as the Jareer or Gosha, are a part of the minority group in southern Somalia that has been subjected into slavery for the longest time. They have endured discrimination and subjugation in Somalia for 200 years. During the recent war in Somalia, the Bantu were again the victims of violence in that country. According to one news article on the Somali Bantus, during the Somalia civil war, many Bantus were evicted from their lands by various armed groups of Somali clans. Fearing war and famine, tens of thousands of Bantus fled to refugee camps in their neighboring country, Kenya. In the year 2000, the United States classified the Bantu as a priority and began preparations for resettlement to select cities throughout the United States. Around 12,000 Bantu were resettled to the U.S. with the help of the UNHCR, and Nashville became home to approximately 500 Somali Bantu refugees. African Leadership Refugee Ministry has worked with this group in so many different ways since they were settled, but mostly focusing on education and by helping them assimilate to their new environment.
The country of Ethiopia - also called the “Horn of Africa” - endured a long civil war lasting from 1975 to 2002. Ethiopia is the one country in Africa that’s never been colonized; it is still one of the ancient countries that has managed to keep out the western influences.  Today, Ethiopia is striving to be a stable country in every way possible, repairing the social fabrics of the country that were destroyed during the 27 years of war. During their civil war, Ethiopians fled to neighboring countries in massive numbers, and the UNHCR settled them in different western countries. Nashville is home to so many Ethiopians with some of the best Ethiopian restaurants as well.
The country of Somalia has been suffering from a civil war since 1991. The country of Somalia is a part of the African Arab Countries, and Islam is the predominant religion. Most Somalians resettled in their neighboring countries, with Kenya and Uganda hosting most of them. Nashville is now home to many Somalians.