Washington — Fourteen Americans with roots in East Africa went to the White House January 30 to accept honors as “Champions of Change.”
The Obama administration said the men and women were honored for their efforts to build stronger communities across the United States. But with blood ties to a continent in need, they also have had an impact in providing assistance to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa and promoting other development programs in the region.
Champions of Change is an ongoing White House program organized under the slogan “Winning the future across America.” Inviting nominations on the White House website, the program honors ordinary people applying ideas, innovation and action to achieve positive change in their communities. Educators, entrepreneurs, community activists, faith leaders and others have been named champions.
Some of the African-American individuals honored January 30 and their achievements are highlighted below.
Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg is the founder and executive director of Akili Dada, an organization focused on young African women that prepares them to become decisionmakers and take leadership roles in their communities and nations. “What we’re doing is building out a pipeline of educated, well-networked and empowered African women who can really speak to some of the pressing issues of the continent and the world,” Kamau-Rutenberg said at the White House event. Akili Dada is working in Kenya with girls and young women who are already concerned about social change. The organization mentors and provides scholarships to transform its protégés into leaders.
Kamau-Rutenberg is an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco, working on the politics of philanthropy, gender, Africa, ethnicity and democratization.
Christine Martey-Ochola, a native of Kenya, is co-founder of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce, an organization that facilitates trade and investment with Africa. Under her direction, the organization has facilitated U.S. business entry into multiple African countries. She also has had a successful academic career teaching biochemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry, in addition to conducting research on cancer therapies.
In founding the commerce organization, she writes on the Champions of Change blog, she and associates knew they had to change the perception of doing business in Africa. “Many are not cognizant of the African designers working for the coveted Italian, French or even American branded lines using African leather and organic cotton, nor is there a realization of the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities all over the continent. The burgeoning middle class with high buying power is always missed,” Martey-Ochola wrote.
Tsehaye Teferra, a native of Ethiopia, became a linguist and professor and taught at Howard University in Washington. He is also founder and president of the Ethiopian Community Development Council Inc. The governing body of Arlington County, Virginia, recognized Teferra’s achievements and community spirit when he was asked to serve on the Arlington Multicultural Commission and the county’s Diversity Dialogue Task Force. He describes the council’s activities: “ECDC’s Enterprise Development Group … provides financial resources and support services to individuals, families, and small businesses in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to help them achieve their entrepreneurial dreams,” Teferra wrote on the blog.
Fatima Hassan is a co-founder of Iftiin, the Somali forum for leadership and development connecting professionals, students and communities in the global Somali diaspora. When the humanitarian emergency began in East Africa in midyear 2011, Iftiin mobilized awareness campaigns and helped raise thousands of dollars for aid organizations. She wrote, “I reached out to my networks to raise awareness about the crisis and organized nation-wide fundraisers with other volunteers. Iftiin members reached out to aid groups, hospitals and experts in Southern Somalia to inform our fund-raising efforts, and learn of avenues to reach vulnerable children. Together, we raised thousands of dollars and coordinated one of the first aid convoys inside extremist controlled territory.”
TMS Ruge grew up in Uganda, Kenya and the United States, and serves as the lead social media strategist for the Connect4Climate campaign at the World Bank. In 2007, he co-founded Project Diaspora, an online platform for mobilizing and engaging the African diaspora in matters important to development. A technology enthusiast, Ruge writes and speaks extensively on Africa’s technology-driven renaissance and contributes to CNN, PopTech and the Globe and Mail.
He wrote on the White House blog about his hopes for the future Africa he sees taking shape. “When I consider its relative youth (40 percent under the age of 15), the rise of mobile connectivity, and the powerful tandem of the diaspora’s intellectual capacity and financial muscle, it is hard not to imagine that a renaissance is at hand and the possibilities are boundless,” Ruge wrote.
Meet the rest of the Champions of Change at http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions.
