Africa House Brings Community Together

Ribbon Cutting. Pictured from left are Djimet Dogo (from Chad) – Africa House coordinator; Karifa Koroma (from West Africa), chairman of the Africa House advisory board; IRCO board president Duke Tran (Vietnamese immigrant); and Sokhom Tauch, IRCO executive director (former refugee from Cambodia).

The new Africa House Refugee Center, located in the Montavilla neighborhood, drew community leaders, volunteers and African refugees and families to its Open House and Ribbon Cutting. The latest accomplishment of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), Africa House provides culturally specific services to African refugee families.

Karifa Koroma, chairman of Africa House’s 16-person advisory board, and IRCO executive director Sokhom Tauch will be profiled in the next edition of Colors of Influence.

In recent years, the African population in the Portland metro area has grown considerably. More than 20,000 Africans from 25 different countries now make Portland their home.

Africa House is a multilingual community-based center that provides African refugees a family-focused access to services, such as job training, health education, referral for social and support services, family intervention and leadership workshops, community engagement, among other services.

Asian community leaders were among those celebrating the grand opening of Africa House. Organizers say Africa House follows the same model that has worked well for IRCO’s Asian Family Center, established in 1989 to serve refugees from Southeast Asian countries. The first family center of its kind in Multnomah County, the Asian Family Center was specifically designed to meet the unique cultural and language needs of Asian Pacific Islander youth and families.

Africa House volunteers are proud to work in a one-stop resource center for African refugees and families.

Guests and community members share African cuisine at the Open House.

Africa House Refugee Center is located at 8535 SE Stark in Portland. For more info, call 503-802-0082 or visit the IRCO website.

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