 "Photo: Willie Pace/Echo staff photographer")
The Association of Students for a Better Africa will hold its annual African Week on April 11-16. The theme of the event, which is free and open to the public, is "Harambee" — Swahili for "all pull together."
The association, which was founded in 2006 and has 30 members, coordinates its activities with other area Africa organizations from Duke, UNC Greensboro, East Carolina and N.C. State universities.
Events will include daily quizzes on African history, traditional dance and music, and panel discussions featuring key issues affecting Africa today. One panel will discuss recent developments in North Africa, including Egypt, where the struggle for women's rights prevails.
The event will feature skits to highlight commonly held stereotypes about Africans and their continent.
African Week events conclude Saturday with a fashion show featuring traditional dress and a free dinner featuring traditional cuisine at B.N. Duke Auditorium.
McSwain Forkoh, ASFABA president, said the association's mission is to increase awareness of Africa at N.C. Central University and across the Triangle. According to Forkoh, about 300 people attended last year's event.
"We want to exhibit the cultures of our fathers in order to educate our fellow students on the campus of NCCU," said Forkoh, who came from Liberia to study business administration at NCCU.
"We also want to aid African countries in the areas of health, education, and living."
The association's adviser, Masila Mutisya, said he took up the position because he loved what the organization stands for.
"It is important to have an intercultural, intracultural and cross cultural understanding of your culture as an African," said Mutisya. "ASFABA gives international students a sense of belonging when they feel alienated."
In addition to promoting awareness of Africa, the association raises funds and accepts donations to support African organizations.
Last year ASFABA donated books to an elementary school in Ghana. This year they are raising funds to donate mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of malaria.
"It is great to be a member of ASFABA. It is wonderful to be able to share African stories with people who can relate to it," said business administration junior William Osoro, a Kenyan.
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