Deeq Abdi
African Community Council (ACC) is a registered Canadian non-profit organization. It was set up in the year 2006 as a family reunification project and was turned into a full-fledged non-profit organization in 2008.
In August,2017 ACC turned 11 years old. The growing population of the minority community in London seeks support from such organizations.
ACC was established by only 7 people but today the members have grown to 326. All the volunteers working for ACC are highly passionate, committed and hardworking towards their work. Their sole motive is to support and help the immigrants and refugees in the Forest City.
The organization and its members make sure that each individual who is the newcomer in the city doesn’t feel like an outsider. They create an atmosphere filled with love, motivation, dedication and encouragement around the people. ACC runs on donations ,each penny is spent on the refugees and immigrants in need.
African Community Council supports its members emotionally, mentally, socially, and financially.
- ACC provides counseling services
- It provides educational services
- Provides translation services
- Offers employment training and job search services
Most of the people who are new to North American cultural values and lifestyle , for them ACC acts like a support system and a helping hand.
“Language is the biggest challenge to deal with, we all come from different countries and a lot of us don’t even understand each other”. Says the President of ACC , Deeq Abdi. “Africa has 54 countries and each country has its own language like Swahili, Somali, Amaharic, Tingrenia”.
Communication in English is very important for the person who wants to survive in Canada. Language barrier is one of the biggest challenge that every outsider faces.
ACC guides and walks the immigrants through the employment process.
” I’m hopeful that the city of London will provide more job opportunities for our community in the near future.” says Deeq Abdi. He further elaborates that the government should encourage and show more support in favor of such organizations to help the people as the ACC is running on donations and volunteer work only. “We have a long way to go”, he adds.
The African Community Council plays an important role when it comes to celebration of various events like Black History Month, Canada Day, London Cultural Day and even in sports like soccer.
“It’s not just an organization , it’s a grand family which shares a special bond”. said Deeq Abdi.
