West African Community Council

Mission

Strengthen our community through advocacy, education, employment, and citizenship opportunities.

Description

Since 2013, the West African Community Council (WACC) has been helping immigrants and refugees from West Africa to thrive in the Puget Sound region. WACC began with a small group of concerned friends from the West African community who came together to offer basic ESL classes and career assistance to help newly arrived family and friends from West Africa transition to better paying jobs and access higher education in the U.S. Now serving over 4,000 individuals each year, WACC's main programs include a multilingual Seattle Pathways Preschool, a ParentChild+ Program, DSHS Family Preservation Services, Immigration Legal Services, Labor Standards Outreach and Intake, a Parent/Caregiver Support Program, family counseling, information and referral services, and case management services. WACC also provide a wide range of informal services to meet their constituents' needs including housing advocacy, financial assistance and counseling, education advocacy, tutoring, computer training, after school activities, and food assistance. WACC's mission is to advocate, organize, assist, educate and support West African community members while preserving their traditions, culture, and social, religious, and moral beliefs. WACC works toward a community in which diverse traditions are respected and honored, families are given equal opportunities and individuals are valued regardless of their country of origin, ethnicity, and gender. While WACC's primary focus population is West Africans, WACC is able to serve any and all Africans who need assistance - being cognizant and respectful of other organizations providing services to these populations. WACC's constituents are overwhelmingly low-income, limited-English speakers.

Recognition

We are forever thankful to our 16 West African Country Associations representing local West African immigrants from: Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Gambia, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo and Niger to accurately and successfully represent West African immigrants in King County.

We would also like to give a special thanks to our friends and partners at United Way, Seattle Public Schools, Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation, Seattle Preschool Program, Seattle Foundation, One America, Seattle Office of Labor Standards, Nesholm Family Foundation, The New Americans Campaign, Horn of Africa Services, Washington State Department of Social & Health Services, Washington State Department of Commerce, Seattle Department of Education & Early Learning, Washington State Department of Children Youth and Families, City of Seattle, Renton, Kent and Auburn, Best Starts for Kids, CISC, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, and many others who have helped us get to where we are today!