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African
Families Health Initiative helps refugees adjust to new lives
"A stranger in a strange land"….it's not just
a literary reference. In San Diego County more than 28,000
African refugees have fled the conflict in their homeland
to come together half a world away to build new lives for
themselves and their families.
Under
the sponsorship of the San Diego Urban League, five community-based
agencies serving the African population have joined together
to form the African Families Health Initiative (AFHI) to provide
health and social services to all African immigrants and help
break down old barriers to unity.
SDG&E
is working with AFHI to make sure that these new residents
know about its assistance programs and services, as well as
helping them apply. Opportunities this past year allowed SDG&E
to work with this unique network, share energy information
with immigrants in their own language and support the organizations
that assist them.
Health
fair brings together a wide array of agencies
This past October, SDG&E sponsored the second annual African
Families Community Health Fair where residents were able to
exchange old incandescent bulbs and halogen lamps for new,
safe, energy-efficient bulbs. The fair also brought together
39 other agencies that provide free services, including HIV
and blood pressure testing, flu shots and a host of other
valuable services.
SDG&E
material available in African languages
As part of the event AFHI translated SDG&E's CARE application
into the five African languages most commonly spoken in San
Diego: Somali, Eritrean, Arabic, Amharic and Dinka. SDG&E
representatives and agency volunteers also helped those attending
the fair to apply for CARE and other services that help them
save energy and money, in addition to reinforcing safety around
gas and electricity.
The
agencies of the AFHI—Horn of Africa, African Women's
Organization, Ethiopian Community, Eritrean Community Services,
Sudanese Community Association, and the San Diego Urban League—look
forward to other partnership events and opportunities in 2003.
Contact
SDG&E's Susan La Flam at 858.636.5788 or slaflam@semprautilities.com
if you're interested in working with AFHI on an upcoming event.
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