UAU—Cultivating African Unity and Prosperity in Utah
Let's bring the colors of Africa to life in Utah!
The United Africans of Utah (UAU) was initiated in June 2006 by a small group of individuals and African community leaders from Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan in response to the numerous challenges facing African refugees and immigrants in our effort to integrate the larger Utah community and maximize our potential for becoming assets rather than liabilities for the host society. Due to the highly heterogeneous Utah African communities’ need to unite and speak for ourselves in one voice, the UAU quickly gain the support of leaders and individual members of other African refugee and immigrant groups living in Utah, including Burkinabe, Burundians, Chadians, Congolese, Eritreans, Ivoirians, Gambians, Ghanaians, Liberians, Mauritanians, Rwandese, Somali Bantus, and Togolese. The first UAU steering community was elected on August 20, 2006. This committee wrote the bylaws of the association and later organized the election of a new Executive Office on August 12, 2008. Membership in the organization is voluntary and remains open to all Africans as well as any individuals or groups who are interested in the welfare of Africans in Utah.
Since its inception, UAU has continuously advocated for its most vulnerable members: new refugees, women, children, and the youth. Our most recent activities have included a Cultural Competency project that is currently taking shape in partnership with the Centenary United Methodist Church, the organization and mentoring of community groups for good leadership and capacity building, the “Karibu” (welcoming) project, which specifically targets women and infants, the community health education project, and the summer soccer tournament for youth. UAU Executive Office has several women in leadership positions, including the Vice Presidency.