Rashida Petersen and Omolola Adele-Oso didn’t always work in philanthropy.
Petersen at one point was the East African Desk Officer for the U.S. Department of Commerce while Adele-Oso was an architect and interior designer. But both were moved by personal experiences to start their own entities that focused on garnering the power of the African diaspora to help those in need in African nations.
For Adele-Oso—who is Nigerian—the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 school girls in Chibok, Nigeria inspired her to create Act4Accountability which at first solely focused on sending those effected by the terrorist attack aid but later expanded its focus to other areas of need. “I view diaspora giving as being tied to my identity,” she said of her involvement and subsequent dedication to her new career path. “It is a way to stay connected to where I am from and recognize that I have a role in the future growth and development of my community and the continent. This means being an active participant and not a bystander or just complaining.”
Petersen, inspired by her parents’ active involvement in their community and by a trip she made to the continent, established the DIA Fund, a hybrid micro-philanthropy digital platform that connects members of the African diaspora with carefully vetted organizations in African nations. And now, after making great strides with their own entities, Petersen and Adele-Oso have teamed up to create the Diaspora Initiative to Support Youth Training, an endeavor to fight youth unemployment in Nigeria and Uganda.
Through this two-way facing new initiative hosted on the DIA Fund platform, members of the diaspora will have more opportunities to give to carefully vetted partner organizations while those same partner organizations on the continent will not only receive financial aid but also training on how to grow and sustain their work. “I want people of color to have access to resources to be able to control their own development,” said Petersen. “Long-term solutions have to come from the communities themselves.” Petersen and Adele-Oso also want to change the perception of philanthropy in Africa as well.
The perception of giving to the African continent often revolves around wealthy foreigners donating money to organizations that treat the symptoms and not the causes of a problem while Africans stand on the sidelines of their own stories and issues. “The messaging that Africa needs saving by others get under my skin; it strips people of their dignity. It is also a reminder that if you don’t tell your own stories, others with tell their stories about you,” said Adele-Oso. Petersen echoes Adele-Oso’s sentiments. “It is irritating but the bottom line is if we want to change the narrative we need to fund our own initiatives and stories.—period.” For members of the diaspora like Nigerian-American Idara Ikafia, this initiative is exactly what she’s been looking for. “I think giving in the diaspora is important because it can yield a huge ripple effect. Africans are so resourceful. Something that may seem minuscule to the giver can be instrumental in facilitating a different trajectory for the recipient,” she said. “With this new initiative, I can give and know that it’s really going to someone in need.”
