Farrah Khan, left, mayor of Irvine, speaks through the kickoff launch of the SAMENA Collective, South Asian, Center Jap and North African, a gaggle of 17 native non-profit organizations, on the Entry California Providers in Anaheim on Friday, July 19, 2024. (Picture by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A brand new group in Orange County is concentrated on championing the pursuits of South Asian, Center Jap and North African communities.
The SAMENA Collective, comprised of 17 nonprofit businesses in Orange County, advocates, creates insurance policies, collects knowledge and shares sources for underserved South Asian, Center Jap and North African communities, SAMENA Collective spokesperson Rida Hamida mentioned.
The group additionally gives psychological well being help tailor-made particularly to members of the SAMENA neighborhood who expertise discrimination and isolation, Hamida mentioned. Moreover, the group addresses housing points and serves as a collective voice for neighborhood wants.
“SAMENA Collective is a testomony to the dedication of the organizations which have been on the forefront of serving and advocating for our South Asian, Center Jap and North African residents,” OC Supervisor Doug Chaffee mentioned.
Native SAMENA communities have been underserved, Nahla Kayali, founding father of SAMENA mentioned.
“For much too lengthy, SAMENA communities have confronted systemic neglect and underrepresentation,” Kayali mentioned. “However in the present day, we stand at a historic time, to make sure that our SAMENA neighborhood receives the popularity, sources and illustration they rightfully deserve.”
In accordance with 2020 census knowledge, 102,916 Orange County residents are Center Jap or North African and 76,814 are South Asian.
“The time is correct now to make sure fairness and illustration for our SAMENA neighborhood, whose contributions have been woven into the material of Southern California for over a century,” Kayali mentioned.
The brand new group is actively on the lookout for volunteers, members and donators, SAMENA Collective Membership Chairman Wali Qazizada mentioned. To study extra about how you can take part, go to the group’s web site, www.samenaoc.org.
The SAMENA Collective launched on Friday with a press convention the place the completely different nonprofits introduced their contributions to the collective. Native authorities officers, together with Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan and Anaheim Councilmember Stephen Feassel, have been additionally current.
The nonprofits that make up the SAMENA Collective embrace Entry California Providers, Arab American Civic Council, Council on American Islamic Relations, Group Nexus and World Hope 365. The complete checklist of nonprofits might be discovered on SAMENA’s web site.
By way of these companions, the SAMENA Collective’s mission is to “advance fairness, illustration and high quality of lifetime of the SAMENA neighborhood by means of advocacy, useful resource growth and strengthening of companies,” in keeping with the group’s web site.
