“I never knew there were so many Africans here,” I exclaimed as I sat in Cecilia Okafor's office in Lowell, MA.

In Lowell, African citizens are plentiful yet are nowhere to be found. They walk the streets every day but are not seen. They buy groceries from the neighborhood Market Basket, but no hand from which the money comes is seen.

How is this possible? How can someone be there and not be seen?

There is hope for African immigrants here in Lowell, and her name is Cecilia Okafor. Cecilia has just received a grant to fund the search for a new community center, the African Assistance Center. The money will certainly assist her in the quest to give Africans in Lowell a voice. In addition to offices for the staff—who help immigrants to find the social services they need––there will be an African restaurant, an African acting center, perhaps even a store selling arts and crafts. The commercial end of the Center will give the venture some financial stability as well as provide opportunities for the greater Lowell community to enjoy African culture.

According to Cecilia, the voices of African immigrants should be heard. No. Their voices must be heard.

The pleasant news of receiving this grant from the Office of Community Services makes our conversation about serving the African community all the more satisfying. During our interview, she remarks, “We must not go unnoticed. We must educate ourselves. Stand out from the rest in some way. We will be noticed if we do that.” Cecilia is a strong advocate of education, believing that education will guide Africans to a brighter future.

The statuesque speaker has little trouble being noticed, not just because of her beautifully chiseled features, but also because she has overcome the sort of “inferiority complex” that is sadly imbedded in many African immigrants. Gender does not entrap her like so many other African women. Her spirit is far too strong for that.

Why has Cecilia chosen to speak for Africans? “Nobody is there to advocate for Africans,” she laments. She feels that if they can learn the system, manipulating it to their advantage, they can succeed in this country. Cecila herself is an excellent example of what hard work can achieve.

After completing high school back in Ogidi, Nigeria, Cecilia married a man chosen by her family. Arranged marriages were common in the region where she grew up, and she did her duty in following her parents' wishes. Her husband soon left for America, returning periodically, finally bringing her back to his new home in Texas when she was just seventeen.

Denton, Texas, proved an inexpensive place to live—surely a plus for the young African couple. Yet Cecilia was dismayed by the openly racist attitudes she encountered there. When applying for jobs, she was told to her face that she would not be hired because she was “black” or because of her “accent.” Such discrimination made it hard for them to achieve their goals of a better life in America.

During the early years in the States, Cecilia worked where she could and eventually gave birth to four children. Unfortunately, after a number of years together, her marriage ended, and she faced the challenge of single parenthood.

Fifteen years ago, Cecilia moved to Lowell, Massachusetts where she began to attend Northeastern University to study nursing. While studying for her degree, she participated in a “co-op” training program with Lowell General Hospital where she worked in the surgical unit. Though she felt a calling to the health field, the actual working conditions for health care professionals were discouraging at best. Nurses were so busy––she felt she must have worn out two pairs of shoes, though she didn't finish out the three-month program. She was looking for a place to work where her voice could be heard, where she could help effect change to improve the lives of real people.

After she left the co-op, she decided to start attending a program in Health Education, this time at UMass Lowell. It was in this program of study that she found her true calling as an organizer-activist. During one of her classes, she discovered that Lowell offered no specific help for African immigrants despite a large and growing population in need of services. This lack spurred her to begin organizing the African community to give it a voice.

First, she began meeting with community members, both Africans and those in the mainstream community. She worked countless hours as an advocate for that population, getting her message across to anyone who would listen. Pastor Malone of the Eliot Church listened and enabled her to use the church to conduct some business for her budding advocacy group. Eventually a Boston Globe article appeared about her work in the African community, and it was this piece that turned the tide.

The President of the Parker Foundation (a local private foundation) had completed his Peace Corps work in Africa, and was immediately intrigued upon reading the Globe article. He instructed his aide to follow up on the story, and eventually the Parker Foundation gave Cecilia's group its first significant financial support. When she graduated in June, she had a job waiting for her in July.

The African Assistance Center was given office space and other support at Community Teamwork, Inc., and Cecilia and her growing staff (currently at five people) were able to help many African immigrants learn about job training, health services, and educational opportunities, as well as other social services. With the Community Services grant to find a building site for a new Center, the African Assistance Center is well on its way to achieving its goals of serving immigrants and raising community awareness.

While Cecilia has enjoyed great success at the Center and hopes to continue to shepherd the process of moving the Center into a new building, her long-term goals may well move her away from her present position eventually. She is currently taking graduate classes at UMass Boston towards a degree in Women in Politics and Policy. For it is in policy making that she sees her future, a place where she can continue to speak out and help make lasting change.

After years of trying to accomplish the task of bringing attention to an almost ignored group of people, one would think she would be exhausted from it. Despite the struggle, she continues her work. It is a joy to her. It is her life's destiny.

“I thank God that I'm able to do this,” she says.

One must wonder if God thanks her…