Programs aim to aid West African youths, elders

PROVIDENCE – Higher Ground International has launched two programs for youth and elders in the city’s West African immigrant communities to kick off the new year.
“Picking Up the Pieces” is a workforce development program for youth and young adults from West African immigrant families in Providence. It is funded in part by a recently announced grant from the Rhode Island Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Initiative. Serving at-risk young people ages 16-26, the six-week program prepares them for employment and community leadership through job training, soft skills development and mentorship.
“Our programs are growing because the need within our community is great and the opportunity to make an impact is very real,” said HGI founder/CEO Henrietta White-Holder, who arrived in Providence from Liberia as a teenager.
“There is a cultural gap for services among our population that is simply not being bridged through other programs,” she added. “We are reaching people who wouldn’t otherwise get the help they need, and it’s very encouraging that organizations like the Rhode Island Foundation value this opportunity to help a population that is underserved even among underserved populations.”
Another new program, “Sweetie Care Enrichment,” is a day service program for African immigrants 60 years and older at HGI’s Rukiya Center on the South Side of Providence. It is named for “Sweetie,” the organization’s matriarch and inspiration in the rural village of Arthington, Liberia.
HGI will provide services in the context of African traditions to create a welcoming place for immigrant elders who may find themselves isolated or lonely in their adopted home. The program enables elders to socialize with peers of similar cultural backgrounds, while HGI staff is able to offer care and resources for them to maintain a vibrant quality of life.
Higher Ground International is a nonprofit that works to restore dignity, empower lives, and keep peace while improving the lives of people living in the rural villages of West Africa, and providing meaningful opportunities for workforce and community development here.

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