It was January 17th
and it was a wet day outside amid the
uncomfortable whether conditions, the executive
leadership of FELMAUSA headed by the president
went to
New York to meet with
the officials and members of ONYMA in a well
attended meeting. The president was accompanied
by the Vice president of operations Hon. Joseph
Sackor and the Secretary General Phamolie Morris
Kromah. Her Majesty Siasia Kromah was also a
part of the delegation.
As part of his commitment
to chapter empowerment, the president and
delegation met with the leadership of ONYMA to
craft new ideas and strategies in which the
chapter can be empowered which will ultimately
mean a stronger federation. The meeting brought
together an array of individuals who were
attending ONYMA meeting as well as the baby
naming ceremony of the Vice President for
Administration of FELMAUSA Mr. Mohammed S.
Kromah.
The meeting which was held
in an open forum style to hear the views of the
membership of ONYMA as to what direction they
would like to see the federation go and what the
federation could do to address some of the needs
of the ONYMA chapters. Among some of the
concerns raised by the ONYMA membership were:
- Immigration- because
of the increase number of individuals
incarcerated due to immigration problems,
ONYMA membership felt the need for the
federation to find a way in which it can
help with writing letters, obtaining
immigration lawyers, and even visiting with
members of the Mandingo Community that are
currently incarcerated.
- Employment- the ONYMA
community also challenged the executive
leadership of FELMAUSA find a way in which
the felmausa website can be used as a
resource for employment. One renowned member
of ONYMA Mr. Moriken Kenneh challenged the
FELMAUSA executive to establish an
employment bank which will be used to help
other people obtain employment in different
geographical locations in the states.
- Education- the
leadership of ONYMA asked the federation to
provide some help if any to motivate other
members of their chapter seek higher
education. The president Famod Konneh asked
the federation to be very assertive in the
area of education.
The
president of the Federation Hon. Mohammed Dukuly
welcomed the ideas and suggestions put forth by
the membership of ONYMA and asked them to
continue to support their current leadership. He
reiterated his leadership commitment to
education, legal services and immigration. He
reminded the body that his team of executives
was willing to conduct periodic trainings and
workshops in collaborations with the leadership
of ONYMA on educational tools, grants and
scholarship and various options to get in
school.
For their part, the
executive leadership also challenged ONYMA and
its membership among other things to adopt a
comprehensive constitution that will reflect the
vision of the federation. The V.P. for
operations also asked the leadership of ONYMA
engage in small but meaningful projects that
will benefit the local community. Such project
could range from cleaning up campaign to
mentoring. The president also cautioned the body
of ONYMA to aggressively engage their local
government. The meeting was climax with a
farewell from the body of ONYMA to the executive
of FELMAUSA.
