Helen Agbonison has loved her life in St. Albert since she and her family came to Canada in 2010. It’s a long way from her hometown of Eket, a city of 365,000 people near the southern coast in Nigeria.
This is her new home.
“It's a beautiful place with very nice and kind people. We like calling St. Albert home,” she said.
She’s not alone. According to 2016 census statistics, there were 520 respondents who considered themselves to be African immigrants living in the city and 975 people of African origin. Those numbers have prompted Agbonison to reach out to other Africans and people of African descent with an evening festival event this weekend.
“I have found that, over the years, the number of Africans and African descendants in St. Albert has increased, and I believe lots of people in Canada do not know so much about Africa. I’m trying to bring us together for all to get know ourselves and look for ways where we could tell our stories so that the people of St. Albert will see the beauty and the colour that is Africa,” she continued.
“This festival is to come together and see how we could project Africa to the people in St. Albert through different kinds of events later on in the future.”
The event will start with a bit of time set aside for everyone to introduce themselves as there will certainly be many new faces, she said – faces she hopes will soon become more and more familiar.
Immediately after, they will participate in that time-honoured tradition when large groups of people come together in the spirit of harmony and community: they will eat. Many attendees have already planned to bring different foods from different African countries for a grand potluck feast.
After the meal, Agbonison will open up a discussion session on the more serious subject of starting an association.
“Do they want us to continue doing something like this, and if yes, what kind of events will they really want us to do? We will also seek ways to support each other. We’ll be trying to get ideas. There might be people looking for playdates for their kids. We have a lady that adopted a child from South Africa and she was so happy that she would like to bring her child to have playdates with other African kids.”
At the very least, the gathering will help to bring Africans together for a stronger sense of community and companionship. As people become more and more familiar with each other, friendships will develop and people can plan their own social activities, such as shopping.
“If you see somebody familiar, it is easier for you to go for a walk or do different things. We will also be looking for ways to give back to this beautiful community that we now call our home.”
She has been getting lots of positive feedback affirming there is a desire and a need for an organization of this type in the city.
“We are so many,” she exclaimed, noting that the confirmed attendance is already at around 75 adults and about the same number of children.
After the discussion, there will be time for games from “back home” including mancala and ludo while the kids play soccer.
Agbonison also hopes to host more events in the future where the whole city can come together and be introduced to the growing number of African residents.
The Evening in the Park for Africans and African Descents takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 25, in Lions Park. People can call Agbonison at 780-850-0978 for more information, or join the ‘Africans & African Descents in St. Albert’ group on Facebook.
