Salome Mbugua of AkiDwA is director of the African diaspora organisation Wezesha.

By Tim Harkins

A project mapping the African diaspora aims “to show who Africans in Ireland are.”

That’s according to Salome Mbugu, director and co-founder of diaspora development NGO Wezesha, named after the Swahili word for ‘empower’.

The project will document, list and profile Africans with different skills, knowledge and talents. Any individual with an African heritage or connection through birth, descent marriage, and naturalisation is eligible to participate.

“We want to show Africans are running small business,” says Mbugua. who adds that the project hopes to tap into the list for mentoring purposes in particular for future generation of African migrants.

Wezesha also aims to help channel resources to enhance investment, draw on expertise, capitalise on remittances to family members in Africa, and address other issues affecting migration practices. 

According to Mbugua, the project may also “highlight the challenges Africans face in Ireland.”

One primary goal of the project is to profile professionals and experts among the African Diaspora living in Ireland and connect them with employers. Mbugu explains the project will “help all organisations that need support to find a diverse group of people.”

Such information will allow Wezesha to tap into the pool of expertise and promote the role of the diaspora in Africa’s development, while also portraying professionals and experts of the African diaspora as role models.

The ultimate goal of the project, says Mbugua, is to “dispel myths and misinformation about Africans in Ireland”.

The Wezesha mapping project will be carried out via online and print surveys. The full report is expected to be published by the end of October.