For Sister Zita Iwuoha, founder of the Pittsburgh chapter Zita’s Healthy Beginningsbreastfeeding is crucial to lowering black infant mortality rates.
“There are many benefits for both the mother and the babies…Breastfeeding reduces the incidence of breast cancer, ovarian cancer or any type of cancer,” Iwuoha said. “Some of these cancers are really aggressive in the black population.”
His organization was one of dozens in the Celebrate the Festival of Africa, which took place this weekend. He Center for African Studies dedicated the festival to celebrating the diverse cultures of Africa and highlighting the African Diaspora currently in Pittsburgh. Teachers and organizations came together to discuss and celebrate Africa’s past, future and present.
Zita’s Healthy Beginnings works in both Nigeria, Iwuoha’s home country, and Pittsburgh, which has a disproportionately high rate of black babies. mortality rateaccording to the Pittsburgh Equity Indicators.
Iwuoha is currently finishing her doctorate in nursing practice at Purdue University. Although she also works full time as a registered nurse, she hopes to help new mothers and babies improve their health.
“Encouraging women to breastfeed for at least six months goes a long way in helping both the babies and the mother,” Iwuoha said.
Catherine Koverola, acting director of CAS, said she hopes students of all backgrounds can learn about Africa’s rich diversity in academic and social settings through events like the festival.
“We have professors participating in more than 30 different African countries on fellowships and internships, and these are opportunities that are available to students,” Koverola said. “We want them to be able to hear about what is already happening and to know about funding opportunities, internships, courses, language skills, opportunities that can [participate in] in Pitt.
The first day of the festival was eminently academic, with 10 informative days seminars open to the public. Amani Attia, a professor in the department of linguistics, led a seminar titled “The African Woman: A Closer Look at the Daily Life of a Woman in Egypt, Sudan and Somalia.”
Beyond the seminars, the day also included panel discussions for one-on-one engagement, such as learning about opportunities to fund study abroad tours in Africa.
There was also an introduction to the Amharic, Swahili and Arabic languages, which are taught by Pitt’s Center for Less Commonly Taught Languages. At noon, the organizers screened the documentary “Shut up or die” which focused on the fight for democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The day concluded with a keynote address titled “Africa’s Journey in the 21st Century: From Historical Pawn to Player”, with the speaker Paul Timbye Zelezaa renowned pan-African historian from Case Western Reserve University.
The second day of the festival took place in Posvar Courtyard. It featured a number of vendor organizations throughout Pittsburgh, including Ujamaa Collective, ten thousand towns, Immigrant Services and Connections and more. Participants included nonprofit organizations, independent vendors, and information organizations.
hekima place, a local non-profit organization dedicated to helping orphaned or abused girls in Kenya, was among the vendors at the event. Laura Bright, the organization’s executive director, sold jewelry at the festival.
“We started as an orphanage for girls who were abandoned, abused, orphaned, or tested positive for [HIV] too,” Bright said. “In 2020 we opened our doors to a school… It is for the girls who live with us but also for the local community, the Maasai tribe.”
Kenya-based women-owned businesses created the jewelry at the stall, most of which normally sell their jewelry in their local markets or towns, Bright said. She added that all proceeds from the festival go to the women.
“They opened their world and their community to us with open arms and we wanted to return some kind of favor to them, to show them how grateful we were for that,” Bright said.
Macrina Lelei, Associate Director of CAS, has worked with CAS since its inception in 2001. She has also been involved in planning the festival since May. She said the highlight of the festival for her was showing people the cultures of Africa and how those cultures are alive in Pittsburgh, despite not being on the same continent.
“I am very excited to come together and celebrate the vibrant cultures of Africa, which sometimes we don’t talk about much,” Lelei said.
Lelei said that she thinks the festival was a great opportunity to learn, exchange cultures and network with others.
“For me, I’ve been at Pitt for a while and I’ve seen a lot of progress, this is one of them,” Lelei said. “It seems like people are taking notice, and that’s a good thing.”
