About AHAVI

AFRICAN HERITAGE ASSOCIATION OF VANCOUVER ISLAND (AHAVI)

Prior to 2004 there was no association unifying/integrating all the African heritage groups in Victoria and other locations on Vancouver Island. Therefore Africans and people of African descent did not have a strong community voice and capacity in the Communities of Vancouver Island. Yet, whenever any group of
Africans (African Cultural Association; Kenyan, Ethiopian, Somali, Eritrean, Congo, Mozambique, Ghanaian, Liberian, Sierra Leonean, Nigerian, Rwandan, etc.) and people of African descent (Black History Awareness Society, Caribbean groups) met they expressed the need for such a unifying organization. To meet this need, in 2004 the African Heritage Association of Vancouver Island (AHAVI) was formed as a non-profit organization to build a united and strong community by cooperatively organizing, and supporting events and activities to meet the needs of Africans, people of African descent, and friends of Africa on Vancouver Island.

So far, like other organizations related to the Black African heritage in Victoria, AHAVI has been using private homes, rented spaces and begged spaces for its meetings, activities and events. This homelessness of AHAVI limits its capacity to unify all the Black heritage groups in Victoria; connect the youth and children; develop a positive African heritage identity and image, a sense of location and belonging; and a community with high profile and prominent presence. With a community space of its own, the Black African heritage community in Victoria could better facilitate the organization of events and activities to continue to build stronger community capacity for Africans, people of African heritage and friends of Africa. This would provide a powerful tool to establish strong meaningful voice, identity and image. These are resources that constitute a medium for the Black African heritage group to productively connect with other communities in Victoria and the Island to effectively and efficiently address the various issues facing this impoverished community. In the short and medium terms AHAVI needs an office space, a meeting room, a small library, and youth and child activity room. This could be a rented/leased or a donated space. In the long term and to expand AHAVI’s capacity, an African Heritage Cultural Center owned and operated by the community is a necessity.