A Different Juneteenth Gala: The Nyamwange Foundation Takes Jersey City Students to Africa  

To kick off the Birthright Afrika Gala, Joseph Nyamwange, founder of the Nyamwange Foundation, recites this gripping line from the organization’s brand manifesto to a packed ballroom of foundation supporters, scholars, and a pair of New Jersey lawmakers.

The foundation’s gala was held at Jersey City’s Hudson House on Juneteenth. The Hudson River is the backdrop, and it’s not just Lower Manhattan that catches the eye—it’s the universal symbol of freedom and hope: the Statue of Liberty.

With over 100 attendees in the room, dressed to the nines, many women in gowns, men in suits, and others draped in African garb, the reason behind the gathering was hammered home throughout the night. The response was “no” when asked if this was the not-for-profit’s biggest annual fundraiser.

Most of the funds to support the organization’s leadership academy, academic scholarships, and youth trip to Kenya, Africa, had been raised before that night. “This is a celebration,” declared Lena Mwangi, a family friend of the Nyamwange family.

The Celebration: Fifteen Jersey City high school students have matriculated through the foundation’s leadership academy, four of whom will head to Kenya for two weeks on July 1, 2024, for an experience of a lifetime.

The Foundation refers to the trip as the Birthright Afrika experience. Mwangi states, “I was part of one of the Kenyan trips [in the past]. Joseph has a network of government people, and the students get the opportunity to interact with corporate people and school administrators. Scholars hear and see the beauty of Africa. They get to see a different narrative around what Africa is,” explained Mwangi. “The superpower that’s going to make them [the leadership academy scholars] transcend and be different,”

Nyamwange pointed out in his speech that the great takeaway for the students traveling to Kenya “is understanding who they are, being connected with their identity…this is why it is important for young black and brown kids to go to Africa to learn about their history […] and let them understand they are not just tolerated but celebrated.” 

The symbolism of holding such an elegant soiree for a great cause on Juneteenth does not go unnoticed. New Jersey State Assemblywoman Barbara McCann-Stamato and State Senator Angela McKnight mark an essential milestone in the foundation’s history with a State of New Jersey Proclamation presentation.

Assemblywoman McCann-Stamato read the Joint Legislative Resolution in its entirety in her presentation. The Nyamwange Foundation’s origin story is summarized when she read: “Born in Jersey City to parents who emigrated from Kenya in the 1980s, Joseph Nyamwange is a renowned financial strategist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, with the worthy goal of inspiring systemic change in the Black community; and after experiencing first-hand challenges growing up Black in America, Joseph founded the Nyamwange Foundation to help build a generation of leaders.”  

Founded in 2018, the family foundation runs a transformative leadership academy for Jersey City students. Young people engage with career leaders and like-minded peers to learn the empathy, impact, and leadership skills needed to succeed in any career.

Eleventh grader Cordell Amo-Krah is a leadership academy scholar from County Prep High School in Jersey City. Upon graduation, he hopes to enter NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts as a music major. He even sang at the Apollo Theater in New York City in October 2023.“They offer leadership meetings and seminars to guide your use in life and while working. Only a few kids could go to Africa. I am here because I am going to Birthright Africa. I am very excited,” Amo-Krah said.

His broad smile told of his excitement before he did. Shivanie Sharma, mother of academy scholar Bindiya Sharma, reported that her 9th grader has become much more responsible since becoming involved with the foundation.  

The Nyamwange Foundation’s most glaring success story is that of Dejane Lawrence, the organization’s Executive Director. She is a member of the foundation’s first cohort of scholars to take the Birthright Afrika trip to Kenya in 2019. In her opening remarks, Lawrence brought the audience up to the present day. There are 50 scholars enrolled in the leadership academy.

The foundation has distributed 13 college scholarships to date. A total of 6 scholars, as of July 1st, will have traveled to Kenya free of charge for their families. After reciting only a partial list of prestigious institutions that have accepted leadership academy students – Princeton, MIT, Rutgers, Stockton, St. Peters – Nyamwange remarked. “You can do incredible things when you pour into children. It’s not the school’s responsibility only but of the community.”