'It hurts my heart': WA West African center scales back amid fiscal shortfall
EVERETT — The Washington West African Center has significantly scaled back its programs due to a funding shortfall.
The shortfall stems from grants that have either been canceled or delayed this year, Executive Director Pa Ousman Joof said. The Lynnwood-based center’s budget for this year was $1.4 million, he said. It’s currently operating on $300,000.
The Washington West African Center provides free food distribution, housing assistance, transportation services, language classes and more to West Africans living in Washington. About 20,000 West Africans live in Washington, Joof said, mostly concentrated in Snohomish, King, Clark and Pierce counties.
“Quite simply put, we are the 211 and the 911 for the West African Community, where if they need anything, they just come to us,” Joof said. “If we don’t have it, we make a concerted effort to go find it.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/it-hurts-my-heart-wa-west-african-center-scales-back-amid-fiscal-shortfall/