Procurement and Operation of a Community Services Van

Grantee: Washington West African Center
Timeframe: January 2023 – December 2023 | Amount: $23,000

Washington West African Center (WAWAC) will use Nimble Grant funds to purchase a 15-passenger van. With other funding sources, WAWAC will hire a part-time driver who speak West African languages to help transport them to medical appointments, access social services such as food, housing and education. WAWAC through support from Schools out Washington, Group Health Foundation, Department of revenue, and other partners will incur all the other operational costs related to running the van such as fuel, maintenance, insurance, modifications, branding, etc.

WAWAC provides culturally appropriate support in areas such nutrition, access to health and wellness services, social integration, education, and access to social assistance programs to West African Families in King County. WAWAC’s King County operations include an after school program for kids, a seniors support group, weekly food distribution, outreach on health issues etc. The new van will be used to provide transportation to West Africans, especially seniors to medical appointments, and children to attend the after school program, which has a curriculum heavy on nutrition and health education content.

The second stream of the project will focus on the latter part of our mission statement “bridging the gap between us and the wider community”. WAWAC has successfully ran several outreach and advocacy programs and projects resulting an increased uptake of health and social assistance programs in the minority communities within King County. The procured van and the hired driver will be used to expand on that mission through supporting the delivering of WAWAC’s weekly food distribution program, distribution of health and sanitary products, conducting vaccine clinics, and advocacy against harmful social/traditional norms such as female genital mutilation (FGM) which is a common practice in most cultures in West Africa. Furthermore, the van will increase not only the reach of WAWAC, but will hopefully empower many people, especially women, to speak up against abuse such as domestic violence as WAWAC offers a traditional marriage counseling service.