A hunger for knowledge about dementia in Minn.'s African immigrant communities
A collaboration between University of Minnesota researchers and African Career Education Resources (ACER) to educate African immigrant communities about dementia. Photo of the University of Minnesota’s Manka Nkimbeng and ACER's Nelima Munene taken on March 28, 2024. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun for Sahan JournalIn traditional African cultures, family caregiving is highly valued and the support system is much more communal, where family and friends visit and keep you company. But in the U.S., many African immigrants have limited resources to care for elderly relatives, especially when they have a life-altering illness like dementia, where access to quality caregiving can be expensive.
Dementia is a condition that impacts how one functions in their daily lives. This can manifest itself in a person's inability to do everyday activities, as well as make decisions. From misplacing house keys to forgetting to pay bills to erratic mood swings and even losing the ability to read, write, and speak, navigating dementia not only falls on the individual but also on family members looking after their loved one.
Five years ago, when Manka Nkimbeng, a public health researcher at the University of Minnesota, set out to study dementia in African immigrant communities, she found that “Many African immigrants had never heard the word ‘dementia'" before, knew little about its symptoms or had misconceptions about what it is. Through focus groups with community members, she learned that they were longing for accurate information about the neurological condition.
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The EPA federally mandated plan for the nation's water systems will remove six synthetic chemicals linked to cancer, decreased fertility, and developmental delays in children. Credit: Adam Mahoney for Capital B
Federal mandate targets 'forever chemicals' driving Black communities' water woesThe United Nations declared chemical contamination of drinking water in North Carolina a human rights violation four months ago. It is no surprise that many of the communities impacted by contaminated waterways in the state and around the country are disproportionately Black and Brown. A former educator in the state put it rather succinctly for Capital B's climate reporter Adam Mahoney: Black communities throughout the state were [always] “dumping grounds for everything they don’t want to put where [white and wealthy residents] live.”
Community leaders in North Carolina first raised the alarm about "environmental racism" in the early 1980s, as they protested the placing of a hazardous waste landfill in a Black community. Environmental racism persists until today, where it was announced last year that several drinking water wells for Black families near a landfill in Sampson County, North Carolina, were contaminated with PFAS at a rate 50 times higher than federal limits. PFAS or “forever chemicals” are a complex group of toxins found in many of the consumer products we use every day. They're called "forever chemicals" because they do not break down over time and can last indefinitely in the environment.
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In 2018, Celeste Sassine started baking cookies to fund her daughter's mission trip to Texas. Since then, Sassine has evolved into a successful entrepreneur for Sassy Sweet Vegan Treats, combining her love of baking with vegan ingredients and a deep-rooted family legacy
Credit: Celeste Sassine via Epicenter-NYC