Miss Sierra Leone USA Hosts The 2013 African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation Youth Conference

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. It's been a very busy couple weeks for me academically, but I'm thankful to the Almighty that all is well. Last Friday, I had the honor of hosting the 11th Annual African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation's (AIRF) Youth Leadership and Education Conference. The theme of this year's conference was "Charting a New Course in Health Education and Health behavior among African Immigrant Youth." The theme of this year's is also near and dear to my heart because my personal platform as Miss Sierra Leone is Advocating for SHERO and H stands for Health.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

In high school, I was a student in AIRF's Catching Up Program (CUP) for African youth. One of the many things I'm grateful for this program during my high school years was that I had the opportunity to write a play for the 2007 conference and later converted it into a movie in 2008, acting with my CUP peers. CUP is a great program that was very influential in my high school experience and I am forever grateful for this program and do my best to always return and help out in any way I can as a graduate and mentor to the students now.

Mrs. Asmara Sium (Executive Director of African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation) and Miss Sierra Leone USA

Fact: The mission of the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation (AIRF) is to facilitate the effective transition of African Immigrant to American society and to support their productive, sustainable integration into their new homeland.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, Tambra Raye Stevenson, MS, and AIRF volunteer

I had such an amazing time from the beginning to end of the conference, and enjoyed every part of my job as the host. Opening the conference was Pages Matam, a multidimensional tourist artist originally from Cameroon. Pages did two spoken-word performances, one about rice and the other about his love and respect for his mother. Both poems were amazing, but I truly enjoyed his performance about rice. As a big lover of rice, I agreed on everything he said and the Sierra Leonean in me is forever thankful for rice. The conference consisted of several workshops discussing health-related topics relevant to the lives of the attendees and their loved ones.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson having fun with the students

The "Becoming American" workshop was moderated by Ms. Julian B. Kiganda of Bold and Fearless, and the panel consisted of Loy Azalia, MA (Ugandan); Ndinda Rebekah Ngewa, MPH (Kenyan and Nigerian); and Nana Brantuo, current PhD candidate (Sierra Leonean and Ghanaian) and creator of The New African blog. The "What's Eating You" workshop was done by Tambra Raye Stevenson, MS; Tambra is the Founder of Nativsol Kitchen. The "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" workshop was done by Ms. Omonigho Ufomata and Adedotun Ogunbajo, MHS; this panel discussion consisted of discussions of sexual identity, cultural identity, and pop culture. The "Hey Doc, Am I Crazy?" workshop was conducted by Akua Asara, M.D., Dr. Shirley Pierre Roberson, and Dr. Theodore Osuala; the main discussion with this panel was on mental health.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson doing the azonto dance moves

All work and no play makes Miss Sierra Leone USA a dull queen. In the photo above, I was showing the students some of my azonto dance moves. Towards the end of the conference after the high school students did a wonderful performance, attendees were invited to dance and celebrate the successful outcome of the conference. Being that my nickname is "Sampa" (due to my love for dancing), I had to put aside my task as host and show some of the students my Salone and African dancing skills in my heels and sash!!!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson having fun with the students

Group photo of some of the students, mentors, teachers, speakers, etc. at this year's conference

Overall, I had a great time with the students and I'm humbled to have served as the host. I learned a lot from each workshop, and I know the students did as well. Like I previously stated, I am very grateful for the services and resources the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation provides, and I know the impact they made in my life is being made in the lives of the current students as well. S in my personal platform (Advocating for SHERO) stands for Service and this organization is one of the first that taught me the power and importance of serving one's community. If you would like to contribute by serving as a volunteer or make a donation, please visit the AIRF website.

I AM AFRICA!!!
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

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Photo courtesy:

African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation