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Sharing Knowledge: CBC Calgary and local East African communities create new partnership

CBC Calgary is launching a community-driven news partnership with local East African communities. That means the ideas come from you, and we work together to tell the stories.

Community-driven news means the ideas come from you, and we work together to tell these stories

Elise Stolte · CBC News ·
A family stands in front of decorative gold cloth hanging on the wall. They are wearing traditional black and gold cloaks.
Gold banners and traditional artifacts fill the small basement suite in northeast Calgary to provide a feeling of home for mother Ruhama Alemu, her baby Yohana and the rest her family. It's part of an Immigrant Outreach Society program called Porridge with Love, a program to support mothers and prevent postpartum depression. See story below. (Elise Stolte/CBC)

A young man with autism is finding his voice through art, and poetry is having a moment with love from Calgary's Gen Z — these are two of the stories our team of young adults from Calgary's East African communities decided to take on through our new community partnership.

They came up with the ideas. With support from CBC Calgary journalists, they've also done the interviews, shot video and wrote scripts.

Check out their stories and others from the East African community partnership below. 

Young Calgary man with autism finds voice through sharing art

8 months ago
Duration 2:55
A young Calgary man with autism is finding his voice by creating some impressive art. He's a member of the city's Eritrean community and part of CBC Calgary's special project that works with the local East African communities to tell their stories. Meli Biemnet and Levi Zigza bring us his story.
A group of people gather around a long scroll that is lying on a table. They are all wearing gloves.
A community delegation with roots in Ethiopia gathers around two scrolls. From left to right, Adanech Sahilie, who organized the group through Immigrant Outreach Services, Rediet Tilahun, Kalkidan Debele, Fissha Abrha, Denberu (no last name provided) and Mesfin Gebremichael. (Levi Zigza/CBC)

Ancient artifacts — Calgary residents co-create cultural exhibits with the Glenbow Museum

In preparation for a grand reopening, Glenbow museum curators are working with local communities to co-create exhibits, including one on Ethiopia. The exhibits will surface many rarely-seen artifacts kept in storage for years. Read the story from Levi Zigza, or take a listen by clicking on the arrow below.

Calgary Eyeopener5:02A new approach to the Glenbow Museum
A family of four sits at a restaurant table with drinks in front of them.
Norbert Munyarusisiro at a restaurant with three of his four children. From left to right, Greta Mutesi, Patient Mugisha and Grace Uwera. (Submitted by Norbert Munyarusisiro)

Solo-parenting in a new country — three who did it share their best tips

Juggling the demands of single-parenting can be tough at the best of times. These parents did it while also rebuilding their lives in Canada. Read the story from Anabelle Munyezamu.

A man holds a sheet of paper and speaks to the camera while surrounded by half a dozen other adults. One holds a picture of a young woman.
Daniel Buom Met (centre) lost his daughter Nyatuoy Buom Met Kujock on Nov. 8, 2023. He spoke to CBC Calgary about her death surrounded by members of the South Sudanese community. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

A complex grief: How one Calgary community aims to rebuild after multiple deaths among its young people

Young adults are dying — often of drug overdose or gang violence — and their peers don't speak about what happened, say families in Calgary's South Sudanese community. Now they're coming together to try to find solutions.

Nyakim Keuth and Liz Deng worked on this piece with CBC producer Elise Stolte. Read and watch the story.

A woman sits with three elementary school-aged children and a rich red-coloured couch.
Aline Muhongayire with three of her children. Ian is on the right, Geila on the left and Erica is behind. Her oldest child is not pictured. (Submitted by Aline Muhongayire)

'Different to back home': Newcomers navigate what feels odd, undisciplined in Western education

For students and families new to Canada, the challenge at school isn't just to learn English and catch up on math. It's also figuring out what a Western school system expects.

Because that's very different from what's expected in many of the countries these families are immigrating from — especially when it comes to physical discipline and homework, say families and those who support them in the Calgary school system. 

Nardos Tecle and Dibora Mehari tackled this story. Read their piece here, or listen on the Calgary Eyeopener.

A woman has a passionate expression on her face as she speaks into a mic.
Adetola Adedipe performs her poetry at the Arts Commons Engineered Air Theatre as part of the We Gon' Be Alright Cabaret. (Mike Hopkins Photography)

Poetry is having a moment in Calgary. I set out to discover why

We're a dozen young adults sitting in a small circle in a classroom on a rainy winter Saturday in Calgary — focused, attentive, full of questions — and for what? Poetry ...  Read Neamat Ahmed's written piece on poetry.

Leaders from the African diaspora seek training as mental health first aid'ers

Calgary Eyeopener4:04Mental health first aid

Mary Getaneh took her microphone to a recent training seminar and shared this story on CBC's Calgary Eyeopener. Take a listen. 

A man stands in the snow in front of a small bungalow.
Dawit Mulugeta stands in front of the house he bought in Calgary's Woodbine neighbourhood and renovated as a small-scale seniors home. (Submitted by Dawit Mulugeta)

'We're stuck in the middle': Owner faces 2-year delay for a fire inspection at Calgary seniors home

A disagreement between the City of Calgary and the provincial government means Dawit Mulugeta can't get a fire inspection. That puts a cap on the number of seniors he can house, and means the business is no longer viable.

Read the story, reported by Alexander Semaw and CBC producer Elise Stolte.

Three women wearing colourful dresses sit together on a couch.
Left to right, Fatouma Ali, Asha Mohamed and Ubah Doli are among half a dozen women who have been participating in a collective savings project for three decades. (Elise Stolte/CBC)

More stories from our East African partnership

Relationships are built on trust and understanding — that's why CBC Calgary and local East African community leaders have been working together for the past several months. These story ideas came from those conversations.

Daybreak Alberta9:54Calgary church celebrates Mother's Day with flare
Three members of the Rhema Miracle Centre Church join us to talk about how they celebrate Mother's Day each year and why they're reflecting this year on how mothering is changing with the times.

Sharing Knowledge launch event

East African communities share knowledge and celebrate cultures

1 year ago
Duration 2:13
East African community members and CBC Calgary partnered to launch Sharing Knowledge — a new community-driven storytelling and journalism project. The launch event was a chance to celebrate, connect and learn about the different cultures originating in East Africa and what it's been like to create a home here.

The event was funded by the Calgary Foundation, the Genesis Centre, Vibrant Communities Calgary and CBC Calgary.

Music came from CJSW's Eritrean host Michael Teclemariam. CJSW joined as a media partner, as did the community quarterly Habesha Magazine. Many, many partners helped to put this on. See the list below.

Join the WhatsApp Group

Fashion and photos from the event

A board showing a large collection of logos.
Thank you to all our funders and sponsors for the Sharing Knowledge kickoff event at the Genesis Centre. (Ishita Singla/CBC)
A graphic showing soccer players and women drinking coffee.
Sharing Knowledge: An invitation to all local East African communities. (Lianne Sabourin/CBC)

If you'd like to get involved, reach out. We'd love to talk and see if there is a way we can work together. Email the CBC's Elise Stolte at elise.stolte@cbc.ca.

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