Harambee Community Development Association: Working Toward A Vision
At Harambee we view the gospel as a holistic message that affects the mind, emotions, and will of every individual touched by the saving grace of our Lord. Subsequently, we believe that our mandate is to work as fruitful people here on earth to bring glory and praise to our God in everything we do.We feel that working with the poor, disenfranchised, and oppressed in our culture is imperative (Isaiah 58:1-9). Our grand vision is to create a community gathering spot that affirms the people’s needs, as well as promulgates the whole gospel to the whole person.
Therefore, our mission is to create a non-profit community development center in South King County with a holistic approach that provides a "3rd Place" community gathering space for the continued physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development of the youth and their families.
We have begun that process by creating a separate nonprofit organization (501(c)3) called the Harambee Community Development Association (HCDA). We have also officially become members of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), which is an international fellowship of organizations that care to live out the gospel in “at risk communities.”
Whereas we plan on building this vision in small baby steps, we hope to eventually develop a teen center that would house an all-ages concert venue, coffee shop (with art gallery), and bookstore, as well as a computer center, ESL/literacy programs, and mentoring/tutoring programs.
Our hope is that we begin to motivate people to serve God by ministering to the disenfranchised in our own community. We have already begun to develop an internship program that may in the future attract people from all over the country to be trained in urban/multicultural ministry here at Harambee. They would get first hand experience and training while providing valuable ministry help for the programs we have established.
Dream with us, and become part of the Harambee Community, called by God to love Him and love His creation! To learn more about HCDA including its mission, values and current programs, visit the HCDA website.
