Today we’d like to introduce you to Angie Galal.
Hi Angie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Angie Galal and I’m the co-founder and president of a community-based organization called the Arab American Community Network. I’m also a Ph.D. student in Health Communications at Texas A&M University. I have a strong background in research, journalism, and public relations; but my real passion is creating awareness of social and political justice. Three ingredients contributed to the birth of the nonprofit organization: friendship, research, and passion for giving back to the community.
Dr. Haetham Abdulrazaq, co-founder and chief diplomacy and relation officer, is an active figure and one of the community leaders in San Antonio, Texas. He holds a Doctorate degree in Culture, Literacy, and Language from UTSA. I was introduced to him by my professor during graduate school, Dr. Viviana Rojas, and together we worked for a few years collecting data through extensive interviews, led by him, with new immigrants, refugees, and Arab Americans. Dr. Hana Shahin, co-founder, and vice president has 12 years of work experience in the non-profit sector in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, which makes her global expertise a vital asset, in addition to her Doctorate degree in Community Psychology from Wichita State University.
I worked with Dr. Shain for a philanthropic and civic engagement center in Egypt and that’s how we came to know each other professionally. However, these work-related relationships with Dr. Abdulrazaq and Dr. Shahin flourished into robust friendships over the past 7+ years. And it’s through our extensive grassroots work in San Antonio with the community and along with our personal lived experiences as Arab immigrants, did we discover a dire need to fulfill the gaps in society by utilizing the existing resources in the community rather than reinventing the wheel. We wanted to have access to resources visible and attainable to everyone. As a result, we established a community-based organization that can serve the invisible minority of immigrant newcomers, in general, and Arab Americans, in particular.
The Arab American Community Network was founded in 2021 with a specific vision: to build a strong, educated Arab community that can utilize resources, skills, and knowledge to contribute positively to society. What sets us apart from most nonprofits is that we pride ourselves on being research-based and driven as we infer the community’s needs through substantiating evidence using knowledge, skills, and attitudes data. We believe the organization’s role is to help build a strong community that employs current assets to enrich collaborations and community partnerships and foster a well-knit network.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As with any newly established organization, there are challenges; our most significant hurdle is funding. The co-founders and I are gladly volunteering our time to contribute and give back to the community of San Antonio. But in order for us to achieve our goals and targets, we need access to funding. As a nonprofit, you must submit grant requests and compete with other community partners.
Ironically, this process doesn’t align with what community-based organizations represent given that they each need to argue in the proposal why their cause is more crucial than the others. That said, we have had a few generous donations from community members in San Antonio and even the Boston area. Their contributions allowed us to hold a couple of workshop series during the spring, create a website, and start a database project. It’s only through collaborations with the community and the city can we attain our goals and vision.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The Arab American Community Network, the first Arab-serving community-based organization in San Antonio, is working on five programs: Capacity Building, Community Education, Resource Generation, Research, and Annual Health fair.
Our Capacity Building program includes cultural-competency training catered to organizations, as well as providing workshops and info sessions on financial, legal, and health literacy.
The Community Education program includes modules and sessions that aim to spread awareness and increase knowledge-building about health and social issues to promote and empower the participants with adequate information to become active citizens. We additionally provide language training that focuses on everyday needs, including citizenship application and exams.
The Resource Generation program aims to provide access and knowledge to culturally-centered services and activities to promote well-being and help-seeking behaviors among the Arab community. The database acts as a community library that helps the Arab community find access to the resources they need.
Our research goals include collecting data and information to further assess the needs of our community and stakeholders. The research program aims to engage in the co-creation of resources that builds capacity and serves as models for other communities. The program contains resources that are developed through our own think tanks and collaborative work, curating everything that is out there to support the Arab American community.
Through the annual health fair, our efforts are focused on providing access and education around social determinants of health to promote healthy living and health-seeking. We aim to provide newcomers and Arab immigrants access to existing health resources and generate new ones.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Our greatest advocates have been the community itself and the City of San Antonio. Since our establishment, we’ve gained immense support from our district’s House Member Representative Ina Minjarez, the City’s Immigration Liaison Tino Gallegos, Chief Diplomacy and Protocol Officer, and the head of the Global Engagement Office, Ms. Shahrzad (Sherry) Dowlatshahi, and Northwest Vista College’s International Education program.
In addition, we’ve received generous contributions from local Arab American business owners such as Dr. Safa Rubaye of Mobile Psych Clinic, Mr. Khaled of Hala Cafe, Mr. Samir of Babylon Bakery, Mr. Sam Baraz of the Baraz Group, Mr. Siyar Poyraz of Home Care for the 21st Century, and Mr. Douglas Onsi of Leap Therapeutics. And of course, this doesn’t minimize the support from community partners and friends, who promote our cause and assist in creating social impact and awareness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aacommunitynetwork.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aacnorg/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/aacnorg/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAIbQTdEkpt3XMc_h6WwBoQ
