We Are the Village
BeAnka Mushenkye Masefiade ’19, founder and executive director of Osofomaame
A 2021 study by The Michigan Child Welfare Task Force reports that Black children in Michigan comprise 29% of the state’s foster care population but make up only 16% of the general population. The overrepresentation of Black youth in foster care has always felt personal to BeAnka Mushenkye Masefiade ’19, founder and executive director of Osofomaame, a nonprofit organization that serves Black children, youth, and families impacted by foster care.
As a child, Masefiade experienced the foster care system through a kinship placement with her grandparents. As a teenager, she worked as a youth mentor and camp counselor. She often speaks of the “village of aunties and uncles” who came around her through her own coming up in her community, church, and schools. It’s no surprise that community development and social equity stand at the center of Masefiade’s work.
Networks of Support
Osofomaame leads three initiatives that increase awareness and offer wraparound services for children and families: We Are the Village, Caring for Children of Color, and Abundant Life Academy. Each program targets specific groups and areas of support.
We Are the Village supports families impacted by the child welfare system, offering free resources such as “Know Your Rights” seminars, and educates the general public about foster care through community partnerships and events.
At Caring for Children of Color workshops, local licensed barbers and beauticians train foster families in black hair and skin care. “They talk about the history of hair within the black community, so families understand the importance of it,” Masefiade explains. The events also teach advocacy and cultural competency—foster families return home with resources and knowledge that help them do the important work of “affirming their children’s racial identity.”
Abundant Life Academy is a youth empowerment program for young adults about to age out of the foster care system. Life skills workshops offer training in topics like financial literacy, mental health and wellness, and college and career readiness.
Masefiade and her husband, Pastor Emmanuel Masefiade, who she met during her app study abroad semester in Ghana, also invest in education for Ghanaian youth. The Aya Scholars program provides tuition, uniforms, and supplies to school-aged youth in need.
First Generation College Student
As an Entrada Scholar, Masefiade appreciated the welcome she experienced at app, but there were also times during her first year when she didn’t feel at home. “There were so many nuances and little things that I just didn’t know as a first gen student of color trying to navigate a sense of belonging at a predominately white institution,” she says.
She ended up pushing pause on her education. Within that pause, she returned to youth and community development across a variety of sectors. That time gained her the perspective and experience to align her passions with her calling.
She returned to app in 2018 to complete her degree in sociology and African Diaspora Studies.
She remembers how app friends, faculty, and mentors like Jacque Rowe Fields and the late Rhae-Ann Richardson Booker ’91 “created a safe space where I could develop a sense of my own belonging.” The smaller, liberal arts experience also meant she “didn’t get lost and just become a number.”
Love Your Neighbor
Community development is demanding, sometimes slow work. When she feels overwhelmed, Masefiade reminds herself of something Mother Theresa said: “We can do small things with great love.”
“When I think about the role of my faith, I think about being an agent of renewal. That means I first recognize the dignity and value of all people. Our sameness and our differences make us this beautiful, diverse body of Christ,” says Masefiade, who believes everyone deserves access to basic needs that ensure safety and human flourishing.
“Sometimes I think people want the cross without the crucifixion—we want the good news of redemption in Christ. But what does that mean in the context of the crucifixion? It means to be able to sit in others’ humanity. To be humble and realize we don’t know it all. It means to use our human agency to love our neighbors as ourselves. To ask ourselves, how am I serving my black, brown, and white neighbor? My immigrant or poor neighbor? How am I showing up and serving?”