top of page

Programs

Our programs are educational in nature, because we strongly believe that an educated community is a responsive community.

We offer two programs:
 

  • Our Amjambo Africa publications, which include a monthly newspaper, a news website, and social media sites.

  • Our annual Global Awareness and Responsibility Conference.

 
Through our programs, Ladder to the Moon Network offers:
 
  • Education about the United States and Africa
  • Awareness of challenges immigrants face
  • Guidance and practical advice for immigrants to the United States
  • Inspiration, motivation, and comfort

We help people understand why so many people have moved from the far ends of the world to live in Maine’s cities and towns.

Our programs document the war and civil and political unrest that have afflicted civilians in many African countries for decades and caused the death of millions. For instance, in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, more than six million people have died in the last 20 years because of war.

Violence between groups in power and those desiring power force many to flee. Those who flee these conflicts often end up in refugee camps, which are places only desperate people would choose to live. Despite their name, there is no ‘refuge’ possible in these camps. Families living in camps suffer unsanitary, unstable, crowded conditions. They dream of establishing a safe home in a country like the United States. 

When African immigrants arrive in Maine they come believing in a future that will allow them to move  from merely ‘surviving’ to ‘thriving.  This is where Ladder to the Moon Network plays an important role. Through our programs,  LMN seeks to ease the integration of African newcomers into Maine by sharing the trauma so many have lived through, teaching locals about the historical and contemporary backgrounds of their new neighbors, and by teaching the newcomers about the culture and logistics of life in Maine.

The Education and Awareness Program consists of an annual conference focused on This program focuses on providing opportunities for discussion, study, and dialogue about the continuing crisis in Africa and the challenges that New Americans face when they leave Africa and come to America. Our targeted audiences are government leaders, community organization leaders, professors from universities and colleges, teachers, professionals, New Americans, and other interested community members. We strongly believe that an educated community is a responsive community. Little can be expected from a community which is not informed.

We publish Amjambo Africa, a free monthly newspaper that is translated in six languages (English, Swahili, Somali, Kinyarwanda, French, and Portuguese). The newspaper has a circulation of 10,000 and is  distributed to over 200 locations in Maine. Locations include churches, organizations that help immigrants, supermarkets, small grocery shops, coffee shops, hospitals, and schools. In addition to print, the organization maintains an online website that is updated daily - amjamboafrica.com and active social media sites.

Through our publications we strive to:

 

  • Raise awareness on the part of Mainers of the scope of the conflicts in Africa and why refugees and asylum seekers have left their countries in such numbers to come to Maine

  • Raise awareness of the challenges that immigrants face as they move through the stages of integration into their new homeland

  • Raise awareness on the part of New Mainers of Maine’ cultural norms and traditions

  • Profile New Mainers so that readers associate a human face and story in Maine with the worldwide refugee crisis

  • Educate Mainers about the history and culture of people from Africa

  • Facilitate integration of New Mainers into Maine communities

  • Inform Mainers of how they can help refugees and asylum seekers

  • Communicate in six languages: English, Swahili, French, Somali, Portuguese, and Kinyarwanda

  • Publish monthly with distribution at no cost to the readers.

  • Provide online access through the Amjambo Africa website as well as subscription services for those who would like print copies but live outside distribution centers

We Need Your Support Today!

bottom of page