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Organization Profiles

Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association, Inc. (ECMAA)
522 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel: 617-492-4232,
Fax: 617-492-7685,
E-mail: btamene@netscape.net
Contact: Mr. Binyam Tamene

Background
ECMAA was founded by a group of Ethiopian refugees in 1986 to serve their community. It has a long history of assisting Ethiopian and other African refugees and immigrants in Massachusetts.
The Ethiopian population in Greater Boston is estimated at 9,000-12,000. Approximately 70% of this group has limited native language literacy skills. About 95% of the refugees who arrived in the last half decade are low-income. Those from rural areas and secondary migrants are particularly vulnerable and in need of service. One quarter of the Ethiopians in Boston are children, while the majority are young to middle aged adults (aged 18-50). The population is about 60% male. 80% has only limited English proficiency, while more than 15% completely lack English language skills. There are severe housing problems in the community, with 15% of the community homeless and another 70% in apartments of inadequate size for the number of residents.

Mission/Goals
To promote self-help, integration into American society, and economic independence.

Services
Since the late 1980's, ECMAA has provided the following culturally and linguistically appropriate services: information and referral for education, employment, health, housing, family and social services; cultural orientation, interpretation, and translation; advocacy; citizenship and civic action.

Currently, ECMAA provides:
- Basic access to social, interpreter and community services-funded by ORI
- Information and referral services-funded by the City of Cambridge
- AIDS/HIV Prevention Education-funded by the Department of Public Health

AAC
(African
Assistance Center)

AICD
(African Initiative
for Community
Development)

BCCRD
(Bosnia Community
Center for Resource
Development)

CCM
(Cambodian Community
of Massachusetts)

CMAA
(Cambodian Mutual
Assistance Association)

ECMAA
(Ethiopian Community
Mutual Assistance
Association)

HAPHI
(Haitian American
Public Health Initiative)

RCAM
(Russian Community
Association of
Massachusetts)

SDC
(Somali
Development Center)

SWCA
(Somali Women and
Children's Assotiation)

UHRI
(Universal Human Rights International)

VACA
(Vietnamese Assistance
Community Association)

 

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