EVERETT— Approximately 200 community members gathered at the Carl Gibson Center for the Washington West African Center’s (WAWAC) second annual fundraising gala, aiming to raise $150,000 for immigrant support services.
Saturday’s event featured a keynote address by Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a service-disabled U.S. Army veteran and immigrant who recounted his unlawful 124-day detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year in Tukwila, including a week in solitary confinement.
“Immigrant families are living with the daily question that chokes in the chest, ‘Am I next?’” Chaudhry stated to attendees who added, “I have spent my life trying to build what Reverend Dr. King said, a beloved community where no one is disposable.”
U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo ruled that the August 21 detention of Chaudhry unlawful on December 22, stating that the federal government breeched the 2020 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ stay of removal. The federal government conceded their error by not notifying Chaudhry, which violated his due process rights, apologized, and released Chaudhry that day.
“Remember, the Constitution is the glue that holds us together, and it is supposed to draw a line that power cannot cross, that protect us from tyranny,” Chaudhry said. “And when we lose the Constitution and the line is crossed, when people are grabbed, caged, abducted, and discarded, what breaks first is the fabric of our community.”
Held for 124 days at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Chaudhry faced alleged medical neglect by going untreated for thyroid eye disease, causing vision loss, chronic pain, and complications from his service injury— he was honorably discharge in 2005 due to a back and neck injury sustained during training, leaving him wheelchair-bound.
Chaudhry, who has lived in Washington state for 26 years, urged solidarity and investment in community organizations like WAWAC, calling courage “contagious” and emphasized constitutional protections against tyranny. He currently faces no criminal charges but remains at risk of deportation to Pakistan over a 1996 Australian fraud conviction and alleged visa misrepresentation, with a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hearing set for the coming weeks.
WAWAC Executive Director Pa Ousman Joof delivered an emotional speech addressing claims that immigrants are criminals or from “shithole countries.”
“We are not criminals and we are not from mental institutions,” Ousman said. “In the year 2023, immigrants contributed over $280 billion to the economy of the United States.”
Ousman told attendees how soon people can forget the contributions of immigrants during the COVID pandemic.
“It was immigrants who held it down,” Ousman said. “It was immigrants that fed people. It was immigrants who were in the farms. It was immigrants who were in the frontline, in the hospitals and the healthcare sector. It was immigrants who were delivering our meals and everything whilst we all stayed home. We are not from shithole countries, and we are not taking jobs.”
Facing funding cuts forced him to reduce staff from 16 to 12 and scaled back programs, but Ousman was grateful for the support from donors and then honored Zainab Jibril as the 2025 staff of the year and Awinet as Student Volunteer of the Year.
“Thank you to all our sponsors, thank you to all our partners. You are here, you know yourselves. I do not want to mention any names, but generally from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of the board of directors, staff, volunteers, and everybody, thank you,” Ousman said.
Performances during the gala included a short drum show by retired teacher Miss Suzi and Odyssey Elementary music teacher Dain, both students in WAWAC’s weekly African drumming class in Lynnwood.
Miss Suzi encouraged those over 50 to try new pursuits, praising the djembe drum for its fun and exercise.
“It’s a good instrument to learn,” Miss Suzi told the Lynnwood Times. “If you like a beat, something with a beat, percussion, it’s a great, great instrument to learn. And it’s pretty easy but it can get harder. Pa is a wonderful teacher, and we have so much fun. Playing is actually good exercise.”
Dain, a music teacher at Odyssey Elementary in the Mukilteo School District, shared his journey into West African drumming with the Lynnwood Times.
Introduced by Professor Patti Bourne at Western Washington University, Dain completed level one training in the World Music Drumming curriculum two years ago and level two with Ghanaian master drummer Soa Menza a year later. He discovered WAWAC classes and have been playing with both Ousman and Miss Suzi ever since.
Dain incorporates Ghana-inspired drumming, teaching students the tubano drum.
The gala showcased WAWAC’s 2025 impact, serving over 6,500 members.
- 174,484 pounds of food provided to 974 families
- 40 community members applied for health insurance benefits
- 278 community members help with housing/bill payment
- 115 community members applied for a job/workforce development.
- 535 community members benefited from training programs such as Opioid, Financial Literacy, legal clinics, ESL & Sewing classes.
- 85 community members received transportation assistance
- 125 community members received translation help
- 160 seniors received support
- 50 kids participated in the After School program
- 30 families received child necessities such as diapers
- 22 community members received tax assistance/VITA
- 45 community members received household items/furniture
- About 100+ audiovisual materials created in 10+ West African languages, reaching 4,000 people.
The menu, cooked by Ousman’s wife Amy, included grilled lamb, egusi soup and fufu, with entertainment by Kouyate Arts and the Djeliyah Band. Auctioneers for the gala were Selam Habti and Aaron Klesick with Stokes Auction Group.
“I want to thank my mom real quick that taught me how to cook,” Amy told the Lynnwood Times.
She shared that the multiple lives she and Pa are touching every day is what she loves about WAWAC: “Helping people, helping the community. So, we’re just hoping it gets bigger and bigger every day,” said Amy.
Author: Mario Lotmore
