by Emma Folts
Siraji Hassan keeps extra hand sanitizer and face masks in his car.
The executive director of United Somali Bantu of Greater Pittsburgh knew the pandemic was going to be a “big issue” for his community, and these days he works to fill the gaps where resources are not available.
“I always walk along with a bunch of [hand sanitizer and face masks] just in case a family don’t have it,” said Hassan, 24. “I just hand it to them. I’m like, ‘Here you go, make sure you have it on.’ So that’s what I’ve been doing nonstop.”
Among Pittsburgh’s immigrant and refugee populations and communities of color, education on COVID-19 and assistance amid the pandemic have come, mostly, from those within. Outside of their communities, residents have faced challenges receiving medical information, navigating language barriers and accessing social services.
Abdikadir Lugundi, president of the nonprofit Somali Bantu Community Association of Pittsburgh [SBCAP], who was born in Kenya and came to Pittsburgh around 2004, said community members have been sharing news and information on WhatsApp and ensuring families have what they need.
“We have a community here just trying our best to spread the information,” Lugundi, 21, said.
Somali Bantu community members primarily speak Kizigua and Maay Maay, two dialects that often lack medical interpreters, said Aweys Mwaliya, executive director of SBCAP.
The Allegheny County Health Department provides information in Somali and Swahili while offering some services in Maay Maay and Kizigua, but not all Somali Bantu who know Maay Maay or Kizigua also speak Somali or Swahili.
Aweys Mwaliya in Northview Heights. Mwaliya, 38, was born in Somalia and arrived in the United States as a refugee in 2004. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)
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