With 100+ people supported and counting, The African Immigrant Resouce Center is a trusted and community-rooted guide helping African immigrant families navigate systems with dignity.
Mission
The African Immigrant Resource Center (AIRC) supports the wellbeing and stability of African immigrants—especially women and children—through culturally grounded navigation, advocacy, and community connection. AIRC helps families access healthcare, housing, employment, and legal systems with dignity while building spaces of trust, healing, and belonging.
Isabelle Sanhou
Founder & Project Lead
Isabelle Sandhou is the Project Lead of the African Immigrant Resource Center and a care coordinator with over three decades of experience supporting African immigrant women and families.
Isabelle’s commitment to this work is shaped by her own experience navigating systems largely on her own. As the eldest daughter in her family, she learned early to navigate complexity with determination and tenacity.
Having lived in both Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and the United States, Isabelle brings an intercultural understanding to her work. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International and Global Studies from Western Michigan University and has worked with organizations including Integrated Services of Kalamazoo and the YWCA of Kalamazoo as a community health worker. She also served as Health Chairman for the NAACP Kalamazoo Branch.
For Isabelle, this work is not about pointing people in the right direction. It is about walking with them from the first question to a place of stability and belonging. She stays in the details, follows up, and remains present so people are not forgotten even as they navigate systems that often overlook them.
A Deeper Look at The Work
AIRC supports African immigrant women and families in navigating systems that were not designed with them in mind. Language barriers, cultural differences, and limited access to resources often make healthcare, housing, employment, and legal systems difficult to access.
AIRC acts as a “guide on the side,” offering culturally grounded support that is both practical and relational. Families are met where they are and supported through each step, building trust while increasing access.
How the work comes to life
System Navigation
One-on-one long-term partnership helping families access healthcare, housing, employment, and legal systems through advocacy, education, and accompaniment.
Peer Support Groups
Small, consistent spaces where African immigrant women connect, share experiences, and build community through trust, storytelling, and cultural practices.Direct Client Assistance
Short-term financial support to stabilize urgent needs when no other resources are available, helping prevent deeper crises and support long-term stability.
Our work is grounded in the belief that when people are supported with trust and culturally responsive care, they not only navigate systems—they begin to reshape them.
Advisory Board
Henry Anakwa, Owner – Local African Grocery Store
Dr. Rachel Etshim, Community Outreach and Education Advocate
Moussa Nadjith-Ulrich, Newcomer Advisory Council Volunteer – Kalamazoo Refugee Resource Collaborative
Danielle Sackrider, LMSW-CM, ACSW – Integrated Services of Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo LOSS Team
Fuel the Mission
Donate to African Immigrant Resource Center and stay tuned for ways to support its growth.
