ABOUT US
EMO 'YA M'MBEMBE M'MBONDO UNITED STATES (EMMUS) is a not-for-profit organization registered by the United States. It was initiated in 2012 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as a result of the first meeting held in that state. EMMUS is a 501(c)(3) under Internal Revenue Services (IRS) regulations. The organization is headquartered in Macon, Georgia and it is administratively managed at state level and city level.
The EMMUS is currently found in 44 states out of 50 composing the United States and 63 cities across the country.
The organization was initiated in 2012 after the death of a Congolese citizen who died in the state of Minnesota, United States. According to the national law, the corpse or cadaver should be incinerated or destroyed just in case of nonpayment of the due amount of money. As it was contrary to the Congolese culture and most of African customs or rituals, a small number of families were grouped and decided to mobilize themselves to prevent corpse from being burnt. A small group of people from Congo mostly and namely from Mmbembe Mmbondo community and other countries were gathered and reached a consensus of contributing money from each participant until they reached the amount required at that time to culturally bury the dead body. Since that day, the idea of establishing the organization was born. The first meeting was conducted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and made the creation of the organization named EMO YA M'MBEMBE M'MBONDO UNITED STATES (EMMUS).
The organization was established with the aim of helping Congolese communities as well as others be and develop self-reliant life during their stay in the United States.
Administratively, the organization operates in 44 states in the country. It is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization operating in different states across the whole country. The administration and management start from the apartment or household leader, then city, state, zone, and federal level. At the city level, they manage apartment or a group of people from 10 families living close to each other and reports to the city level. At the city level, there is an officer or city representative who directly communicates or reports to the state representative. The head of office in the city reports to the head of state who also has committee composed of people from different cities composing the state. The state committee reports to the federal office which then submits reports to the federal committee. The organization plans the meetings, field visits and conferences so that to hear from communities as well as city, state, and federal leaders.
The Organizational Values
- Integrity without any exception.
- Working as one in Unity.
- Transparency in all duties and levels.
- Feedback before, during and after realization.
Strategies of the Organization
- Develop Leadership abilities.
- Build high-performing Teams in diversity.
- Most innovative products/Services.
- Ensure Sustainability. Two-way Communication.
Motto
Together, We Are Powerful
Brief History of The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Travel to the US
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly known as Zaire) is located in central Africa and is the largest country by land mass in sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of African countries geographically situated in the central part of the continent. It computerizes 26 provinces and 145 territories. Fizi which is one of them is situated in the eastern part of the large country. Since its independence in 1960, the country has been experiencing repetitive wars, conflicts, and different forms of violence.
After being hosted in different African countries for more than 20 years for the majority of Congolese refugees, a great number of us were reinstalled in the United States via immigration department. Being reinstalled in the country, some computerize more than five years in the country while others have been here since 1960. The majority of us have permanent resident cards commonly known as Greengard while others have gained their American nationalities.
Congolese voluntary migration to the U.S. began in the 1960s for educational reasons. the Congolese who came to the U.S. to study and got serve their designations of origin. However, emigration from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United States increased in the 1970s after discovering that the dictator of this country, Mobutu Sese Seko, had decided to choose the United States, among other countries, as a place of refuge. Congolese Americans are known as a large number of those refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that have settled across America.