We, Hararis have been living in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area for over three decades. The challenge of living in the midst of a vast western environment such as America is manifold. One is presented with endless opportunities to succeed in accomplishing a dream. On one hand, we Hararis have been working diligently to bring qualitative changes in our lives and reach our dreams. On the other hand, we have been struggling to preserve our culture and identity. In the past, we have organized our community (Afocha) a number of times to help us meet our social, cultural and spiritual needs. Even though we have not been as successful as we would have liked to be, our past efforts made the difference in the community.

To build a sound community based organization more than ever that caters to our particular social, cultural and spiritual needs, we have established United Washington Hararis (UWH). Since its establishment in the Washington Metro area, the members fondly remember the numerous gatherings and events that were organized by UWH to bring the community together and fulfill their social and spiritual needs.

In our effort to build a sound community based organization that caters to our particular needs, we would be the first ones to acknowledge that the path was never without obstacles and yes, we have had our share of missteps along the way. But we have endured and happy to say that we prevailed in following the noble goals and objectives we have established for the community.

Although we have broached the idea of establishing our web site in our numerous meetings, we are proud to announce that it came to fruition in time and hope to utilize the medium to bring the community much closer. We, therefore, encourage everyone to visit our site to give us your valuable opinions and suggestions on how to improve upon what we have established.

During out tenor as board members of UWH, we acknowledge our shortcomings in not doing as much as we would have liked to reach out and invite others into the fold of this organization. But we would like to assure you this was never for lack of attention on our part and we will do our best to improve our reach out program in the future. It is also incumbent upon the community to inquire and give their input to the organization if we really need a dynamic organization that can truly serve the needs of its members, As the saying goes, it really does take two to tango.

Like its sister organization in other parts of this land, UWH will strive to bring the Harari community together by staying put in its present path with more diligence and hard work. We take this opportunity to call upon all our brothers and sisters in the Metro Washington area to join us in this endeavor so that we can bring a meaningful and lasting benefit to all.

The Board of United Washington Hararis