Umoja243
Connect. Empower. Rise.
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“Umoja” means unity in Kiswahili — one of the four national languages of the DR Congo named in its Constitution, alongside Kikongo, Lingala, and Tshiluba. This site speaks all of them.
Umoja243 is a community home for Congolese residents across New York — families who arrived as refugees, asylum seekers, students, professionals, and dreamers, building new lives in the USA while keeping Congolese culture loud and proud.
We blend tradition with practical support: a welcome when you land, help in the language you actually speak, celebrations that feel like home, and a network that answers when you call — rooted where the community really lives:
Whether you need a translator at a school meeting, a ride to a first job interview, or just a plate of pondu at a table where everyone knows your name — this is your community.
See everything we offerTo unite and support Congolese families across upstate New York — so that no one who arrives here has to figure out a new country alone. We connect newcomers to housing, work, benefits, language help and legal guidance, and we wrap it all in a community that speaks their language and knows their name.
A thriving Congolese community in every upstate city — families stable in their homes, children proud of both their flags, elders honored, and Congolese businesses, culture and voices woven into the life of New York. New arrivals should find not just services, but a home that was expecting them.
Unity first — umoja. We build real relationships: buddy families, welcome tables, town halls and celebrations where people are known, not processed. Connection is the service everything else stands on.
Help that hands over the keys. English classes, benefits navigation, job coaching, test prep and honest information in six languages — so every member can act for themselves with confidence and dignity.
We expect more than survival. We celebrate graduations, businesses, citizenship oaths and first homes — and we invest in youth, culture and leadership so the next generation rises higher than we did.
Who we serve: Congolese refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, students and U.S.-born second generation — and the neighbors, churches, employers and agencies who stand with them — across Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Utica, Binghamton and every upstate county in between.
UMOJA 243 is a nonprofit community association founded in Syracuse, New York — apolitical, non-denominational, and run by volunteers from the community it serves. What follows comes straight from our bylaws (dispositions statutaires).
"To create a strong, united, organized and solidary Congolese community in the Upstate New York region." — Article 3 of the UMOJA 243 bylaws
"To promote unity, solidarity, mutual aid, networking, Congolese culture, community integration and the collective development of Congolese people living in the Upstate New York region." — Article 4 of the UMOJA 243 bylaws
Connect • Empower • Rise. Connect Congolese people, strengthen their capacities, and foster their collective flourishing. — Article 5 of the UMOJA 243 bylaws
Syracuse, Liverpool, Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Utica, Binghamton, Ithaca, Watertown, Auburn, Oswego and surrounding areas. — Article 8 of the UMOJA 243 bylaws
Three organs: the General Assembly (all voting members — the supreme authority), the Executive Committee (elected for two-year renewable terms, all volunteer), and the Council of Elders (eleven respected members who guard our values, mediate conflicts and organize elections). — Articles 20–29 of the UMOJA 243 bylaws
Four categories: members by right (Congolese people in Upstate NY who share our values), active members (registered, dues-paying, voting), supporting members, and honorary members. Active members in good standing vote, stand for office, and receive community assistance in times of joy or hardship. — Articles 9–15, 18 of the UMOJA 243 bylaws
📄 Download the full bylaws (PDF, French, draft of May 2026) · Download the internal regulations (PDF, French, draft of May 2026)
Umoja243 is led by elected officers and program directors drawn from the community it serves. These are the elected officers and coordinators serving the community today. Member photos and short biographies will be added to each card.
Joseph Basila
Leads Umoja243, represents the organization to partners, officials and the wider community, and chairs the board.
Maman Clarisse
Oversees the organization's finances: dues, donations, the mutual-aid fund, and open financial reporting to members.
Maman Rose
Keeps meeting minutes, official records and member communications — the organization's memory.
Ir Erick Konga
Speaks for Umoja243 in the media and at public events, and coordinates the organization's public voice.
Japhet Nany
Runs the sports programs — soccer leagues, tournaments and youth athletics across the chapter cities.
Manassé Wadi
Builds relationships with the DRC Embassy, consulates, officials and partner organizations on behalf of the community.
Dr Ricky
Leads community projects and tells the Umoja243 story — outreach, campaigns and communications.
Ir Jay
Plans the gatherings that bring us together: celebrations, cultural nights, June 30, and community socials.
To be announced
Supports the President on operations and administration across all chapter cities.
Leadership roster confirmed by the Umoja243 board, November 2026. Photos and biographies to follow.
Congo speaks more than 200 languages. Four are national languages — Kikongo, Lingala, Kiswahili and Tshiluba — with French as the official language of government and school. This whole site, and the Ask Umoja assistant, work in all of them — use the language switcher at the top of the page.
Where: Kinshasa and the northwest, along the Congo River — and everywhere Congolese music travels. The language of rumba, the army and the capital's streets.
Mbote — Hello · Boyei malamu — Welcome · Matondo — Thank you · Tosangani na bokasi po na bonsomi — Unity gives us strength for freedom.
Where: the east and southeast — North & South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika, Haut-Katanga. A trade language across East Africa, understood from Goma to Dar es Salaam.
Jambo — Hello · Karibu — Welcome · Asante — Thank you · Umoja ni nguvu — Unity is strength.
Where: the west — Kongo Central and the Mayombe, toward the Atlantic. Language of the historic Kongo kingdom, one of Africa's great early states.
Mbote — Hello · Matondo — Thank you · Mvukani mu kikesa — Let us unite in courage.
Where: the Kasai region in the center-south — Kasaï, Kasaï-Central, Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru. Language of the Luba people and their ancient empire.
Muoyo — Hello / life · Tuasakidila — Thank you · Basangisha mu dibikila — Let us come together in unity.
Where: nationwide — government, courts, school and national media. Congo is the largest French-speaking country in the world by population.
Bonjour — Hello · Bienvenue — Welcome · Merci — Thank you · L'unité fait la force — Unity makes strength.
Every page of this site — programs, immigration help, quizzes, the AI assistant — switches between English, Français, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Lingala. Youth: heritage language classes run in our Youth Zone, because our children should carry these voices with them.
Every U.S. federal holiday and every DR Congo public holiday — the days our two homes rest, remember and celebrate. Our two flagships: June 30 and July 4, back to back, one big community week.
Statutory list under Presidential Ordinance No. 23/042 of 30 March 2023 (with Aug 2 Genocost observed nationally since 2023); when a holiday falls on a weekend, an observed weekday may be announced — confirm each year.
The 11 U.S. federal holidays (OPM list). Federal offices and many schools close; retail and employers vary.
Written by historian Joseph Lutumba with music by Simon-Pierre Boka, the anthem was adopted at independence in 1960, replaced by “La Zaïroise” under Zaire in 1971, and restored in 1997. Lyrics below are the official French original and published translations in our national languages, as collected on Wikipedia and Tshiluba.co — not new translations.
