As we prepare for the Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards, we take a moment to reflect on the individuals previously recognized for their impact on our community. Registration is now open for the 2022 Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards. Click here To Register for the Free Event and submit nominations.
By Lisandro Quintana, Purdue University Fort Wayne
Fey Fey Moussou, the recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement award, was raised in the African countries of Bénin and Sénégal. As a young adult, he traveled to the United States to work as a summer camp instructor in New York and Massachusetts, working with African American kids hoping to reconnect with their lost African roots. Eventually, he moved to Washington D.C. where he met his wife of almost 30 years who is a Fort Wayne native. Once introducing him to Fort Wayne, Fey Fey instantly fell in love with Fort Wayne.
Upon moving to Fort Wayne in 1998, Fey Fey began attending local churches where he eventually found the St. Augustine Lutheran Church. In 2001, he helped organize the first African food festival which has grown to be a large food festival here in Fort Wayne often getting recognition by mayor Tom Henry, who is a frequent visitor of the festival. The festival has grown to represent over 19 different African countries.
Since 2001, Fey Fey has been working with Brightpoint where he has helped develop fatherhood programs where fathers are encouraged to be active in their children's lives. Fathers in these programs would take their children to school, pick them up from school, read to them, and do anything that would make them present in the child’s life regardless of the mother’s situation. Fey Fey observes serious issues facing Fort Wayne’s diverse immigrant population. He thinks that immigration laws are negatively impacting the process of embracing the community. Since immigrants are often scared of how they will be treated and received in the community, they tend to isolate themselves.
Fey Fey advises everyone to learn another language besides English. Fey Fey himself speaks multiple languages and suggests that our willingness to learn many languages and cultures can be helpful in communicating with people around the world.
Special thanks to Mieko Yamada, Ph.D., Professor and Program Coordinator, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, and her students for contributing their articles to Amani Family Services.