Our History

Anambra State Women Association of Southern California (ASWASC) is a non-profit organization with philanthropic initiatives for improving living conditions, health care services, educational opportunities, nurturing cultural values, sustaining the environment and adopting technologies to inspire and empower women and children in Anambra State, Nigeria and the United States of America. Our activities and interactions are strongly rooted in our motto “Unity Is Strength”. ASWASC aims at fostering unity, mutual understanding, harmony, interdependent living among all the members and with different communities in the United States of America.

In addition, the association strives to preserve, uphold, and promote our cultural heritage and relationship with other organizations, exchange ideas and information in order to enhance understanding within the local community. ASWASC also engages in humanitarian, philanthropic, and charitable activities and events including but not limited to education, medicine, healthcare, environment, culture, and technology in Anambra State, Nigeria and United States of America, and among the youth within our community.

Our Founding

The first meeting of Anambra State women was held on July 18, 2004, with the encouragement of members of Anambra State Men's Association for the women to form an association separate from that of the men. Prior to this time, Anambra State men and women belonged to one association. The intention of the men was to form a women's wing with membership limited to those whose husbands are members of ASA-SC. However, the pioneers of ASWASC caught a vision with a broader goal of providing a platform for all Anambra State women, either by birth, adoption, or marriage, to come together to make a difference within our community in Nigeria and in the USA.

Based on this premise, the association sought and became an independent nonprofit public benefit corporation for charitable purposes. Mrs. Amaka Machie became the pro tem President from August 2004 to February 2005, while in February 2005, Mrs. Dorothy Akpamgbo assumed leadership as the first elected President of ASWASC. ASWASC became incorporated as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and established as a 501(c)(3) corporation in October 2008, following her formal inauguration on August 11, 2007.

During these past years, ASWASC has made tremendous strides in exponential growth in membership. The association is about 190 members strong. ASWASC is a pioneer state-based women organization in our community that has withstood the test of time. The achievements within the community, as well as the impact ASWASC has made in society, continues to draw people in to become members.

Growing Our Impact

ASWASC continues to make significant contributions to the community in Southern California as well as in Nigeria. Notable among these are donations of equipment to the maternity wards of General Hospital Amaku, Awka in August 2010 and General Hospital Onitsha in January 2017. Locally, the association is engaged in an ongoing Conversation with Our Daughters program, a forum that provides an opportunity for dialogue with our young daughters as we understand their perspectives on different things, as a way of “Building Bridges to a Brighter Future.”

Following this partnership with our daughters, the association organized a Youth Day program for young girls aged 14 to 21, covering Cyber Safety, Health and Wellness, Career Prospects, Life Skills, Budgeting, Indigenous Igbo Culture, and hands-on cooking projects. ASWASC has also awarded scholarships to Anambra students going off to college, and has been involved in charitable work locally by donating to the Ronald McDonald House of Charities.

Every leader that ASWASC has had, from Mrs. Amaka Machie, Mrs. Dorothy Akpamgbo, Mrs. Ngozi Onwualu, and currently Mrs. Amaka Akudinobi, has brought a uniqueness, vision, talent, and resourcefulness to make the association what it is today. Our successes are largely due to the strength of the bond that Onaedo women share, the pride with which we own who we are, and the resources and talents members are willing to commit to the association and its leadership.