We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shamay Oware a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shamay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Akoma Cares started out as a couple of homeschool moms meeting in a local park in search of connection and community. My husband and I made the decision to homeschool in 2014 and officially took the leap in 2015 when our oldest child started kindergarten. That first year was the most stressful for us as a family for several reasons, one of them being the isolation we were experiencing as a Black homeschooling family. We are first generation homeschoolers, and back then, most of our friends and family didn’t support the idea or even understand it. We needed community and quickly. Fast forward to 2017 , we’d kind of figured out a flow for our at home education but the need for connection was still there. We had met a few families at the library here and there, but we weren’t really getting the opportunity to cultivate meaningful relationships. What I did learn was there was such thing as homeschool co-ops! I started to look online in social media groups and used google to find a local homeschool co-op. Looking at their website, it seemed nice—the classes were interesting and there seemed to be something for each one of our kids (I am a mom of three). I began looking at the pictures…there wasn’t much diversity, but I was okay with that. Sometimes you have to be the catalyst and part of our homeschool mission is to expose our children to an array of cultures and communities. We wanted to make sure that they felt and feel comfortable in all spaces and encourage entering spaces that may not be made specifically for them. Again, sometimes you will be the first and that’s perfectly okay. I signed them up for classes and they were so excited for the first day. They would be able to make friends and learn new things and socialize! And I must say they did get to do all of those things, but within that, something became evident. The curriculum choices and the educational perspectives were dismissive to what was relevant to Black and Brown homeschooling families. At first it was things like being insensitive to topics surrounding American history and race that began to pull at me. Then the lack of representation of melanated people in curriculum and lessons. When these concerns were presented to other members and leaders of the group, I was met with an unwillingness to accommodate or even consider how to make the space more inclusive. One of the reasons we chose homeschooling was to be able to insulate our children’s experiences with discrimination and exclusion. We wanted them to have the space to build confidence in themselves without having to consider race and how people perceive them based on that part of their identity. So the question was formed, how can we foster an environment that is that type of space? Where can Black homeschooling children learn about people that look like them and the concept of Blackness isn’t limited to one “type” of Black but celebrates the knowledge, cultures, and subcultures of the African Diaspora? And are there others like us out there feeling this gap in their home education experience? So I took to social media again and began posting in groups simply asking “anyone want to meet for a play date?” I’d see families posting all the time and people would respond. I would post, no response. Finally two ladies responded, and I’m not sure if it was based in pure coincidence, but both were Black women. We agreed to meet at a local park. During that park play date, I learned that what I was feeling wasn’t just a me thing, They had been trying as well to integrate into spaces, looking for representation and acceptance, but unable to find it. One of the ladies suggested to me that day to start a group for Black homeschooling families so that we could find more in our area, so I did. Essentially, the group was just for people to connect with Black homeschooling families in their area. From that group several co-ops, associations, and businesses have been supported and grown! People often comment on the amount of options available in our area for Black homeschoolers. We really have cultivated a community that allows families to find their tribe. That is how Akoma Cares came to be, just a couple of moms in a park, looking for community and connection. Fast forward to today and we are a homeschool and community resource organization for melanated families homeschooling in the Carolinas. We provide resources, enrichment activities, and now classes specifically designed to cater to the educational needs of melanated families.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a wife, and homeschooling mom of three children with nearly a decade of homeschooling experience. As the co-founder and executive director of Akoma Cares, I aim to empower melanated families worldwide by helping to foster safe spaces for Afro-centered education and the building of strong community. With an educational background in arts, human services, and Liberal Studies, I feel like I am able to bring a diverse range of skills to my work. When I’m not managing the administrative aspects of Akoma Cares, I teach 3rd-10th grade students through our Hybrid Learning Center. My professional journey encompasses early child development, senior services, teen mentorship, grant writing, lesson plan and curriculum development, personal training, and coaching. My role at Akoma Cares requires me to pull from my diverse experiences in many ways.

I kind of stumbled into this particular role and I would never have imagined I would be doing what I’m doing now! I’ve always had a desire to help people and be of service to my community. However, I didn’t see myself working in education, let alone, home education. I am extremely grateful to have found something I’m passionate about and love to do every day. No matter the challenges that may arise, I enjoy being able to work with families and contribute to the futures of our youth.

Akoma Cares is a nonprofit organization that provides community resources to homeschooling families in the Carolinas. We help families transition into and out of homeschooling, connect them with businesses and resources in their area, and help them find educational spaces suitable for the needs of their family. Under the Akoma Cares umbrella, we’ve recently launched the hybrid learning center for families interested in continuing their homeschool journey with us. Through the learning center, we offer student clubs, workshops, and classes for preschool to highschool students. We are inclusive and offer disability advocacy support for both Akoma Cares members and non-members of the community.

We also provide consultations to individuals interested in creating their own programs or education based organizations in hopes of building a robust and diverse community for families to plug into regardless of their needs. Although we’d love everyone to hang out with us, we understand the importance of finding and cultivating your tribe!

How’d you meet your business partner?

Our co-founder, Christian Oware, also happens to be my best friend and husband. We “met” over the phone in 2004. We met each other in-person for the first time February 10, 2006 and married that same year! Over the years, we have explored many ideas and avenues of business so it was only natural for us to work together in creating Akoma Cares.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think being consistent and transparent as possible has been a tremendous help in building our reputation market wise. Making sure that we remain consistent in the programs and services we provide while addressing the instances that we feel we may have fallen short. We are grass roots which means we are learning and growing. I believe people appreciate the transparency we have in our communication with the community and our commitment shows through the standard we hold ourselves to as an organization.

Taking the time to establish the foundation of our organization and developing a strategic plan has played a major part as well. I believe having a plan that helps you focus on the projected destination of your organization helps you know what to say yes to and what to say no to. Especially in the world of non profits. Most people that choose to form a nonprofit want to be of help and provide service—they have a giving heart. If you aren’t careful, you can focus on the giving part and lose sight of the mission and vision of the organization. Losing sight, spreads your resources thin and then makes it even harder to see important initiatives and projects through. I believe saying yes to everyone and everything ultimately helps no one.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.akomacares.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akomacares?igshid=NGVhN2U2NjQ0Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akomacares?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@akomacares6063?si=q8s6Z3vt5GWgi6ko