WASHINGTON - July 28, 2019 -Over Labor Day weekend, Washington, DC will welcome 400 Itsekiri patrons and friends from around the country and the world to the 22nd Annual Ugbajo Itsekiri USA, Inc. National Convention. This year's theme is Building Wellness and Healthy Communities.

This year's Convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dulles from August 30th through September 1st. Highlights of the event include the 2019 Mr. & Mrs. Itsekiri pageant, meet and greets with Itsekiri dignitaries and the Fundraising Gala on Saturday night. On Sunday, September 1st, out of town attendees will tour our Nation's Capitol, highlighting tourist sites of significance to Americans of African descent.

Each year the members of the Itsekiri community in the United States come together to celebrate their culture and raise funds for the three development efforts the group maintains back in their homeland in Delta State, Nigeria. Since 1997, this event has raised over $500,000 to fund Ugbajo Itsekiri USA's efforts which include sight restoration projects, providing access to clean water and education. The organization's impact has led to restoring sight to 3,000 patients with cataracts, creating 5 boreholes providing access to clean water to 130,000 people and supporting more than 80 STEM students in Nigerian universities with scholarships to help them further their education.

The Itsekiri National Association, Washington-Baltimore, CMSA is this year's regional host. Locally, the organization of 50 people has worked to build relationships with other Nigerian ethnic groups in the area, donated over $1000 and school supplies to local homeless shelters and helped to prepare meals for the homeless at DC Central Kitchen.

Ugbajo Itsekiri is a non-profit organization registered in the United States and headquartered in Washington, DC. The National organization and its ten regional affiliates are dedicated to the promotion of Itsekiri unity, progress and strength; and to the protection and support of Itsekiri culture, custom and heritage in the United States and in the homeland.

Learn more at https://www.ugbajoitsekiriusa.org.

Contact
Contact: Rahcyne Omatete