As Concord officials considered proposed housing developments and highway expansions that could affect downtown Concord, and a new library branch in Penacook, new American Fisto Ndayishimiye has taken to the microphone at public meetings to ask questions and give his perspective to city leaders.

The Change for Concord leader has called for more outreach, equity and inclusion from the city toward its growing community of refugees.

Change for Concord is a group of young adults that meets weekly to discuss projects they want to take on with the help of city groups and organizations, like the Concord Greenspace Coalition, including tackling bias in public safety, racial discrimination in schools, better access to city resources and specific initiatives, like the installation of lights at Keach Park.

The group was founded in 2016 by new Americans Ayi D’Almeida and Martin Toe to represent youth communities and refugee populations. Ndayishimiye, 24, took over as the lead organizer two months ago and has started reaching out to city officials by attending meetings and continuing to speak out for a safer, more engaging and equitable community.

“I think there is a huge disconnect between the minority groups and our city and it’s our job to bridge that gap,” he said. “It’s our time to work with our leaders and it’s their time to recognize how important it is to work with us.”

When the group first started, D’Almeida and Toe were working to organize events, show up at City Council meetings and work with city officials to advocate for projects and funding that would benefit all populations in the city. D’Almeida and Toe were followed by Lidia Yen, who helped the group organize a forum for school board candidates and focused outreach in the community.

Ndayishimiye has vowed to take a direct approach to advocate for minority groups and question city leaders.

He believes city leaders need to do more than preach about diversity and inclusion. He wants them to make a conscious effort to engage new Americans, refugees and marginalized communities, and consider projects that will benefit them, too, rather than pouring funding into the city-owned golf course, a new daycare center in Penacook or downtown housing projects that aren’t accessible to low-income earners.

“I have no interest in the Boys & Girls Club or the golf course, I can’t afford it, and the housing projects don’t benefit the unhoused population, refugees, new Americans or poor people,” Ndayishimiye said. “We’re here as refugees and the whole concept of the United States is very confusing; they think that if they [refugees] have a house or a car, they don’t need anything else.”

Ndayishimiye immigrated to the United States in 2016 from the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of continued armed conflict and violence. After arriving in Concord, he taught himself English, prioritized his education and found affordable housing in Penacook for himself and his younger brother. He was able to overcome language barriers and the confusion of local government, which he wants to make easier for others to do.

“We have to show them leadership opportunities and that education is accessible, and reorganize the resources the community has for young people, not only for the people that understand what is going on but also for the people who don’t,” he said.

The recent presentation of the Interstate 93 widening project, which proposes to expand the highway between exits 12 and 15, is an example of a project that further segregates marginalized populations by creating a bigger barrier between the Heights – the most racially diverse area of the city – from the downtown where City Hall and the library are located, Ndayishimiye said.

“But it’s not just about the highway, it’s all of the things that are being worked on that don’t serve all of the communities,” Ndayishimiye said. “The Heights are becoming more segregated, they’re seeing that and they have never talked about it, never thought about it, never discussed it. They need to do something about it.”

At-large City Councilor Byron Champlin said projects are considered and approved based on the availability of funding while balancing a variety of needs and a variety of neighborhoods.

“Every neighborhood at one time or another has looked at other parts of the city and felt like they were getting more attention,” Champlin said.

The challenge, he continued, is finding the right balance and making decisions based on the overall good to the city. Though work is being done in all communities, he agreed that communication with the refugee and new American populations could be better.

“Communication needs to be strengthened and we need to have clear expressions of what everyone in the Heights feels are the challenges to help us discern how to address them,” Champlin said. “Communication is a two-way street – City Council has been very open to a variety of members from the new American community to come and speak with us and we continue to encourage communication.”

Ndayishimiye argued that members of the new American community have continuously approached city councilors regarding the needs of their neighborhood, including the request for lights at Keach Park, which was budgeted for 2018 and later moved to 2031.

“We now have city council members talking about raising money for golf course lights but we’ve been talking about Keach Park lights for a long time,” he said. “The fact that they’re talking about golf course lights and gas-powered carts instead of soccer lights, they’re just thinking about one specific group of people and ignoring that they’ve failed to do outreach.”

As one of the councilors for the Heights neighborhoods, Ward 9 Councilor Candace Bouchard agreed that outreach could be better while highlighting recent and upcoming projects that will benefit the neighborhood, like enclosed soccer fields, a satellite library, community center improvements and maintenance to Keach Park.

“It might seem like there are projects that aren’t focusing on the Heights but there are plenty of projects that we have done and are still working on up there,” Bouchard said. “My focus right now is to fight hard and work hard to make sure we aren’t forgotten and are moving forward with public safety and projects.”

Concord Mayor Jim Bouley did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Bouchard and Champlin said they look forward to continuing to work with Change for Concord in the future while vowing to increase outreach incentives and one-on-one discussions.

Ndayishimiye is ready to talk.

“This is what I am going to do for my entire life,” Ndayishimiye said about his advocacy work. “I’ve seen how other young people from the same background are struggling with drinking and trying to find jobs and we have to train these younger people that there are opportunities for them and we have to show them leadership and the resources the community has for them. That is our City Council member’s job.”

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