Sierra Leone Telegraph: 3 July 2021:
Meet Franca Jalloh, a mother of three beautiful daughters, a non-profit business executive, an educator, an advocate and most of all, a respected member of the Greensboro community in North Carolina, USA, who is campaigning to win local council election in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Franca is the daughter of the late renowned Sierra Leonean geography professor – Franklyn Kaloko. Her mother is retired nurse Mrs Isatu Kaloko who lives in the USA. Franca was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and grew up in Brunei, Southeast Asia for about 10 years. She has lived in the United States for about 20 years.
Franca says she is contesting the elections because of her commitment to transforming Greensboro to a better community for its diverse people to live, work and enjoy better quality of life.
Ms. Franca Jalloh is the Founder and Executive Director of Jalloh’s Upright Services of North Carolina, which is an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Grassroot Organization that serves low-income immigrants and refugees.
With over 15 years of immigration legal experience as a Department of Justice Accredited Immigration Legal Representative, Ms. Franca Jalloh has used her skills and expertise to liaise with, advocate for and assist immigrants and refugees with the tools they need to become self-sufficient, productive members of society.
Ms. Jalloh has been recognized and accredited six times over by the U.S Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security. She was the first female Chair of the City of Greensboro’s International Advisory Committee (I.A.C.).
Additionally, having been appointed by the Mayor and City Council, Ms. Jalloh is currently a City Commissioner with Greensboro’s Criminal Justice Advisory Commission (GC-JAC), and she also serves as a Board member of the City of Greensboro’s Police Community Review Board (P.C.R.B).
Just recently, Franca Jalloh was appointed to serve on the City of Greensboro’s Ad-Hoc Committee for Disparity Studies and currently serves on the Workforce Development Committee, advocating for all black people in that capacity.
Franca Jalloh is one of the Founding Members of the Women of Africa Leadership Coalition (WALC) and she is also the Founder and Elected President of the prestigious ‘Women In Our Community’ (WIOC) international women’s group in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Ms. Franca Jalloh, further serves as an esteemed Board Member of Guilford County’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, and she is the CEO and Founding Director of the talked about ‘International Taste Of The World Gala’ which is held annually to help bring together the beautiful melting pot that represents the diverse community of Greensboro.
In 2020, because of her professional and civic contributions, Ms. Jalloh was recognized publicly as one of the ’40 Under Forty Most Influential African American’s In The North Carolina Triad Area’, the only naturalized American citizen born on African soil to ever receive this award so far.
Franca Jalloh and her team are providing immense support and assistance through her organisation – Jalloh’s Upright Services, to a diverse range of vulnerable people – including those escaping violence in their own country or desiring a better life for themselves and their families.
Her services focus on promoting social justice and equality for all vulnerable members of the community. She is a graduate of Manhattan College and Berkeley College in New York, and she has been admitted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for further learning.
Franca is also a graduate of Greensboro’s City Academy and of the Police Citizens Academy. She is a member of the NAACP and a licensed North Carolina State Notary.
There is no doubt that Franca has the ability and personal commitment to drive forward much needed change at the Greensboro City Council that will benefit all citizens, irrespective of colour, race, or creed.
We wish Franca Jalloh success at the coming local council elections in North Carolina, USA. And may the spirit of your dad – Professor Franklyn Kaloko be with you – all the way to winning the election.
Good luck, and congratulations to Ms Franca Jalloh. I wish her all the best in her efforts in trying to improve her local community by putting her name forward for the candidacy for her local Greensboro Council, in North Carolina. As an Immigrant to the land of Free and brave, her success can only be attributed to her determination, taking on challenges she set herself, and above all else her parents instilling in her the sense, in the land of land of free and brave, your dreams and aspirations should be set for the skies. Never settle for ” No “for an answer. Time and Time again, we’ve witnessed, given the opportunities, Sierra-Leoneans can give any one a run for their money. The mind boggling question tben becomes, why are Sierra Leoneans capable to climb the greasy poll of success, and become over achievers in foreign lands, but we are denied the same rights by fellow Sierra-leoneans to express our talents and help develop our nation the way we see fit, rather than frog march by corrupt politicians that thinks only they know what is best for us.
That we don’t have the connectivity in our brains to think for ourselves , and make our own decisions tbat we feel is right for us. As Ms Franca Jalloh, and many like her have shown, that were denied their birth right to express their talents in their home country, now America will make use of her talents and the knowledge she brought on the table. As ever the looser always turns out to be Sierra Leone.