About the Rohingya
Culture Center
The United Nations lists the Rohingya Muslims of northwestern Burma (Myanmar) among the most persecuted people in the world. Burma’s 1982 Citizenship Law denied the ethnic Muslim minority group legal status, rendering them stateless, and denying them the right to education, work, and travel. Since then, many of the Rohingya have been displaced by genocide and have been forced to flee.
The Rohingya Culture Center was established in 2016, in Chicago’s West Ridge/West Rogers Park neighborhood, to serve the needs of the growing Rohingya refugee community. Over 600 Rohingya families have been resettled in Chicago since 2010.
The need for such a center, which could provide social services for the growing community, was first conceptualized by Nasir Zakaria, RCC’s current Executive Director, and one of the first Rohingya refugees to arrive in Chicago. RCC opened on April 9, 2016. Since then, the number of programs and the number of constituents has only grown.
RCC is partially funded by a grant from the Zakat Foundation.
The Rohingya Culture Center is a community-based social service organization serving the needs of the Rohingya refugee population in Chicago.
Board Members
Nasir Zakaria
Executive Director
Laura Toffeneti
Board Member
Imran Akbar
Board Member
Mohammed Mian
Board Member
Rahimah Haji Kalil
Board Member
Almas bin Ezar Miah
Board Member
Staff Members
Sarah Pajeau
Assistant Director
Abdul Jabbar Amanullah
Senior Case Manager
Maddie Pilat
Program Director
Emraan Mohamad Yakub
Case Manager
Abul Foyaz Abdul Razak
Community Health Worker
Dale Cheney
Program Assistant
Erika Husby
Adult Volunteer Literacy Coordinator
Siti Rashidah Binti Muhamad Ali
Child Care Assistant
Manzur Alam
Quran Teacher
Amin Nisa Mohamad Omar
Childcare Worker
Imran Mohammad
Policy Advocate