For many years I have practiced as an architectural designer in London, Qatar, Sudan, and now the US. The common thread I saw in all these places is that we need to build the community before building for the community. In 2019 while designing a community center for Ohio City I drove Uber and Lyft to learn more about how people experience their neighborhood and to reach people who would otherwise not be heard. It was those intimate conversations that revealed the extraordinary stories in our communities, our shared dreams, worries, and struggles. This project aims to build the invisible structure of empathy, that will help us be more just, inclusive, peaceful, and genuinely connected communities.

 Habboba brings to you the untold, unheard, unseen stories of our communities. and one of these communities is my Sudanese fellows in the Cleveland. in 2019 Sudanese people have successfully ended the 30 years dictatorship of Omer Elbashir and its brutal regime in pursuit of Freedom, Justice, and Peace. Since then a peace talk has started to end almost two decades of war in Darfur, a war that is fuelled by racism, greed, and corruption.  “Since 2003 the conflict in Darfur has affected 4.7 million people, including more than 1.76 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in need of humanitarian assistance.” according to the US Department of State. In Cleveland alone, there are more than 420 refugees and immigrants, with Cleveland being one of the first cities to receive the Lost Boys of Sudan in 2001. Doctors, mothers, students, entrepreneurs, and workers from Sudan now call Cleveland home, but for many decades this community remained segregated into two distinct groups. these divisions mirror the same pattern of racial injustices that have plagued the country, so for the first time, the two communities decided to candidly share their stories of what peace means to them in hope of bridging the gap of empathy and bringing unity to the community. 

Habboba will continue to amplify our stories.. one community at a time... follow our journey at @habbobavan on Instagram and Facebook