WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Every February, in honor of Black History Month, the Sacramento Kings award their Dream All Star Award to selected Black community leaders that are making a positive impact in the Sacramento region.

The Sacramento Kings are very committed to using their NBA status to influence social and systemic change to address institutional racism.

This year, two West Sacramento residents were among those awarded: Dr. Dawnte’ Early, West Sacramento Councilwoman & CEO of the United Way, California and Jeneba Lahai, Executive Director of Yolo County Children’s Alliance (YCCA), each received their crown when they were honored at Golden 1 Center. Both of these ladies stand out, as they impact lives in our region every day.

“I don’t really look at myself like that. I just want to help people,” Jeneba said. “I had heard that I was nominated, but I just kept working. I don’t come alone. I come as a team. I have amazing people on my team.”

The YCCA provides wrap around and direct services to anyone who qualifies and needs their help. They do their best to accommodate any ethnicity, with as little struggle as possible (like language barrier).

Jeneba was born in Liberia. When she was 7 years old, a civil war was taking place and the government was being overthrown. Jeneba said that in the middle of the night, her mom woke her up, took her by the hand, and with only what they could carry, they walked to freedom.

“It took forever. It was so far! I kept telling my mom to just leave me here because I was too tired to walk anymore,” Jeneba said. She explained that many families were leaving their children on the road when they couldn’t keep up, but not her mom. Jeneba’s mom tied a cloth around her waist and then around Jeneba’s waist, and she basically drug Jeneba behind her.

“I’m not leaving you behind!” her Mother told her. “It’s what they are going through in the Ukraine, right now”, Jeneba said.  Finally, Jeneba and her mom made it to a refugee camp. They lived in that camp for a couple of years, until they were finally able to move in with her Uncle, in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Jeneba and her Mother lived there until Jeneba’s Mom decided that she didn’t want Jeneba’s education to stop. It took a long time (about two years), but eventually they got the paperwork (VISA etc.) for Jeneba to move to America where her dad lived. She was 12 years old.

Jeneba emigrated from Sierra Leone, West Africa and grew up in America. Because of the experiences that Jeneba has gone through in her life, she has always known that she wanted to help people.

Jeneba graduated from Sacramento State and began helping people right away as manager of one of Sacramento’s Birth and Beyond Family Resource Centers. She then joined the YCCA team, working under Katie Villegas. Jeneba and Katie, with the rest of the team, made remarkable growth of the agency and programs. When Katie retired, Jeneba took over as Executive Director and the agency continues to thrive as they continue to develop programs to meet the needs of the community.

Jeneba also serves as board chair of Yolo County’s Homeless and Poverty Action Coalition, member of the Yolo County Health Council, member of the Yolo County’s Head-Start policy council and a board member of the West Sacramento Housing Development Corporation. In addition, she was named one of “40 under 40” from the Sacramento Business Journal.

When you tell Jeneba what an amazing job she is doing, she is always quick to say, “I have a staff that does so much amazing work. My staff members have gone through something themselves, so they know the struggles that our community faces, and they know the feelings that go along with them. It’s because of this that the staff members each genuinely want to help the community without any judgement.”

If you are unaware of all of the programs that YCCA provides, you should check them out. They offer help in multiple languages. If they don’t have something to help you, in whatever aspect you are needing, they may at least know who does. Also, consider volunteering. The YCCA is part of, or hosting, many community events and often need a helping hand themselves. For more information on YCCA services go to yolokids.org. You can also go to the Alyce Norman Educational Center at 1200 Anna St, West Sacramento 95691 or call (916) 572-0560.