Dauda Sesay
Dauda Sesay
Vice-Chair, Board of Directors
Honorary Delegate (Louisiana)
Resettled Refugee from Sierra Leone
Dauda Sesay is Vice-Chair of the Refugee Congress Board of Directors and an Honorary Delegate from Louisiana.
Dauda fled Sierra Leone at age 16 due to a brutal war that led to the murder of his father and younger sister. While he was fleeing the military and the rebels, he was shot and seriously injured. In a refugee camp in the Gambia, he worked with other refugees to advocate for better living conditions and education for children. When his injury required further surgery, he moved to the capital, where he met his wife -- also a refugee -- and when his medical condition deteriorated, Dauda, his wife and their six-month-old daughter were resettled to the U.S.
Today, Dauda serves as National Network Director for African Communities Together (ACT). He is also a founding member and President of the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit community-based organization that assists refugees and immigrants through their various stages of integration into the United States. He works with refugee families, coordinates help to New Americans during times of natural disasters, and works to connect communities, amplify refugee voices and build bridges.
Dauda is also a member of the Mayor Sharon Weston Broome International Relations Commission and Chairperson of the Commission on Culture and Art Engagement, a commission established to help make the City of Baton Rouge more inclusive and welcoming. He was recently appointed as U.S. Advisor at the UNHCR High-Level Officials Meeting on Global Impact on refugees.
Dauda received the 2021 Refugee Congress Excellence Award for Honorary Delegate. He has a degree in Applied Science in Process Technology from Baton Rouge Community College and is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Administrative Management at Louisiana State University-Shreveport. Prior to joining ACT, he worked as a Process Technician at Dow Chemical.
He is the proud father of five children. In his free time, he likes playing soccer, doing fun activities with children and listening to music (afrobeats, Zydeco and country).
“Due to the endless fear of persecution and the vicious war that took away my loved ones, I had no choice but to flee my country. The lifesaving refugee resettlement program provides a second chance at life to families seeking protection, and it reaffirms this nation’s values, compassion and humanity.”
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