Omonigho Idegun

It was lovely to meet Omonigho Idegun and highlight her story. Omonoigho was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK in 2006. She later moved to Wales in 2011. Omonigho (Omo) is the founder of Wrexham’s first African community CIC and the African community market.

As a single parent herself, facing many challenges, Omo realised that there was a need for a support group in Wrexham. Omo set up Wrexham’s African Community to help people moving to the area combat loneliness and isolation. A WhatsApp group was set up allowing members to contact and support each other. It brings people together, enabling them to help each other with many issues.

Omo founded the Wrexham African Community in 2019, helping just 15 families, which began to grow and in April 2023 Wrexham African Community became a CIC. The Wrexham African Community now helps over 500 families from all over Wrexham and the surrounding areas.

Before the African community started, people would have to travel more than 50 miles to buy ingredients, to cook traditional food that reminded them of home. 

On the 21st of July 2023, Omo opened Obehi’s African Community Market, alongside her fellow directors. An empty shop on Queen Street in Wrexham is now “Obehi’s, being run by Omo she has given up her day job and works in the shop 7 days a week on a voluntary basis. Before this Omo would travel several times a week to Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham to get groceries for the families she supported. The community she supports can now buy herbs and spices from all over Africa, here in Wrexham and there is a regular supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. It also means that the Wrexham community in general, can also have a taste of African food.