Part-time volunteer, full-time matriarch

12/6/2023

Cynthia Hunafa, or Miss Cynthia as she was referred to by fellow volunteers inside of the Creative Visions building, has her influence interwoven throughout Des Moines.

Hunafa was born in Queens, New York City, raised in Harlem and spent time in each borough.

From the time she was 2 years old until she aged out, Hunafa was in foster care. She knew she was part of seven siblings but only knew of three — her older sisters. She hadn’t even met one of her older brothers until her mother’s funeral. 

“One of my sisters met me at the airport. I see this gentleman with her. I just thought he was driving, because she didn’t drive. So I’m hugging her, and she introduced me to this guy, and I shook his hand. He looked at me and said, ‘I’m your brother,’ ” Hunafa said while chuckling.

While in school, Hunafa gained a wealth of knowledge from one of her friends when it came to history, culture and music from seeing live performances by the likes of jazz legends Nina Simone and Rahsaan Roland Kirk to participating in marches, demonstrations and boycotts. 

“I gained a good education that wasn’t in brick and mortar but gained by the folks that I hung out with — an immense education that I’m still to this day so appreciative of,” said Hunafa. 

Hunafa carried on her love for the performing and visual arts by performing in a college circuit with a musical group around up-state New York, as well as New York City. After this, she eventually made her way to Des Moines.

“I came here on the Greyhound bus, for 26 some odd hours, and then six weeks later gave birth. I didn’t know anything about Iowa. I packed up a box and left some really valuable things back in New York. I just carried what I could fit under the bus and got here,” said Hunafa.

The unfamiliarity and heavy contrast did give Hunafa reason to return to the East Coast, but the Iowa charm worked its magic.

“I did consider going back because I had no family here, but I wound up getting comfortable,” said Hunafa.

Within a few short years after moving to Des Moines, Hunafa connected with Gateway Dance Theatre, leading to a 35-year-long relationship between the two. She also received her associate’s degree from DMACC, where Professor Lois Edwards inspired her.

“She would say things that really grabbed my attention, one of which was the responsibility that we as a community have for making sure that our children are well educated. It just grabbed my attention and put me on the path of education,” said Hunafa.

Hunafa attended Drake University to acquire her teaching degree, which led to 24 years of teaching within DMPS schools. She started at Hubbell Elementary for four years and taught the next 20 at Moulton Elementary. 

“It’s about educating and empowering communities and families. When I would teach, and we were outside or on the playground or we were on a field trip, you make any place a classroom. Any place,” said Hunafa.

When she retired from teaching, Hunafa connected with state representative Ako Abdul-Samad, whom she met on her first day in Iowa while getting off the bus. Abdul-Samad offered her a spot at his non-profit organization, Creative Visions, as part of the “Outside the Box” program, where Hunafa would supervise children doing lessons online.

“He said, ‘We need you to just come and watch the kids while they’re on the computers; that’s easy peasy.’ There’s nothing easy peasy about doing any of that,” said Hunafa.

Her teaching background immediately came into play. She worked to attach students’ passions to experts in their fields of interest. She connected a student with exceptional artistic abilities to take art lessons at the Des Moines Art Center and another student who had a love for fashion to a local boutique to help develop her craft.

“The beautiful thing was that these folks could be so willing to reach back for somebody. They remember what it was like. Once you’ve got your thing, go on, reach back, and pull somebody forward,” said Hunafa.

Her goal, along with the mission statement at Creative Visions, is to develop and promote community involvement by helping the younger generation gain the tools necessary for success. 

“I don’t care what you look like. I don’t care where you come from. If you got something that my students, my children, can connect with and will help them reach their dreams, we’re going in that direction. That’s what helps make a difference,” said Hunafa. 

Hunafa has done an extensive amount of volunteer work since her retirement. She mentioned the “ISU 4U Promise” partnership between Iowa State University and King and Moulton elementary schools where eligible students have the chance to earn full-ride scholarships.

“There were 13 students initially that fit the criteria all the way through high school. Two of them were my former students,” she said, while holding back tears. 

Through her life experiences, Hunafa realizes her role in her family.

“I’m realizing that I’m the matriarch in my family. My children, my grandchildren, my two great grands. Working to pull that together, because sometimes families can get messy. I use that role in the best possible way for my family, because I look back at all these years, I didn’t have that. It was ‘foster this, foster that.’ My children don’t have that. They have me, and they have each other,” said Hunafa. ♦