Posts Tagged ‘Tri Cities’
A letter from the Director
Office Director Kenneth Primus shares an update with World Relief Tri Cities friends and partners.
Friends of World Relief Tri Cities,
Thank you for your faithful work of welcome with World Relief, creating a community of love and welcome for our immigrant neighbors together with us. We all know the past 3 years have been tumultuous. COVID, dual crisis in Afghanistan and Ukraine, along with inflation and economic change have spurred our office to adapt and grow with the times. And in this season of change, as we look for opportunities to better serve vulnerable neighbors here in our community, we are reaching out for your renewed partnership.
Local impact – Lasting change
Our staff has tripled since 2020, while our roster of active volunteers has also grown from 4 to 17. Welcoming only 49 refugees in 2021, our staff welcomed 168 refugees in 2022, plus 72 Afghan Parolees. This year we are on our way to welcome 240 refugees and we anticipate as many as 350 refugees in FY2024. We have also served 482 Ukrainian Parolees over the past 8 months! We are so encouraged by this long awaited growth.
This growth challenges us to focus not only on our clients but on our community as a whole. To better serve our community, we have planned new program opportunities that include expanded Immigration Legal Services, Vocational Language classes, semi-monthly workshops focused on life skills, and tuition assistance for vocational training and certification. Additionally we have planned for community focused “Refugee Simulation” events to provide insight on the refugee experience, and as always, community outreach and church mobilization. We will also be supporting the Administration’s new “Welcome Corps” private sponsorship program for anyone who wants to personally sponsor a refugee.
You can help
This growth is only possible together – we can’t do this without your help! Within the next two weeks we’ll be posting five new, full-time positions for Caseworkers, Employment Specialist, and Community Outreach personnel. Watch our Facebook page and Open Positions Page for these postings and please share these positions with your networks or consider applying personally. If full-time isn’t an option for you, then please consider Volunteering.
As always, we are also seeking donors. Rent went up 35-50% last year, but the stipend we receive from the State Department we receive for each refugee increased less than 5%. This is just the starkest example of where inflation has affected our operation.
Additional needs include transportation and housing for our Office staff. We have a 2000 Windstar that is on it’s last legs. Other than our personal vehicles, this van is our only means of taking clients to appointments, bringing them home from the airport, or helping them move into their new home. Please spread the word that we are looking for a good deal on a used van (or two).
Finally, our office space has not kept pace with the increased staff and client lists. If anyone has real estate connections or knows of some office space that might be available please let us know, (our lease expires in May). You can reach us at TriCitiesOffice@wr.org.
Thank you for your prayers, your voice, and your continued support. Please continue this journey with us as we strive to make the Tri Cites and more welcoming place!
God Bless,
Kenneth Primus
TEDxTalk: One Refugee’s Life Experience | Côme Nzibarega
Born and raised in Burundi, CĂ´me Nziberaga has a gift for languages; he speaks five – French, Swahili, Kirundi, Amharic, and English. In 2005, languages helped him land a job as a translator for a United Nations peacekeeping force sent to Burundi, which for decades has been plagued by conflicts between the nation’s two largest ethnic groups.
By assisting the peacekeeping force, CĂ´me became a target of a rebel group and was forced to flee to escape torture and civil war. He became a refugee in Ethiopia for six years before being invited to permanently resettle in the U.S.
After his experience, CĂ´me shares that he believes refugee camps are the richest places in the world.
“I believe some of the problems the world faces right now, the solution is found in those refugees who do not have the opportunity to achieve the purpose they were created for. What if we saw the refugee crisis going on right now as an opportunity, not as a problem?”
CĂ´me is now an Employment Specialist at World Relief Tri-Cities, welcoming and empowering others. He speaks in public regularly about the role of immigrants in our evolving society, hopeful as he shares his insights in order to create more inclusive communities and societies.
Hear more of his story shared at TEDx Spokane and TEDx Coeur D’Alene.
As the refugee cap hopefully increases to 125,000 in the new fiscal year, we’re entering into a new moment in America, one in which we urgently need your help to rebuild our capacity to welcome, love and support refugees and give them the opportunity to achieve their purpose. Will you join us as we rebuild here in Tri-Cities?
Never Expected to Be a Refugee: From Sunset to Sunrise
I never expected to be a refugee. I joined a university when I was 18 years old, enrolling in the English department at Basra (the Port of Iraq). At the end of my time there, I graduated second in my department. After graduation, I stayed two more years as a researcher’s assistant and then five more years when I was accepted for my masters in the linguistics program.
I became a professor in 1987 and moved to Baghdad in 1992 to teach undergraduate and post graduate students of the English Department at Baghdad University College of Education for Women. Life felt almost perfect, and it seemed I had great success. For the next 10 years, I continued teaching, translating for the women’s newsletter, participating in academic, cultural and social activities, and supporting needy students during the 12-year blockade. I especially enjoyed my big extended family’s weekly gathering to have our authentic food and spend the most precious time together.
Then, in 2003, the unexpected happened. The United States invaded Iraq. This is when my life would change forever.
In hopes to rebuild my country, I stayed three years after the U.S. military arrived. However, the targeted people were the Iraqi brains. Doctors, professors, scientists, and engineers were receiving life threats daily. I knew it was only a matter of time before they reached me. It was then I knew I had to leave. My sister, niece and I packed our bags to escape the ongoing danger.
Becoming a Refugee
Life had taken a sudden turn. The complete unimaginable came to be. We had never expected to be refugees. I took a one year leave to live in Jordan, just to rethink and find some rest. However, the war continued on and when we were accepted into the States, we took our chance to go.
All I knew of America was what I had studied in literature and what I had seen from Oprah and Dr. Phil’s shows. I had an idea of what American culture would be like, but it proved to be very different.
In the beginning, our time in America was really tough. Our family had come from a comfortable background. We were different than refugees that had come from impoverished countries or refugee camps. We went from having everything to nothing and it was a shock.
My sister, niece and I cried for the next two weeks. We were depressed and longed for what life had been. But we had to move forward. Surviving a war together, we knew we were not weak, but strong. We made the decision to do whatever it took not only to survive, but to be successful again.
Razkya, my sister, took on the responsibility of home life. My niece, Shatha, was the first one to begin working and thriving (she later got her diamond star from JC Penney and now she is furthering her education in make-up artistry and fashion marketing). I applied for community college, but was rejected, even though I had studied the same courses others at the school had. My degree was not from the States and this was enough to receive their rejection.
Three months later, a glimmer of hope came. World Relief offered me a job as an Arabic interpreter and I eagerly accepted it. Not only did they offer me work, but they embraced me. They became my second family, a family I had lost from my home country. I knew this job was meant for me.
[Re]Building
Eventually, I went from working part time with World Relief, to a full-time position as a program case worker. I now have the opportunity to advocate for refugees and immigrants just like myself. I have also served as a member of the Refugee Advisory Counsel for the past three years, along with starting a WhatsApp group to build community for refugee and immigrant women. This group shares needed information on health services, employment opportunities, educational support, and even recipes during the COVID pandemic.
I have felt so loved during my time at World Relief. I have gained community I never imagined having in America. I have been participating in many cultural festivals in order to create a mutual understanding about our Iraqi-Arabic-Islamic culture. World Relief has given me the chance to teach about my country and culture and offers this same opportunity to other refugees.
This past year, the support and love I have received from World Relief was so important, as I endured the painful loss of my sister, Razkya. She recently passed from COVID and life has just not been the same without her. My grief is so deep. However, my niece and I do our best to press on. We are turning our grief into honor and success for Razkya.
By giving back, our family has been able to show our gratitude. My sister always did this through her cooking and had even taken on the nickname of the “Iraqi Martha Stewart.” Every year, Razkya would make her favorite dish, biryani . She served it to our office, police station, and community. It was her way of saying thank you.
It has been a long journey. Looking back, I am able to see all the ways God has worked through my life. I never expected to be a refugee: it has not always been easy, but He has always provided, from sunset to sunrise. Even through all the pain and struggle, God has given a second family and a job I love through World Relief. I continue to give back and advocate for other refugees in hope of bringing help to those that are the experiencing the same pain I once did.
We are so grateful to Amira for sharing her story with us. You can join Amira and the rest of the World Relief family as we help refugees and other immigrants [Re]Build their lives in the U.S. Learn more and get involved.
Summer Lecas
Amira co-authored her story with Summer, a spring semester intern with World Relief and recent graduate of Liberty University with a degree in Strategic Communication.