Category Archives: Immigrant and Refugee Integration

Empowering Adults at the English Skills Learning Center!

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by Rachel Blackmer
English Skills Learning Center
Guest Blogger

The English Skills Learning Center (ESLC) had a class graduation for employees of the University of Utah who participated in a Workplace English class provided by the ESLC. Twelve students received certificates congratulating them on the progress they made on the post-tests at the end of the class. The employees who participated in the class were from Somalia, Mexico, Croatia, Guatemala, and Bhutan and had varying levels of English ability. The students learned how to fill out work forms, call in sick or late to work, give directions to visitors on campus, ask clarifying questions when given directions from supervisors, and report problems to supervisors.

One of the students, Bedha, is from Nepal and had only lived in the U.S. for 8 months when he started attending the classes. He had attended college and had been a teacher in Nepal. At the class graduation, he gave a speech about what he had learned in the class and said that this class had helped him make the decision to go to college! He plans to attend Salt Lake Community College later on this year. This encouraged some of the other students to also look into taking college courses. The successes of these students exemplify the powerful results of the ESLC’s mission to bring the promise of integration, security, and empowerment to adult English language learners in Salt Lake County.

class graduationEnglish Skills Learning Center works with United Way of Salt Lake as a Strategy Partner. English Skills Learning Center serves Kearns, South Salt Lake, and West Valley City by training volunteers to teach and supervise English classes for the growing adult newcomer population.

Annual Refugee Conference Held

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by Isabel Rojas
Community Collaborations Director

October was an exciting month for refugee community advocates and leaders. The Utah State Refugee Office hosted their Annual Refugee Conference with workshops for refugee service providers as well as refugee community members and leaders. We also had the privilege to hear from Esklnder Negash, Director of the National Office of Refugee Resettlement who brought a valuable national perspective and was able to tour our local resettlement agencies and other partners while he was here.

UWSL’s Promise Refugee Youth Partnership hosted two breakout sessions highlighting the need to collaborate to a higher degree of rigor in order to change the outcomes for refugee youth and families.

Krystal Rogers-Nelson, Youth Program Coordinator, International Rescue Committee had this to say about her experience:

“I had the privilege of attending the refugee conference for the first time this year and to participate in two break out panels during the afternoon sessions. After being inspired with refugee stories by Kirstin Cox in the morning, it was rewarding to be able to participate in a panel representing the International Rescue Committee alongside our director, Patrick Poulin as well as Shae Bourdeaux from Catholic Community Services, Lina Smith from Asian Association of Utah, and Isabel Rojas from United Way of Salt Lake.

It was exciting to have the opportunity to have a conversation with other service providers about the power of working collaboratively across agencies to help ensure our refugee youth in Salt Lake are graduating high school and applying for college. It was the first time that we presented as a group to the broader community about the Collective Impact Partnership between IRC, AAU, CCS, United Way of Salt Lake and Horizonte. We were able to explain the tenants of Collective Impact and share with the group the progress we have made so far in tracking the schools refugee youth are attending and tracking report cards to see their progress.  We were also able to talk about some of the challenges we have faced throughout the process.

For me, the most rewarding part of the conference was to meet and talk with refugee youth service providers in the community and brainstorm possibilities for collaboration moving forward.  I am looking forward to expand our partnership and tap into all of the existing resources possible to make sure that refugee youth who may be struggling will get the support they need to succeed.” 

United Way of Salt Lake’s Promise Partnerships are committed to a non-traditional collaboration through the tenants of the Collective Impact that aligns multiple efforts and strategies around targeted youth and populations.

Namaste!

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by Lindsey Edwards
Community Learning Center Coordinator
Woodrow Wilson Elementary

After many conversations with teachers and staff, a continuous theme emerged.  “We really need to increase parental involvement in our school.”  Woodrow Wilson Elementary has quite a diverse population with over 20 languages being spoken within the community.  One of the largest cultural groups enrolled in Woodrow Wilson Elementary is the Bhutanese from Nepal. We wanted to do something to engage the parents of the Bhutanese community, to make them feel welcome at the school, and to emphasize the importance of their role in their students’ education.  We started the planning process by surveying teachers, and asking what they thought were the most important topics relating to their Nepali students.  We then reached out to International Rescue Committee, Ghana Dlal (a prominent leader in the Nepali community), and organized the Bhutanese Community Outreach event.  Teachers and administrative staff from Woodrow Wilson Elementary volunteered their time on Friday, October 5th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. to speak to over 50 members of the Bhutanese community who were in attendance.  Mr. Dlal from IRC translated for us as the teachers and I covered topics such as: an overview of the American school system, proper hygiene, discipline in a school-based setting, the absences/tardiness policy, and the importance of parental involvement in their children’s education.  Parents were also given the opportunity to ask questions.

The parents were very receptive to the information covered, and many of them expressed how much they appreciated everything that they learned. Many of them said that they learned a lot and felt like the information that they got was exactly what they needed in order to help their kids. The parents were excited about this new knowledge and how they will use it to support their students. Mr. Dlal was so pleased with the success of the event that he recommended that we replicate it with the other pockets of Bhutanese families living in Salt Lake City.

The Bhutanese Community Outreach event is an example of how United Way of Salt Lake and Collective Impact works across sectors in order to bridge gaps in services for Salt Lake City’s most vulnerable populations.  I would like to extend a huge “Thank You” to the teachers and staff at Woodrow Wilson Elementary, Mr. Dlal, IRC, and all of the Bhutanese community members in attendance that made the event a huge success.

Ibrahim Achieved his Dream and Changed his Life!

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by Ahmad Zia Afzali
English Skills Learning Center

If one has never attended school nor is able to read or write in any language, then passing the U.S. citizenship test can be a huge milestone that would require years of effort and hard work to become a U.S citizen.

Ibrahim Mohamed came to the United States in October 2004 from a refugee camp in Kenya, but he is originally from Somalia. He became an English Skills Learning Center (ESLC) student in May 2010 and informed us that his goal was to pass the U.S. citizenship test. Being a father of 10 children (two of whom are disabled) and head of a 12 member household, it has not been easy for Ibrahim to be able to attend class or to learn and prepare for the citizenship test. On top of that, Ibrahim never attended school and isn’t able to read and write in any language. However, Ibrahim managed his time in order to attend class provided by the ESLC and worked hard in hopes of achieving his goal: to be an American.

During this period of time he worked with several volunteer teachers who were supported by ESLC staff.  All of his volunteer teachers were so impressed with Ibrahim’s hard work, enthusiasm, and interest in attending class.  Since 2010, Ibrahim has taken the citizenship test four times, once in 2010, once in 2011 and twice in 2012.  While he was not able to pass the test in his first three attempts, he never lost his interest and continued working and attending class. Finally his hard work paid off and he successfully passed the citizenship test in his fourth attempt which was on August 7, 2012!!  I know and feel how much it means to Ibrahim to be a U.S citizen. The ESLC volunteers and staff acknowledge that we have a big responsibility, but together we can accomplish the goals of our students.

Now that Ibrahim achieved his dream he has changed his life and family status.  It is now time to express our appreciation and thanks to our great volunteers who dedicated their time during this long journey to help Ibrahim achieve his goal.  Thank you for making a monumental difference and supporting our mission: bringing the promise of integration, security, and empowerment to adult newcomers in Salt Lake County.

Congratulations Ibrahim and thank you to everyone at the English Skills Learning Center for LIVING UNITED!

***English Skills Learning Center works with United Way of Salt Lake as a Strategy Partner. English Skills Learning Center serves Kearns, South Salt Lake, and West Valley City by training volunteers to teach and supervise English classes for the growing adult newcomer population.***

Meet Aden Batar and Get Involved with the Refugee Community!

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by Chelsea Nelson

Interactive Communications Director

A few days ago, I had the honor to sit down and talk with Aden Batar, the Director of Immigration & Refugee Resettlement for Catholic Community Services (CCS). Batar has an amazing story.  A Somali refugee himself, Batar has first hand experience with fleeing a country due to civil war and then going through the refugee resettlement process in Utah.

Batar grew up in Somalia and then graduated with his law degree from Somali National University. During that time, he also married and started a family. However, in 1990, shortly after Batar graduated, civil war broke out. Due to the violence, Batar hid his family for two years until his older son died as a result of the war in 1992. Following that devastating loss, the very next day Batar took his family and fled Somalia.

Batar had a brother-in-law that had been a student in Utah since 1988, who then sponsored Batar and his family for political asylum.  Shortly after, Batar and his family came to Utah to resettle as refugees. Batar and his family spent 2 years in Logan where he studied at Utah Sate University. At this same time, many Somali refugees were living in camps in Kenya.  In 1996 the camps became so overcrowded and health conditions became so poor, that hundreds of thousands of these refugees were resettled to the United States. Utah resettled a large number of refugees and Batar moved to Salt Lake to take a job with Catholic Community Services to help with resettlement.

Batar has dedicated himself to Catholic Community Services ever since. In 2001 he became the director of the refugee program and is currently still working hard to resettle refugees in Salt Lake City. Batar also does many things for the refugee community outside of Catholic Community Services.  Batar founded Somali Community Services and works to help the Islamic Society of Salt Lake City. His family also participates in volunteer service with the refugee community whenever they can. Because of his dedication to the resettlement of Somali refugees and the refugee community in general, Batar has been asked to attend the UNHCR annual meeting on refugee resettlement in Geneva, Switzerland, as the Somali US Delegate–where he will be representing all Somali refugees. This is a huge honor, and we congratulate him.

United Way of Salt Lake partners with Catholic Community Services to help reach our Immigrant and Refugee Immigration goals. Using the Collective Impact model, CCS and other refugee partners are now working together, rather than in competition with each other. Batar says “Collective Impact and partnering with United Way of Salt Lake is very exciting. It allows everyone who is supporting the refugee community to come together, rather than compete. Because of this, services can compliment one another. This helps so much because those who need help get a well-rounded variety of services and everyone is working together.”

There are many great partners working together in Utah to help the refugee community.  However, volunteers who get involved on a personal level are always needed. Batar encourages everyone to reach out and become friends with those who are trying to make Utah home. “No matter how many agencies there are–there is only so much each one can do. The refugee community needs more. They need someone to call a friend. They need people to welcome them. Helping on a personal level is so meaningful and we can’t allow refugees to be isolated. They need to be a part of the community. Refugees don’t have a choice when they leave their home country. As a community, we do have a choice. We must choose to help refugees.”

Photo thanks to icatholic.org

Thank you, Batar for LIVING UNITED and helping so many people in our communities and neighborhoods!  Good luck in Geneva!

For volunteer opportunities in the refugee community, dial 2-1-1 for more information!