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There will be an information session for APA (Afghan Placement & Assistance) clients from 5 to 7 p.m. November 16 at the English Language Center in Boise. Please find details in the flyer and images below. 
 
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 The REACH Youth Program at IOR is partnering with the Boise and West Ada school districts to offer after-school activities to high school students from refugee backgrounds. Please contact Chantale Niyonkuru, REACH Program Youth Specialist, for more information or referrals: cniyonkuru@idahorefugees.org. Looking to help out with the program? We need volunteer drivers to help students get to the school locations and go on field trips. If you're interested, please email Whitney Alsallum at walsallum@idahorefugees.org. Thank you! Here are flyers to share in English, Kiswahili, Arabic, and Kinyarwanda.
 The Idaho Office for Refugees is pleased to welcome Mr. Joel Ntando as our new Refugee Speakers Bureau Coordinator. Joel, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, holds graduate qualifications in Cultural and Media Studies, French from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has professional working experience in academia and media. As the coordinator of the Refugee Speakers Bureau, Joel will oversee the recruitment, training and development of speakers from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, with a focus on building strong relationships. He will work closely with the Idaho Office for Refugees Communications Team to plan and execute training and speaking opportunities that promote positive social change and build bridges of empathy and understanding among Idahoans from different cultures and backgrounds. The Refugee Speakers Bureau offers trainings and paid speaking opportunities. If you or someone you know is interested in joining as a speaker or hosting a speaker at your event, please contact Joel at jntando@idahorefugees.org or find a sign-up form at https://www.idahorefugees.org/refugeespeakersbureau.html. Welcome, Joel!  The Afghan Cultural Center of Idaho is excited to bring the community together for a soccer match Saturday, October 28, between Toofan F.C. of Boise and United F.C. of Seattle. Check out coverage of the game! The Afghan Cultural Center is a new program of the Idaho Office for Refugees, founded to promote Afghan culture, traditions, and customs, and to foster and nurture a positive relationship with the wider community. Idaho has welcomed refugees from Afghanistan for many years, and over the past two years Afghanistan has been one of the top countries of origin for folks resettling here.
 Nearly 20 years later, Boise garden program continues bridging gap for Idaho refugees - Idaho Capital Sun Moving day comes for Nampa Ukrainian Welcome Center - KTVB Investing in refugee resettlement is investing in America’s future. I’m proof of that | Opinion by Halima Hamud - Idaho Statesman Refugees Are An American Immigration Success Story - Forbes In a recipe rut? Get a little exotic - Boise Weekly One way ticket to Freedom: A former Idaho Governor and a local Afghan American worked to secure a flight for American allies out of Afghanistan - Idaho News 6  The Taste of Persia is a new Afghan restaurant in Boise opened by husband and wife Hafiz & Bahija Karim.
The family fled Afghanistan in the mid 1990s after the Taliban targeted them because of the education they received outside the country. They lived in Pakistan and Turkmenistan before resettling in Boise in 2005. Hafiz is a skilled engineer. He currently drives Uber and taxi to provide for his family. Bahija is a skilled seamstress and owns her own custom drapery business, The Golden Needle. The couple has four children and supports other family members, including relatives who were refugees in Ukraine when the war hit last year and were again displaced from their home. Their oldest daughter is in medical school, their older son manages Taste of Persia, their third child is working as a pharmacy technician and earning a degree in computer science, and their youngest is in high school and teaches Taekwondo. The couple also adopted a nephew who was beaten by the Taliban and paralyzed several years ago. The family opened Taste of Persia as a way to provide for their extended family and share their Afghan culture with other Americans, and to provide a place for fellow Afghan-Americans to enjoy a taste of home and have parties and celebrations. Check out Taste of Persia at 10386 West Ustick Road in Boise, open 12-9 p.m. every day except Monday. Welcoming Week is in September! Let's celebrate and continue building a culture of welcome and belonging together:
 Welcoming Week is a global initiative led by Welcoming America, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. We believe that being welcoming is much more than being friendly, tolerant, or peaceful. To be truly welcoming, a community needs intentional, inclusive policies, practices, and norms that enable all residents to live, thrive, and contribute fully. Learn more at welcomingamerica.org.  An award-winning research team at Boise State University has been awarded $83,000 to conduct research identifying challenges faced by former refugee farmers in the Treasure Valley and mapping out potential adaptations to these challenges.
The research will be done in collaboration with the Idaho Office for Refugees and our Global Gardens program. Learn more here!  1) Attend an Event: From World Refugee Day to Welcoming Week to our annual resettlement conference, we've got you covered with our events calendar here!
2) Volunteer & Donate: Visit www.idahorefugees.org/get-involved.html for details. 3) Global Talent: Use your expertise in your field to guide New Americans on their path to reclaim their careers. 4) Global Gardens: Buy produce from farmers from refugee backgrounds. 5) English Language Center: Become a classroom volunteer working with new refugee arrivals in Boise. 6) Refugee Speakers Bureau: At your next event or conference, consider hiring a speaker from a refugee background. 7) Tune In: Listen to and share our MOSAICS podcast of Idaho resettlement stories, join our newsletter, and follow our Community Calendar. 8) Refugee Appreciation Luncheon: Encourage your company to endorse this event, held each year at the Capitol during the legislative session, to show Idaho's appreciation of the contributions of New Americans in our state. 9) Join Neighbors United, a collective of companies, nonprofits and agencies in the Treasure Valley working toward solutions in areas including housing, transportation, and jobs, with a focus on the experiences of refugees 10) Housing: Encourage your networks (church, rotary club, etc.) to look into House Your Neighbor to see how you can help with housing solutions, such as co-signing for a new family who doesn't have a credit score or rental history yet. 11) Become an Annual Sponsor: Encourage your company to become an annual sponsor of Idaho Office for Refugees' outreach events to strengthen, educate, empower, and connect communities. Contact: Whitney Alsallum, walsallum@idahorefugees.org 12) Welcome Corps: Consider forming a private sponsor group to welcome refugees and help them navigate their first 90 days. Thank you for your interest! Whatever it is you feel led to do, know that your actions and kindness make a huge difference in the lives of those who are new here.  Idaho welcomed over a dozen Afghan pilots after Kabul fell in 2021. They're working entry-level jobs to support their families back home, with dreams of getting back to the career they love - flying.
The pilots trained and served alongside U.S. allies. But becoming certified to fly commercially in the U.S. is financially out of reach for many, at a cost of more than $30,000 per pilot. Our Global Talent team is among the first nationwide to pioneer a path forward for these pilots. We've teamed up with a retired Marine aviator to create a training pathway of ground school and flight school, and our first cohort of three pilots is nearing the finish line. We're seeking community investment to help cover the high costs of the certification process. Will you help us reach our goal of raising $40,000? The pilots' success will not only be life-changing as they're able to get good-paying jobs in their field of expertise, but it will help address our nation's pilot shortage. We hope you will join us in this innovative solution and show our allies that we have not forgotten their sacrifice. |
Archives
November 2023
Author: Holly BeechIdaho Office for Refugees Communications Manager 
Thank you to the generous organizations who
support our outreach: 
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