Local Group Assists Refugees, Educates Public
Wednesday, 19 October 2011 22:59
A local Tucson group is helping United Nations refugees earn their first paycheck.
Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network has been working since 2003 to assist refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Congo, Iran and other countries after they have been re-located to the United States. The group offers English as a second language classes as well as opportunities to participate in volunteer projects and craft circles where students make baskets and jewelry to take home or sell in local shops.
For some, the money they make from these sales is the first money they make in their new homes.
“We try to give them an opportunity to continue their culture, continue their skills,” Natalie Brown, Iskashitaa resource coordinator, said.
Refugees are people who flee their home country due to persecution based on religion, gender, race, involvement in certain social groups or political affiliation. They flee to a second country (usually to a refugee camp) where they can then apply for refugee status, an extensive process that can take between two and 32 years, Brown said.
Less than one percent of all refugees are ever relocated to a third country. The rest either stay in the camp or return to their home country if the conflict is resolved. Of that one percent, half come to the United States.
There are 10,000 refugees living in Tucson, and about 800-1,000 new refugees arrive every year. Although refugees do not choose the city they are relocated to (except under special circumstances), Brown said Tucson can be attractive to them because of the low cost of living and warm climate.
One of their first challenges is often earning a living.
“When refugees come here they are often put in to entry level jobs, regardless of what their previous skill level was,” Brown said.
The profits from selling one of their crafts can make a lot of difference to those who are struggling financially.
Iskashitaa literally means “working cooperatively together,” and staff say Americans learn just as much from the refugees as they learn from them.
“It’s strange for me because I always picture myself as being really shy, but when it comes to Iskashitaa, something that I’m so passionate about, all of that fear disappears,” Kylin Jewell, micro-enterprise assistant with the Iskashitaa sewing and craft circle, said.
The group was at Tucson Meet Yourself this past weekend, talking to the public and giving basket-weaving demonstrations.
“It’s been wonderful sharing with [the Tucson community] my experiences and seeing people getting excited about the work that we’re doing,” Jewell said.
Written by Madelaine Archie You are reading Local Group Assists Refugees, Educates Public articles
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