Tyler and Jessi pose with the Karen refugee family they helped welcome.

This spring Jessi and Tyler joined our Taking Root team to give Mu Lah’s* family a warm welcome to Minnesota. As fellow newcomers to the Twin Cities, Jessi and Tyler were looking for a way to meet their neighbors and explore their new community. Read on to hear Jessi’s story of the blessing of friendship they received from Mu Lah’s family.

A couple of months ago my husband and I were still relatively new to Minnesota and were aching for a way to meet new people and get involved. We knew that Minneapolis/St. Paul was home to one of the nation’s largest refugee populations and felt called to refugee support services. We had just spent two years in West Africa with the Peace Corps and knew how difficult it was to adjust to a new place, culture, and pace of life. To our great fortune, we found out about MCC and the opportunity to join a Taking Root team (i.e. a group of volunteers who worked together to welcome a new refugee family).

As part of a Taking Root team, you have a lot of flexibility to work within your own schedule and personal interests. When our Taking Root team was asked to welcome a new Karen family of seven in early January, my husband and I jumped at the opportunity to help prepare their new apartment – performing basic cleaning duties, moving in new furniture, and organizing donated items. When the family arrived, our work schedules also allowed us to welcome them at the airport.

After our first meeting at the airport, we have had several wonderful opportunities to get to know the family and help them out with some of the logistical details of getting settled in a new place: registering the kids for school, researching ESL options, accompanying the family on the bus, taking the kids to the library, and giving the parents a ride to a community safety event. All the while, the family was doing so much for us: welcoming us into their home, introducing us to the Karen culture and language, and blessing us with new friendships.

Being part of a Taking Root team has been such a blessing. We have met so many new people, explored new areas of the Twin Cities, and been introduced to a fabulous organization that has made it possible for us to have a meaningful experience while also giving us the flexibility to volunteer in ways that capitalize on our talents and interests and work within our busy schedules. We hope the best for our Karen family and are so grateful to have been invited to be part of their new beginning.

Join Jessi and Tyler in welcoming new families this summer by volunteering as a Befriender or Job Readiness Mentor. Contact Jennifer to learn more at jennifer.pins@mnchurches.org or 612-230-3221. Our Volunteer Orientations are another great way to learn about the resettlement process and how to get involved. Our next orientation will be held at MCC from 5-6pm on June 7th.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

She loves her new apartment but realized that the dirt and winter road salt had left her home gritty and in need of a spring cleaning. Determined to get her home looking and feeling as fresh as the weather outside, Mae Lay Mu set to work with her broom, all-purpose cleaner, vinegar, baking soda, bucket, and cleaning rags, all provided by generous donors to MCC Refugee Services.

Can you help a new refugee like Mae Lay Mu spruce up their new home for the spring? We are in need of cleaning “kits” which include a bucket, dish soap, all-purpose cleaner, small box of baking soda, vinegar, sponges, cleaning rags, detergent, and a broom. Can you provide some or all of these items for newly arriving refugee families? Donations can be brought to the Minnesota Church Center at 122 West Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, 55408. Questions? Contact Green Bouzard at 612-230-3249 or at green.bouzard@mnchurches.org.

For refugees coming to America this is often the case. Not having a computer at home can greatly slow down the job-seeking process and make it more difficult to become computer literate.

Thanks to RenovoData Services and their CEO Frank Gustafson, 12 refugee families enrolled in MCC Employment Services will receive their own computer for their home!

MCC Refugee Services formerly had a partnership with a small computer recycling company that generously offered to donate one computer a month for a year to refugees who were seeking employment. Six months into the program, the company was sold RenovoData Services and Frank graciously agreed to donate the remaining six computers. We are incredibly thankful to RenovoData Services for their commitment to not only fulfilling the agreement but doubling it with a donation of 12 computers.

Each month we will give one of the donated computers to a refugee family, provide them with an orientation on using the computer, and invite them to take our new Computer Literacy class. Having a computer at home will allow refugees to enhance their job search and climb the career ladder long after they are done working with MCC Refugee Services. It also will provide their children with extra resources to excel in school.

Thank you again to RenovoData Services and Frank Gustafson for making all of this possible!

Here at MCC Refugee Services we work with a wonderful team of dedicated staff and volunteers. To give you the inside scoop on what it’s like to work in our office we sat down with one of our Resettlement Case Managers, Abdirizak. For the past six years, Abdirizak has drawn upon his personal experience as a Somali refugee to welcome new refugees to Minnesota.

What does a Resettlement Case Manager do?
Oh I do a lot! [Laughs] I do intake when they come to United States, meet at the airport sometimes, greet them, and schedule appointment to see them in the office.

What happens during intake?
I ask them how their health situation is. That’s the number one [priority]. They’ve been living in the refugee camp a long time and maybe they don’t have access to medical treatment. Sometimes they have different weather, different culture, different food and they get sick within 24 hours [of arrival]. Then if they say no health problems I check the [IOM] bag and make sure they have the documents. You have to explain what we do, who I am. After that we talk about basic needs. We give legal responsibilities like housing, how to communicate with the landlord. We complete some applications for government assistance and for Social Security documentation. Then I refer for MCC internal classes like NAREW (New Arrival Resource Empowerment Workshop), Job Readiness, and Financial Literacy. It’s a lot of things, it’s not easy.

Since the resettlement period is only 90 days, what is your goal for families when you finish working with them after 90 days?
My goal is for them to become self-sufficient. [I want] to encourage them, to give them power to become a self-sufficient refugee. My job is to refer to [community resources to] become self sufficient, like to employment counselors, ESL, etc.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
To see many new faces every day. Learn different cultures, experience life from a refugee, and to tell me their stories. Example, I met one father and before he reached the United States to resettle he visited 22 countries! I also have a single guy, he said, “I lost both of my parents, but I don’t want to lose one thing- my education.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge refugees face?
Maybe they have high expectations. They have a big dream, but what they see in Africa and when they come here is different. They’re thinking maybe they’re going to paradise—it’s not that. And also the language barrier sometimes.

Speaking of language, what is one Somali word you want our readers to learn?
Soo dhawow (so dah woah). It means “welcome.”  And also “mahad sanid” means “thanks.”

Do you have any success stories you’d like to share?
5 years ago I met a family from Vietnam. They don’t speak English, both sisters and mom and dad. I meet them after 5 years and she (the daughter) come to me and she greet me and I said, “Who’s this person I recognize?” I ask her what she’s doing and she said she goes to the U of M and she told me she was filing for her citizenship. She succeeded when she came to United States. Some of them they get their own business. Some of them they go to school and they get a degree. Children grow up and learn English.

When they succeed, I’m happy—when they become self sufficient. It’s not an easy job, but every day, every hour, every second you change someone’s life. No matter where we are.

Chaab (Somali Tea)

Ingredients:
4 c water
¼ c sugar
Pinch of each ground spice (or to taste):
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Ginger
3-4 bags of black tea (Lipton  recommended)

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil in a pot
2. Add sugar and spices
3. Boil for a few minutes until you can smell the spices
4. Add the tea bags
5. Remove from heat
6. Let sit for 3 minutes
7. Serve while hot
8. (add milk if desired)

Makes 4 cups of tea.

Work Day in the Community Garden

St. Paul, Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Karen people in the country, but who are the Karen? (The name is pronounced “kah-REN”.) The Karen are an ethnic minority from Burma, though the military government changed the name to Myanmar. Because most refugees in MN still refer to the country as Burma, we do too.

The Karen community in Minnesota is the largest outside of Southeast Asia. Since 2004 approximately 2,000 Karen people have resettled here. They’ve come to escape persecution and torture resulting from a half-century long civil war with the Burmese military government. After fleeing through the mountainous jungles of Burma past the border into Thailand, the Karen found relief in refugee camps. Many families lived there for a decade or two before receiving the opportunity to resettle in another country. Approximately 1 million refugees are still living in Thai refugee camps.

The Karen community in St. Paul is vibrant and flourishing and more families continue to come from refugee camps and other states, often to rejoin family members. Most Karen come from an agricultural lifestyle and find great joy in growing produce in Minnesota. Although city farming is still rather uncommon, community gardens and opportunities outside of the city are a major draw for the Karen community.

The Karen also have rich artistic and musical traditions. Weaving with brightly colored threads is a tradition some continue to enjoy in Minnesota. At a Karen community celebration you might enjoy music with drums, singing and dancing, and performers wearing traditional Karen clothing. (Click here for a video of a Karen dance performance in Burnsville in 2011.)

Relationships are central to life in the Karen community. When you visit a Karen family in their home, it is likely you will find neighbors or family already visiting. Another place Karen people gather is at church. The majority of the Karen people in Minnesota are Christian, although of the total worldwide Karen population, about half practice Buddhism and 15 percent practice Animism. Large congregations include First Baptist Church and First Karen Baptist, both in St. Paul.

If you would like to get to know a Karen family by accompanying them through their first 4 months of life in Minnesota, consider joining a Taking Root or Church Co-Sponsorship team. We would love to partner with you in the ministry of hospitality!

Learn More:

The Karen Organization of Minnesota

A detailed exploration of the culture and history of refugees from Burma

A Minnesota Public Radio report on the Karen refugee experience

Three personal stories told by Karen refugees can be found in our book This Much I Can Tell You

Information on the Resettlement Process

Photo credit: Bill Bryant

For many refugees one of the most exciting aspects of resettlement is the chance to live in their own home. This opportunity is only possible through the generosity of landlords who give refugees a chance to be great tenants, even when they don’t have a rental history in the US.

One of our partners in the effort to house refugees is local Minneapolis landlord, Bill Bryant. Bill has lived in the Phillips community in Minneapolis for many years and has been an active community leader for the past ten years. Part of his community involvement has included founding the Southside Rental Property Group (website under construction), an organization which strives to educate and organize landlords and tenants in the Phillips community, including the refugee community.

Bill began renting to refugees three years ago, and in the past few years has rented to several Somali families. His interest in the Somali refugee community began in part due to an interest in comparative religious studies with Islam, as well as an appreciation for the Somali Village Market just a few blocks away from his home. Through a referral by community members and other landlords, Bill has further expanded his interest in the Somali community by renting to newly arriving refugees through MCC Refugee Services.

We could not do the work we do without partners like Bill. From timely responses to maintenance requests to educating tenants in their native language about building safety, Bill and landlords like him are truly inspiring stability. Our RSHN program for formerly homeless refugees highlights that housing security is a catalyst for greater economic and family stability. When these essentials are in place, families are empowered to pursue their dreams. “I look forward to continuing an ongoing relationship with Refugee Services, to improve the placement and relocation efforts needed in this important transition for these good people” says Bill.

Nayla worried about whether or not she’d be able to continue in her career path before she came to America to join her husband. “When I was in Tanzania, my expectation was zero [for finding a job in America]… because everything is new for me. New country, new people, new culture, new language.” She worried that employers would not recognize her university degree. “How can I express that I went to school? People didn’t know about me!”

Imagine Nayla’s relief when she discovered that she would have professional assistance in navigating the employment search after arriving in Minnesota. She chose to enroll in Employment Services with MCC Refugee Services because, “I want to be employed. You cannot live without being employed.” Nayla was open to any kind of work, but even with assistance finding work has not been easy for Nayla. As she suspected, her credentials do not transfer over easily and sometimes make her overqualified for positions.

Nayla interviewed at three different companies. When recalling this process, she explained that “interviews in Tanzania are very different.” She described a room filled with six to eight men sitting around a large panel table. Laughing, she expressed her preference for the one-on-one interview style in the US. She also explained that interview questions are different in Tanzania. Speaking of MCC Refugee Service’s Job Readiness Class, Nayla said, “That class helped me a lot. I didn’t know what I would say in an interview. For me it was very helpful.”

At Nayla’s third interview she was hired at Kohl’s for a part-time position in sales. Her first day of work was, she said, “very exciting. It is my first job history for my life in America.” She enjoys her co-workers. “[They are] very nice and not allowing me to be uncomfortable.” Although she enjoys her work at Kohl’s, she still hopes to work full-time and to go back to her profession of accounting. “It is something I know all my life.”

Many refugees and asylees navigate this complex balancing act every year. You can help encourage them along the way through practicing interview skills and talking about US employment culture as a Job Readiness Mentor. Visit our Volunteer page to learn more.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

Delicious dolma

A challenge to prepare, but a delight to eat!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) jars grape leaves
• 2 lbs beef or 2 lbs lamb, minced
• 1 cup long-grain uncooked rice (basmati rice works best)
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 4 -5 carrots
• water

Directions

1. Soak grape leaves in water for 20 minutes. Drain.
2. Peel and slice carrots lengthwise and line bottom of pot with them. This helps keep the grape leaves from sticking to the pot.
3. Soak rice in hot water for 10 minutes and drain. In a large bowl, combine rice, beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and all spices.
4. Place each grape leaf shiny side down with stem end toward you on a flat surface. Cut off stem. Place 1 tbsp of rice mixture on leaf near the stem end. Roll top over once, fold ends in, and continue to roll completely (rolling away from you). Repeat with remaining leaves.
5. Arrange rolled grape leaves in pot seam side down, tightly packed. Place each layer in opposite direction of previous layer, in a criss-cross fashion. For even cooking, try to have no more than 4 layers.
6. Combine lemon juice and oil and pour over grape leaves. Top with water until approximately 1″ below top layer.
7. Place large plate on top, and place a heavy weight on plate (a foil-wrapped brick works great).
8. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until rice is thoroughly cooked. Allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
9. Serve with lemon wedges or Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Total Time:  2 hrs
Prep Time:   45 min
Cook Time: 1hr 15 min

Photo credit: 90pluswine.com

Co-sponsorship isn’t always easy, but few truly worthwhile experiences are. It takes courage to choose to befriend a new refugee family you’ve never met.  Just the first step—meeting a family at the airport, who may not speak your language, can be outside one’s comfort zone. Besides the potential awkwardness of meeting someone new, co-sponsorship is an emotional experience.  It’s difficult to watch people you care about face barriers as they work towards becoming established. But, that vulnerability also opens you up to the possibility of being changed and receiving the gifts that refugees have to offer. It’s the relationship that leads to more welcoming and just communities.

“People view hospitality as quaint and tame partly because they do not understand the power of recognition. When a person who is not valued by society is received by a socially respected person or group as a human being with dignity and worth, small transformations occur…Many persons who are not valued by the larger community are essentially invisible to it. When people are socially invisible, their needs and concerns are not acknowledged and no one even notices the injustices they suffer. Hospitality can begin a journey toward visibility and respect.” (Pohl, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, 61-62, emphasis mine)

It would be a mistake to assume that this journey towards visibility and respect is all difficulty.  As co-sponsors and refugees become friends, they laugh together at new experiences and share in each other’s joys.  Sometimes the activities are quite ordinary—donating a table, giving a ride, and sometimes they’re extraordinary—sharing in the birth of a new family member, or mourning a loss together.  Regardless, I hear over and over again from volunteers how much more they received than they gave.  It’s a mutually transformative experience that proves the adage—‘tis more blessed to give than to receive.’

That’s why co-sponsors have my respect and gratitude. Their willingness to take a risk and be changed means that our society becomes more welcoming and just, one act at a time. And that is nothing short of miraculous.

You can enter into this life-transforming experience yourself—either with your faith community through church co-sponsorship or as part of a Taking Root team.