Celebrations in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are happening across the state of New Hampshire! For a full list of events and dates, visit American Friends Service Committee at https://www.afsc.org/story/martin-luther-king-days-2020
OPENING RECEPTION
THURSDAY JANUARY 16 – 6:00-8:00 PM
JUPITER HALL – 89 Hanover St., Manchester
Join us for food, music, stories and a silent auction
View professional photographs of artworks created by teenage asylum seekers who were kept in a detention center in Tornillo, Texas. The artwork shows us that children from Central America remember the beauty of their countries, even though they were forced by gangs and governments to leave.
Additional programs on Thursdays, 6-8 PM at Jupiter Hall:
Jan. 23 – The Journey (film “Which Way Home” and discussion)
Jan. 30 – Trauma and Healing (a panel of professionals who
work with children affected by trauma)
Feb. 13 – What to do/How to help (activists and helpers share the ways they work to bring change and help others)
Sponsored by Welcoming Manchester, Welcoming New Hampshire, and the Kent St. Coalition
Questions: Email welcomingmanchester@gmail.com or message us on the WM Facebook page
DECEMBER 4, 2019
CONTACT: MUKHTAR IDHOW
PHONE: 603.296.0443
EMAIL: MIDHOW@REFUGEESUCCESS.ORG
CONCORD AND MANCHESTER, NH – The Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS) is pleased to announce its recent merger with New American Africans (NAA). Both organizations serve newly resettled refugees and immigrants in New Hampshire by providing assistance, programs, training, resources, and opportunities that promote self-sufficiency, so new Americans can successfully integrate into their new homes, and become productive and participating members of New Hampshire’s communities. As ORIS continues to grow and engage new stakeholders, this consolidation is an exciting milestone that will increase our statewide potency to amplify a united voice for new Americans.
New Hampshire is a small state, with nearly 8000 nonprofit organizations. As uncertainty continues to permeate the funding landscape, both locally and nationally, nonprofits in New Hampshire must get creative and collaborative in order to be sustainable. The situation is even more dire for organizations that provide services to refugees and immigrants. Despite the current administration’s decision to reduce the number of refugees to be resettled in the United States down to 18,000 – the lowest number since the inception of the refugee resettlement program in 1980 – there are many refugees and immigrants who are already here and still in need of assistance as they navigate the challenges of integrating into a new culture.
NAA was founded in 2004, supporting newly arriving African immigrants and refugees in their journey of integration and adaptation to a new life in Concord, New Hampshire. NAA fulfilled their mission through after-school and summer literacy programs, women and youth groups, and their signature Friday Family Fun Nights.
ORIS has been operating since 2005 as the Somali Bantu Community Association, and since 2011 as the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success. Their mission is to aid in the resettlement of refugees and immigrants in New Hampshire by providing assistance, training, resources, and opportunities that promote self-sufficiency. In 2008, the organization established Fresh Start Farms, a collective brand for new American farm enterprises, which develops local markets and trains farmers in business planning, building competency and integration into New Hampshire’s vibrant and growing local food system, while also expanding access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food to food-insecure families across southern NH.
During a collaborative agricultural project earlier this year, ORIS and NAA began exploring the idea of a deeper collaboration or partnership. Although each organization was physically located in separate cities – ORIS in Manchester and NAA in Concord – their missions and visions aligned in a way that a merger would give them the ability to achieve certain goals almost immediately. Joining organizations allows them to consolidate and expand services, share valuable resources, and simplify fundraising without competing with each other, thereby broadening each organizations’ approach and strengthening the capacity of the new American communities and service providers across city lines.
NAA is now a program of ORIS, with Program Director, Carolyn Musyimi-Kamau, operating in Concord. NAA’s services and programs will continue with the goal of expanding the reach to multiple ethnicities in addition to Africans. Additionally, five members of NAA’s board of directors have joined ORIS’s board of directors, increasing the effectiveness of the organization with new networks and institutional knowledge.
As the work continues under the umbrella of ORIS, the staff and board are looking forward to the many opportunities available to strengthen and expand programming for new Americans in New Hampshire. Today, ORIS’s collective staff and board represent seven countries and are fluent in thirteen languages. The power of ORIS lies in its cultural understanding, linguistic expertise, and first-hand knowledge of the immigrant experience.
“At the end of the day, our work is about fulfilling our mission of supporting new Americans on their journey to integration and independence. Through partnerships and collaborations, we are able to fulfill our mission in a more significant way, leading to real, sustainable change in the lives of new Americans and their families. When new Americans can thrive in their new homes, the whole community benefits.” Mukhtar Idhow, ORIS Executive Director.
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In the spirit of unity, ORIS is thrilled to host the 2nd annual UMOJA Gala. The UMOJA Gala was first held in February 2019 as a fundraiser for NAA. Now that the organizations have merged, ORIS will continue the event, which was very successful in its inaugural year.
The 2020 UMOJA Gala will be held on Saturday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. The UMOJA Gala is a special evening to celebrate the many cultures of the people we serve and to learn more about the mission and work of ORIS. Enjoy delicious international foods, entertainment by local performers and artists, themed raffle items and more!
Tickets are $80 and will be available to purchase at www.refugeesuccess.org.
Sponsorships with marketing benefits are available for all levels of support. Please contact carolyn@refugeesuccess.org for more information.
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Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success
434 Lake Ave, Manchester, NH, 03103
| Welcoming America is pleased to offer a new opportunity for rural communities to engage more deeply in welcoming and inclusion work. Through a new Rural Welcoming Initiative, selected nonprofit organizations and local governments will have the chance to receive technical assistance and coaching, draw on the tools and resources available to Welcoming Network members, and act as peer leaders by sharing good ideas and receiving national recognition for their welcoming efforts. Members of this cohort will also have the opportunity to connect with and learn from each other both virtually and in-person at Welcoming America’s national conference, the Welcoming Interactive, that will be held in Charlotte, NC June 3-5, 2020. To learn more, please visit the full announcement here. Applications are due Friday, November 29th. The application form can be found here. |
“Somayeh Kashi, an art teacher at Rundlett Middle School, worked on her photo project, “Diversity in the 603” with a group of Concord High School students this past summer. The students walked around during Concord’s Market Days festival in June and took photos of more than 100 people. The portraits are now posted in storefronts along Main Street, and are plastered on walls of a few buildings.”
“The project was inspired by “Inside Out” a photo project involving black and white portraits posted in cities around the world by a French artist. More than 260,000 people have participated in 129 countries.” – Leah Willingham, Concord Monitor
Read the full Concord Monitor article here: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Concord-multicultural-festival-preview-28423319
View Somayeh Kashi’s “Diversity in the 603” gallery here: http://www.somayehkashi.com/diversity-in-the-603
“INSIDE OUT gives everyone the opportunity to share their portrait and make a statement for what they stand for. It is a global platform for people to share their untold stories and transform messages of personal identity into works of public art.” – http://www.insideoutproject.net
Suitcase Stories in Nashua, NH
September 29 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
$20
“Suitcase Stories® is a signature program of the International Institute of New England. It raises the profile of refugees and immigrants while strengthening community through the art of storytelling.” – www.iine.org
The Youth Awards honors and funds “Latino high school seniors who excel in the classroom and community and for their excellence in various categories including: Business & Entrepreneurship, Community Service, Education, Healthcare & Science, Media & Entertainment, and Technology & Engineering.”
Apply Now! Deadline is October 15.
Visit:https://hhfawards.hispanicheritage.org/20…/forms/welcome.php
Excerpt from the Concord Monitor article For New Americans, Getting a Driver’s License is a Big Step, written by Leah Willingham:
Twenty-eight-year-old Geetha Menni has made Concord her home since she moved from India to New Hampshire nine months ago. She found a comfortable place to live with her husband and secured a job at Lincoln Financial.
Menni said she has big dreams of pursuing a master’s degree in the United States – but she says there is still one big obstacle standing in her way of achieving that goal.
“I am depending on my husband for everything, for rides to my job. I can’t even get to the supermarket without help,” she said, sitting at a desk in front of a whiteboard in an air-conditioned classroom on Knight Street in Concord, where her driving school class was about to start. Her hands were folded over a New Hampshire driver’s manual.
“It’s very much important for me to learn driving, otherwise, I could not survive, have a life here,” she said.
The New American Driving School, at Second Start headquarters in Concord, has been operating for about a year to help new arrivals transition to living and getting around in the U.S. Concord has taken in more refugees per capita than any other New Hampshire city, according to state records.
