Fostering Refugee Leadership and Engagement: Concrete Strategies that Work January 29, 2015 Photo Credit: Nancy Farese & TIRRC Fostering Community Engagement and Welcoming Communities is supported by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR/ACF/DHHS)
Today’s Agenda 1. Opening Remarks Kenneth Tota, Deputy Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement 2. Overview Jessy Molina, Director of Education and Training, Welcoming America 3. Refugees and Civic Engagement Helen Ho, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice 4. Supporting Refugee Leaders Ruth Lalhma Chhuani, Community Leader, Providence, Rhode Island 5. Moderated Discussion
Kenneth Tota, Deputy Director, ORR Presidential Memorandum for Creating Welcoming Communities and Fully Integrating Immigrants and Refugees
• We believe that the most impacted people should lead efforts for change. • While we do a great job providing services for refugees, we can achieve even better results by creating space for refugee leadership. • Refugees are the experts in their own needs and how to meet them. We must make room at the table for the experts.
• They know the issues. They have the most accurate and up-to-date information about what the problems are and how to solve them. • They have the most at stake • They will be more committed to long-term success • A group working together is always more powerful in the long-term than the efforts of a few leaders • “Doing for” people reinforces a charity model, whereas “doing together” builds power
- Ella Baker, Civil Rights activist Envision your role as creating space for and developing leadership in others.
• Organizers should stay in the background • Develop trust in communities • Help people to define what they want • Guide people to achieving their goals From the Zinn Education Project (www.zinnedproject.org)
• Facilitated meetings (with clear facilitator, timed agenda, decision points) • Train all group members to facilitate meetings • Create group agreements and processes for participation that prioritize all voices • Rotate facilitation • Rotate opportunities (particularly for leadership development activities) • Envision yourself as “holding the space” for others to participate
• Relationship building (Extended, personal group and individual check-ins, storytelling, socialization time over food, etc.) • Commit to open, honest and transparent communication. Share knowledge and information. • Commit to group decision-making • Be aware of the images you promote in public (on websites, media, promotional materials, etc.) • Engage cultural traditions and values of participants (Food, music, ritual, etc.) • Acknowledge and accept responsibility for mistakes
• Why are they coming to this meeting? Where is their collective self-interest? Help people to identify and define what they want. This is usually a “values” conversation. • Work to help people design and facilitate a process for defining the needs; do not try to control the process or outcomes yourself • Even if you think the ideas are not “right”, allow the group to make its own mistakes.
• Use practical, hands on exercises to develop a plan for setting and reaching goals. • Share resources on problem analysis, power analysis, defining targets, developing and refining strategy, communications, evaluation and more. • Celebrate wins, and celebrate losses in a way that acknowledges the growth and power of the group • Ensure there are smaller, incremental goals that build to larger ones.
“There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement. Three people are better than no people.” – Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights activist Start where you are, with who you have.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta
MISSION COMPONENTS Community Public Policy Organizing Civic Engagement Leadership Legal Education Development / Capacity Building
Pan Asian Action Network (PAAN) PAAN: A coalition of 39+ Asian immigrant and refugee grassroots groups committed to collectively advocating for human rights and increasing Asian American political engagement. Started in 2008.
Working with the Myanmar Buddhist Association
First visit to the Temple
Photos of Leaders
Pictures of National Chin Day Ceebration
Myanmar Buddhist Association at Protest
Group works to increase voter engagement
2014 This American Votes Partners 6. Korean Undergraduate Student Association of 1. American Chin Community of Atlanta Emory (Emory KUSA) (ACCA) 7. Somali American Community Center, Inc. 2. Asian American Law Students Association 8. University of Georgia Asian Law Students of Emory University (Emory ALSA) Association 3. Atlanta Chin Baptist Church Development 9. Vietnamese American Community of Organization Georgia (VAC-GA) 4. Bhutanese Association of Georgia 10. Zahau Nunphung Pawlkawm 5. Korean American Association of Greater 11. Angkor Resources Center Atlanta (KAAGA)
This American Votes
Quote
2014 Grassroots Campaign Training
Jan. 2014 – Front page, Atlanta Journal Constitution PBS Documentary Politics of the New South | America By the Numbers: http://tinyurl.com/politicssouth
How do I work with Refugees? Depends on how you view things : • How do I view myself in the relationship? – Teacher, Provider, Representative Student, Partner, Ally & Advocate • How do I view the refugee in the relationship? – Client, ‘Receiver,’ Helpless Teacher, Partner, Empowered • What is my goal? – Primarily to get a self-identified project done (transactional, short-term) vs. building a relationship (transformational, long-term)
LESSONS LEARNED Re: Motivation, Messaging • Take time to LEARN what motivates, what drives that community: Have you asked? • Bottom up development: Are refugees at the table when decisions are made, when programs are developed or assessed? • Take time to connect with the right spokesperson or ambassador = respect, credibility, reciprocity of need • Speak to what we all believe, our values and how we see ourselves • Be sensitive to barriers / don’t assume it’s apathy • Feelings drive behavior more than reason
Keys to a Successful Working Relationship What are the keys to a successful working relationship? • Trust and Respect • Shared values • Shared goals • Equity • Caring, over time
BUT. . . • This kind of transformational relationship building is rarely linear – Takes time – Takes humility: seeing yourself as an ally vs. savior, being mindful of race and class dynamics – Takes flexibility, doing “non - work” stuff – You really have to want it – Even then, it doesn’t always work • You need to have a supportive supervisor who buys in to the philosophy of empowerment
Thank you! P.O. Box 922021, Norcross GA 30010 www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org Helen Ho, Executive Director hho@advancingjustice-atlanta.org 404-585-8446
RUTH LALHMA CHHUANI REFUGEE COMMUNITY LEADER
WHY ARE REFUGEE LEADERS IMPORTANT? • New refugees need assistance beyond what resettlement agencies provide; refugee leaders can provide an extension of services • Provide on-going support to refugees beyond Reception and Placement • Serve as Ambassadors for resettlement agencies and their refugee communities
MY ROLE AS A REFUGEE LEADER • Advocate • Interpreter • Mentor • Basic needs assistance • Cultural orientation • Home visits • Community engagement
SUPPORT FOR REFUGEE LEADERS Resettlement agencies can provide refugee leaders with the following support: Professional development: leadership courses, interpreter trainings Monetary stipends Engage refugee leaders with community partners
REFUGEE WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP GROUP • Established to bring together refugee women leaders to “ To educate a woman is to promote empowerment and skill building educate the world.” Marie Uwera Democratic Republic of • Group is made up of refugee Congo women from: Bhutan, Burma, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iraq Member of DIIRI Refugee Women’s Leadership Group
GOALS OF WOMEN’S GROUP • Provide support to new refugees • Engage in meaningful dialogue to discuss refugee issues • Participate in trainings to learn new skills • Connect with community groups • Forum for refugee women to collectively identify ways to address the needs of the refugee community in Rhode Island
MY VISION Establish a job training center Provide refugees with skills to for refugees achieve self-sufficiency
Moderated Discussion Type your questions in the Q&A Box
Speaker Contacts • Helen Ho, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, hho@advancingjustice-atlanta.org http://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/ • Ruth Lalhma Chhuani, Nupuii79@gmail.com • Jessy Molina, Welcoming America, jessy@welcomingamerica.org
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