Stay ConnectedIdaho has a heritage of refugee resettlement that’s enriched our culture, economy, and communities. On the Mosaics podcast, we’ll hear from Idahoans with lived refugee experience and from community members who are building a culture of belonging. We all have a role to play in creating the bigger picture of a vibrant and connected society.
Presented by the Idaho Office for Refugees with grant funding from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
Copyright: SB Studios © 2023
The Ukrainian Welcome Center in Nampa has served more than 700 people displaced by the war in Ukraine. The center's Executive Director Tina Polishchuk and recent School Impact Coordinator Joni Leipf share how their summer program brought a sense of normalcy and an opportunity for healing for students who haven't had a normal school year since before Covid.
Learn more about the center's Adopt-a-Family Christmas campaign at www.ukrainianwelcomecenter.org.
Lisa Meierotto is the Program Lead of Boise State University’s Global Studies program, which she helped create. Along with teaching, Lisa researches intersections between global migration, human rights, and environmental justice.
Lisa grew up in Idaho and lived in Ecuador, Cuba and Costa Rica while earning her degree in global studios and anthropology. She has a master’s degree in international development and a Ph.D in cultural and environmental anthropology.
In our conversation, Lisa shares about what drew her to global studies, what it’s like to be a newcomer in a different country, her research at the southern U.S. border, and displacement trends facing communities around the world. We focus on the history of colonialism and ongoing resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the top country of origin for refugees resettling in Idaho.
The Pace4Peace 5K was founded by a local group of people with the goal of raising awareness for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo and bringing the community together. Boise has a strong Congolese community, and the DRC has been the top country of origin for refugees resettling in Idaho for several years. Hear from some of the race organizers - Boise State students Ani Carnell, Sayed Mirbacha, and Samuel Bisoka - on their vision for this community event and how you can be involved. The 5K is on Saturday, October 19th in Boise with music, food, and activities. Funds raised will go through the African Community Development Inc. to meet needs in the DRC.
Register on Eventbrite and follow @pace4peace5k on Instagram for updates.
Chandra Upreti is a dedicated advocate for refugee rights and resettlement. Born in Bhutan, he experienced displacement at a young age, fleeing to Nepal as a refugee.
After spending 17 years in Refugee Camps, Chandra was eventually resettled in Twin Falls, Idaho, where he found a new home and purpose.
With over a decade of experience in refugee resettlement, Chandra was recently named the field office director of the resettlement agency in Twin Falls, which is affiliated with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
Chandra also serves on the board of directors for nonprofits including the Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, EveryBody House, and Housing Coalition Region 4.
Chandra holds a bachelor's degree in Human Resources and a Master of Business Administration from Idaho State University. He and his wife own the Saffron Indian Cuisine restaurant in Twin Falls.
Sangam Kumari has experienced many transitions in her life. When she was 4 years old, her family moved from India to Nepal. She took an even bigger leap at the age of 8, moving without her family to America with a family friend. Sangam’s career has also transitioned from environmental engineering, in which she has a Ph.D., to social work, where she feels a true heart calling. She’s currently earning her master’s degree in social work from Boise State. Six years ago, Sangam transitioned into motherhood.
She has also experienced the transition from a collectivist to an individualistic society, and learning to hold space for both. She is the first to say she is still on the journey of finding herself and her community. Sangam shares her insights and ongoing learnings with us in today’s episode. She will also lead a workshop at the Idaho Office for Refugees’ upcoming conference, the Northwest Conference on Resettlement, focused on gentle yoga and meditation techniques in the lens of conscious, compassionate community.
Friends call Yi Feng the "Mental Health Guy" for doing many things relating to mental health for the past 12 years. He is a Registered Social Worker, Certified Master Solution Focused Practitioner, Certified Narrative Therapist, and Organization Development enthusiast, seeking to build mentally healthier workplaces and more socially impactful organizations. Yi Feng hails from Singapore and visited Idaho in May 2024 as a fellow with the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). While in Boise he worked with Mike Krause, Chief Coaching Officer of Global Bound LLC, to 'make good trouble' and improve workplace mental health. Yi Feng shares interesting insights about Singapore, his first impressions of Idaho, and his approach to belonging and well-being.
Today we hear from Joel Ntando, coordinator of the Refugee Speakers Bureau at the Idaho Office for Refugees. Joel has a background in theater and academia. He lived and worked in South Africa for 14 years before resettling in Idaho and is originally from the Democratic of Republic of Congo. He shares what World Refugee Day means to him personally and what it means for everyone on a global level.
Aanish Shamim is a first-generation immigrant from Pakistan who has called Idaho home since he was 3.
Aanish has a degree in international political economy from The College of Idaho and is the City of Boise’s Community Engagement Coordinator. He previously worked closely with students at the College of Western Idaho and helped empower marginalized communities through his role at Jannus Economic Opportunity.
In our conversation, Aanish shares about navigating life as a ‘Third Culture Kid,’ and how his Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca helped shape his perspective on religion and identity.
Aanish highlights the importance of amplifying individual voices and celebrating the richness of cultural diversity within society. Outside of his professional pursuits, he enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, playing cricket, laughing with his family, and doting on his cherished cat, Taara, meaning ‘Star’ in his primary language of Urdu.
Klaudia Saric is a Business Development Specialist at Jannus Economic Opportunity in Boise, Idaho. She works with aspiring entrepreneurs from many backgrounds, including former refugees like herself. Klaudia and her husband are from Bosnia & Herzegovina, which they fled in the 1990s due to war and ethnic cleansing. Klaudia saw firsthand the damage that is done when people are manipulated into seeing each other as less than human based on religion or nationality. Throughout her career, Klaudia has helped many people become successful business owners. As a former business owner and holder of a bachelor's in business administration, she values the entrepreneurial spirit. Becoming a refugee is like having your wings clipped, she said, and that drives her to help others regain their sense of choice and empowerment.
Reach MOSAICS with questions and story suggestions: mosaics@idahorefugees.org
Mosaics is recorded and produced by SB Studios
Welcome Corps Allows Private Americans to Help Resettle Refugees
Joe & Kim Mitchell are part of a private sponsor group in Idaho Falls that welcomed refugees to the city for the first time in decades.
In April 2022, through the Operation Allies Welcome program, their Sponsor Circle welcomed three Afghan Air Force pilots, allies of the U.S. military operation.
The community response was so overwhelmingly positive that the group formed a nonprofit, Idaho Falls Bridge Builders, which in 2023 welcomed another refugee family, from Ukraine.
Joe & Kim were inspired to be involved in a private sponsor group because they know what it’s like to be newcomers in a foreign country. Their family spent a total of seven years living in rural China, and the way they were welcomed into the community with open arms inspired them to provide a similar welcome to others in their home state of Idaho.
Connect with Idaho Falls Bridge Builders: https://sites.google.com/view/idaho-falls-bridge-builders/home
Learn more about Welcome Corps: https://welcomecorps.org/
Reach MOSAICS with questions and story suggestions: mosaics@idahorefugees.org
Mosaics is recorded and produced by SB Studios
Sakhi Hasmati was born in Afghanistan and lived in Pakistan, India, and United Arab Emirates before moving to Idaho to reunite with his parents and siblings about seven years ago.
“My parents, one of the reasons they were moving around, is because they had concerns about their children’s safety,” he said.Now, Sakhi helps other people who are earlier on in their resettlement journey, as the Idaho Community Advisor Network Supervisor at the International Rescue Committee in Boise.
When Sakhi first moved to Idaho, his goal was to move on quickly to a place with more earning potential. But he found a closeness within his family and community that’s made Idaho feel like home. Sakhi’s wife is awaiting approval to resettle here, too.
“I deeply appreciate the culture and kindness prevalent in this state,” Sakhi said. “In my free time, I cherish moments with family and friends, often enjoying a game of soccer.”
Sakhi loves learning about the laws and history of any country where he lives. (Sidenote from the episode: there are 27 amendments in the U.S. Constitution!)
Sakhi’s goal is to advocate, support, and deliver services to asylees, refugees, and immigrants. Recognizing the importance of families seeking and achieving long-term happiness and self-sufficiency, he’s passionate about bringing consistency to these families and aiding them in attaining a fulfilling, normal life.
Sadia Abdulkadir is a social work student at Boise State University. Born in Kenya, Sadia is part of a large, tight-knit family who resettled in Boise in 2008, when she was 4.
“Since I was young, I was able to kind of adapt and change into the culture a bit more,” she said.
Fashion is a way for Sadia to stay connected to her cultural roots.
“I just appreciate people representing themselves,” she said. “Sometimes they can feel like they don’t belong unless they look a certain way, and most of the time that means getting rid of a certain aspect of their culture. I wish it was different, because for me I’m really into my culture and I love representing it.”
Sadia looks forward to using her social work degree to help people. She’s thankful to her parents for what they endured so she and her siblings could have opportunities.
“When I was younger the word ‘refugee,’ like the stigma around it, I didn’t really like it,” Sadia said. “But now I am definitely proud of being a refugee, and to me there’s a lot of pride within the word because it just reminds me what my family went through, especially my parents.”
Moses Mukengezi is a dad, husband, soccer coach, commercial real estate broker, nonprofit board member and former resettlement worker in Boise. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Moses’ family resettled in Boise, Idaho, in 2007 when he was 13. It was through soccer that he first felt connection to the community. He went on to play for Boise State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in sociology.
Moses has enjoyed several years of coaching refugee youth through Nations United Soccer and speaks six languages; he is especially fond of French.
Moses has presented as a member of the Refugee Speakers Bureau, a program of the Idaho Office for Refugees (IOR). He is a board member for Jannus, Inc., which IOR is a part of, and for the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora.
Hear more from Moses on StoryCorps, where did an interview with his wife, Kathleen, in 2022.
University professor Andrea Soleta Schmutz moved to Pocatello, Idaho, in 2022 and wanted to do something to connect and empower other immigrants. She founded Empowering Immigrant Women, has helped launch a weekly mental health clinic for immigrants and refugees, and will teach a community course to help New Americans navigate higher ed. Andrea, who is originally from the Philippines, collaborates with partners including Bridges, the Rotary Club of Pocatello, and University of Utah psychiatry residents.
To other immigrants, Andrea says, “It might take you a lot of years to finally be established, but please be patient. … The rejections, failure – that’s not a weakness, that’s a strength, because you’ll be more powerful at the end.”
CONNECT
Empowering Immigrant Women website
Hear Andrea on CEWT Talk – Idaho State University's Continuing Education/Workforce Training podcast
Join Empowering Immigrant Women on Jan. 26, 2024, for a light dinner and to hear current students share about the class offered at CEWT this spring called Higher Education in the U.S. (geared towards refugees, immigrants, and first-gen) taught by Andrea Soleta Schmutz. We will also learn about the Idaho Launch, a program that provides grants for education and training programs. Starts at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at the ISU Diversity Resource Center, 921 S. 8th Ave., Pocatello. RSVP to empoweringimmigrantwomen@gmail.com
Keep an eye out for the International Women's Day Event from 5:30–7 p.m. March 8 at the ISU Diversity Resource Center (invitation upcoming). We will celebrate International Women's Day by featuring local immigrant and refugee women in Pocatello selling their home-baked goods and handmade items.
Idaho comes in last place for the number of doctors we have per capita. Yet when immigrant and refugee physicians move here, the process to get back to practicing medicine is complex and expensive.
On today’s episode we’re joined by local doctors who are addressing this issue – Drs. Scott Smith, Paula Carvalho, and Sampson Nde.
Scott is a mentor with Global Talent working with a cohort of New American medical professionals in Idaho, including Sampson, a physician and general surgeon from Nigeria.
“Medicine, essentially, for me it’s a calling. Right from when I was a little kid I always wanted to take care of people and help people,” Sampson said. “When I arrived in the U.S. and I wasn’t able to do that, it was difficult for me. Because for all my life that’s all I wanted to do.”
Sampson works at the Idaho Health Neighborhood Clinic in Nampa and has completed the necessary exams to apply for medical residency this winter. He helps other IMGs (international medical graduates) on their path to practicing medicine in the states.
Dr. Paula Carvalho works at the Boise VA Medical Center, where she assists the Global Talent Docs cohort with simulation lab training. She and Scott are both Idaho WWAMI Medical School alumni.
To contact Global Talent about this program, please email globaltalentinfo@jannus.org. Reach out to Mosaics with your questions and ideas at mosaics@idahorefugees.org.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Sampson Nde was a physician and general surgeon in Nigeria for four years before moving to the United States in 2015. He obtained a master's degree in public health from Westminster College in Utah and worked in the public health space for more than two years in research and program development.
In 2022, Sampson moved to Idaho and took a position at the University of Idaho as a program manager with Project ECHO, where he helped in the dissemination of medical education across the Gem State.
With the help of Global Talent, he currently works at Idaho Health Neighborhood Center in Nampa as Lead Physician Extender, while also assisting in the development of a training curriculum for International Medical Graduate (IMG), which helps facilitate medical graduates' transition to a medical practice in the United States.
He has passed the United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) and will be applying for medical residency this winter.
Dr. Scott Smith is an internal medicine doctor, educational researcher, and professor of medicine (emeritus) with the University of Washington. He was in residency leadership for 28 years and was a USMLE “National Boards” question-writer for eight years. He discovered that this was the perfect job experience to help immigrant and refugee physicians to get licensed to practice medicine in Idaho. He began working with Global Talent doctors in 2019 and since then, he has served 31 individuals from 19 countries. To date, six candidates have been accepted into residency and are practicing, or soon to be, in Idaho.
Dr. Paula Carvalho attended medical school, residency, and fellowship at the University of Washington. She is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical care, and Sleep Medicine and Adjunct Professor, Department of Surgery at the University of Washington. She is also a Teaching Scholar at the University of Washington.
She is the academic section chief of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine at the Boise VA Medical Center, as well as director of the intensive care unit, bronchoscopy service, and simulation program. Her specialty boards include Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care Medicine, Sleep Medicine, and Palliative Care.
Dr. Carvalho is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine writing panel for Critical Care Medicine and an advisory member of the FDA Pulmonary panel. She has received teaching awards for seven years from the University of Washington medical students and medical residents.
Meet the Afghan-American family behind the newest and one of the only Afghan restaurants in Boise, Taste of Persia.
Hafiz & Bahija Karim left behind their lives and careers in Afghanistan in 1990 when they were targeted by the Taliban due to Hafiz earning his college degree abroad in Russia. The couple resettled in Boise with their four young children in 2005, knowing little English and working long hours to provide. Bahija went on to open her own drapery business, The Golden Needle.
Taste of Persia is the family’s way of carrying on their customs, sharing traditional food with others, and providing for relatives who were displaced a second time when the war in Ukraine started last year.
Taste of Persia is open 12-9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) at 10386 W Ustick Road in Boise.
Get to know Jan Reeves and Patty Haller, who worked together in leadership of the Idaho Office for Refugees for 20 years. We’ll learn more about the history of resettlement in Idaho and why programs like Global Gardens, Global Talent, and the Refugee Speakers Bureau got their start.
“So often refugees are labeled as refugees,” Patty said. “That’s an important part of their story, but it’s not the whole story.”
We’ll hear what it was like to lead resettlement in Idaho through times of change and sometimes upheaval, such as 9/11, when there was growing fear but also a show of support for refugees and Muslims in Idaho.
“There’s been a growing appreciation for the value that refugees bring to our community,” Jan said.
We hope you’ll join us for this informative episode!
Mungo Ligoya uses the power of art to connect people and inspire conversations that challenge oppressive systems.
Mungo was born and raised in Malawi, a country known as the warm heart of Africa. He moved to Idaho five years ago to attend The College of Idaho in Caldwell. His roots in the local community and relationships with fellow artists have inspired Mungo to continue building his career here.
Mungo fuses Afro-Soul and RnB into his music. His paintings reflect a call to action for social justice.
Last year Mungo founded MUNGOWONA ARTS LLC with a mission to help people connect with their bodies and feel confident in their movements, whether they are beginners or seasoned dancers. He teaches movement workshops all over the valley.
Connect with Mungo on Instagram to learn about his upcoming concerts and exhibits: @mungowona.
Thank you for listening! Please reach out to our MOSAICS team with your questions, feedback and suggestions for future guests: mosaics@idahorefugees.org.
We’re joined by Reshma Kamal and Reshad Akbari to learn about cultural humility, the pitfalls of making assumptions about others, and the power of sharing one’s own story.
Reshad was born and raised in Afghanistan. After graduating from university, he worked in government and as a freelance translator. He moved to the U.S. in March 2022 through refugee resettlement and for the past year has served as a community advisor with the International Rescue Committee.
Reshma is also a community advisor at the IRC and the humanitarian and outreach director for the Islamic Center of Boise. In these roles she has worked to build connections and understanding with organizations such as Glocal Community Partners, Peace Catalyst International, and the Boise Police Department. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Boise Public Library.
Listen to Rashad and Reshma’s stories to learn more about the meaning of ‘limbo,’ the importance of grace and curiosity, and the power of saying ‘I don’t know.’
Tune in for an engaging conversation with Winnie Christensen, founder and director of the Culture For Change Foundation based in Twin Falls, Idaho. Winnie immigrated to the U.S. from Kenya and attended high school in the small town of Blackfoot, Idaho, where her family was one of a handful of Black families. Over Winnie’s life she has helped build understanding through storytelling. She’s also given back to other immigrants as they adjust to life in America (seriously, did you realize how many different kinds of soaps exist on American grocery shelves and how confusing that can be?!).
Winnie will keep you laughing and on your toes. Make a cup of tea and join us.
Ahmadi served as a transport pilot in the Afghan Air Force before relocating to Idaho Falls in 2022 through a private sponsorship group, along with two other pilots from Afghanistan.
He’s now interning at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, a city of 67,000 people in eastern Idaho, and is working toward an electrical engineering degree at Idaho State University. He has applied for asylum with hopes that his wife and parents will be able to join him in Idaho in the future.
A couple in Ahmadi's sponsorship group, Joe & Kim Mitchell, were featured on Mosaics in July. Check out Episode 10 to hear from them.
If you would like to support Afghan pilots on their journey to becoming certified to fly in the U.S., please see our Global Talent Pilot Training Project.
Your feedback, questions, and suggestions are welcome! Please reach us at mosaics@idahorefugees.org.
This week we hear how the experiences of refugee resettlement impact children in the classroom, and what teachers can do to build a culture of welcome and empowerment.
Our guests are Chantale Niyonkuru, the REACH Youth Program Specialist at the Idaho Office for Refugees, and Sara Skinner, a facilitator, trainer and consultant.
Chantale and Sara are part of a Neighbors United group offering trainings for educators and law enforcement officers. The next training series for teachers starts Sept. 23. Learn more and sign up here (professional development credit available!)
Also on Sept. 23, join in the fun at the Welcoming Week Family Field Day in Boise or the Community Unity Table dinner in Hailey.
Please send us your feedback, questions, and ideas at mosaics@idahorefugees.org.
About this week’s guests:
Chantale has a bachelor’s in social work from Boise State University. As the first graduate in her family, Chantale is determined to inspire and empower young adults to dream big and not be confined. Chantale was born in East Africa and resettled in Idaho at the age of 8.
Sara has a master’s in public health and specializes in creating workshops and meetings that are transformative for the people involved and for the communities where they live and work. Sara’s background is in community-based public health, and she brings cross-cultural experience from her work with farmworkers, refugees, and other immigrants, and from her time living in Spain and Brazil.
Today we’re getting caught up on resettlement updates in Idaho. It’s almost the end of the fiscal year, so you’ll learn about arrivals for the year and what we’re expecting for the year ahead.
As always, you can reach us at mosaics@idahorefugees.org with feedback, questions and ideas.
Links from today’s episode:
Job Opening! Refugee Speakers Bureau coordinator, with the Idaho Office for Refugees
Professional Development Course for Educators- New Americans in the Classroom
20th Annual Gala on Oct. 13 – Agency for New Americans
Ukrainian Welcome Center featured on KTVB
Community Coordination Meeting on Nov. 28, Boise
This week we talk about what it means to feel welcomed, and what it takes to reach the next level of belonging. We hear from Lana Graybeal, City of Boise Senior Community Outreach Manager, and Beth Norton, Idaho Office for Refugees Events & Partnerships Coordinator.
In September, communities across the country celebrate Welcoming Week. This global initiative by Welcoming America brings together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.
Lana and her family experienced the meaning of welcome when she was 5 years old and resettled in the United States as refugees. And Beth, who moved around a lot as kid, remembers feeling alone in a new school and how it felt to have someone reach out. Tune in to hear their experiences.
Links and events mentioned in this episode:
Idaho Welcoming Week Events 2023:
Other Events and Resources:
Contact us with your ideas, questions, and feedback at mosaics@idahorefugees.org.
Thank you to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for the grant funding to produce this podcast, and to the Afrosonics for our theme song, Mosaic.
Halima Hamud is a Boise State University graduate who moved to Minnesota last year to pursue a graduate degree in Development Practices.
Halima was born to Somali parents in a refugee camp in Kenya. She and her family resettled in Boise in 2009 when she was in fourth grade.
Halima was among just 62 students in the country selected as Truman Scholars in 2021. She is now studying at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She has created the Circle of Excellence platform and is launching a podcast series to highlight the stories of women who have overcome obstacles to continue their profession in the states.
“I want to be able to improve the lives of refugees and former refugees here in the states,” she said, “and I want to be able to work with an organization that is stiving to improve and empower and inspire women.”
Find Halima on LinkedIn.The deep polarization of our time can feel overwhelming. On today's episode, we'll explore how to move from hostility to hospitality. That's the title of a workshop created by Nick & Laura Armstrong of Glocal Community Partners and Reshma Kamal of the Islamic Center of Boise and International Rescue Committee of Boise. They aim to increase understanding of current and historical expressions of social hostility toward refugees and immigrants, and to create connections that help us see our shared humanity.
Something most Idahoans can unite around is our disdain for goatheads, also known as puncturevine. These lovely plants came to Idaho in the 1800s on sheep and livestock and have been piercing heels and paws and popping bike tires ever since.
Often people who relocate to Boise through the refugee resettlement program don’t have a car right away, so bikes are a crucial form of transportation. For them and other community members, a flat tire isn’t just a nuisance, it’s a barrier to getting to work or appointments or the grocery store.
The problem is so ubiquitous that the Boise Bicycle Project has even created a bike parade and festival called the Goathead Fest that inspires people to get out and become weed warriors, working together to clear as much of this invasive plant as we can.
And now, thanks to a partnership between the city of Boise and Boise State University, researchers have created a new hot-spot map (goatheadmap.com) to help us know where the biggest problems are.
Today’s guest is Richard Rachman, a plant ecologist, doctoral student at BSU, and one of the researchers on that team. He’s here to share with us his team's findings and how each of us can play a role in creating a more equitable city for all cyclists and pedestrians.
You can find Richard on Instagram: @a_wandering_ecologist
And be sure to check out Goathead Fest on August 19 (www.boisegoatheadfest.com), where you can meet Richard and the Idaho Office for Refugees team.
This week we’re taking a few moments to catch up on resettlement news and events in Idaho. For the next six minutes you’ll hear updates on Global Talent’s cohort of Afghan pilots, Global Gardens (which is selling at farmers markets and just opened sign-ups for its Fall CSA!), and upcoming events.
Thanks for tuning in and being part of the MOSAICS community. We’d love to hear from you! What questions, feedback, or story suggestions do you have? Please email Holly at iorinfo@idahorefugees.org.
Links from today’s episode:
Contact Us: iorinfo@idahorefugees.org
Maya and her family came from Bosnia to Boise as refugees in 1997 when she was 11 years old. As she has seen and been a part of Boise's growth from a small sleepy town to the city it is now, she considers herself more Idahoan than Bosnian or American. Much to her parents chagrin, her first career was as a cosmetologist while she operated her hair salon for 10 years. Since then she has had a career in Higher Education working at Boise State University. Since the pandemic Maya has exchanged her salsa dance shoes for a power drill and is spending a lot more time on managing her properties than salsa dancing. Being involved in the community has always been a passion and she enjoys planning events and volunteering for various nonprofit organizations.
Amani and Bashir are experienced Afghan military pilots who served alongside U.S. allies. Now resettled in Idaho, they are part of Global Talent’s first cohort of pilots to work toward become certified commercial airline pilots in the U.S. It’s a demanding and expensive process – one they are navigating while supporting their families back home in Afghanistan. But they are determined. Once you fly, they said, your heart belongs to the sky. You can learn more about Global Talent's pilot project, one of the first of its kind in the U.S., and support these pilots at www.idahorefugees.org/pilots.html.
Judith Mwamba is a teaching assistant at the English Language Center in Boise. She loves math, music, and laughter. Judith resettled in Idaho in 2022 with her young son, mother and brothers, and they long for the day when they will be reunited with her father and older siblings. Judith shares what it's like to feel like an outsider in a new country (which she's experienced twice), how parenting has differed in the U.S. compared to Namibia in southern Africa, and how she has used her own experiences to be a light of hope for the students where she works.
A conversation with Wahid Amani, a cook, physical trainer, and army veteran from Afghanistan
Wahid Amani studied physical education in Kabul and joined the military in 2012, working closely with U.S. and NATO allies and building up a sports program for the Afghan army. When the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, Wahid and his brother and cousin, both Afghan Air Force pilots, had to evacuate with other military personnel who became targets for the Taliban.
Their journey brought them to Boise, Idaho, where Wahid now works as a cook at St. Luke’s Health System and Zullee Mediterranean Grill. He dreams of opening his own Afghan restaurant someday and helping people as a physical trainer.
When Wahid arrived in the U.S., he saw a woman in the airport holding up a sign that read, “Welcome to your country.” That small gesture made all the difference
“When you lost your country, lost your family, lost your friends, everything -- you got so far and you come in a new country, and somebody accepts you. Somebody says, welcome to your country. … From the first day I'm feeling it’s my home, it’s my new home,” Wahid said. “It’s my second country.”
Zeze Rwasama shares his story from DRC to Rwanda to the U.S.
Zeze Rwasama is the director of the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Programs, which resettles refugees in Twin Falls, Idaho.
As a child Zeze dreamed of becoming an engineer in electronics, but his passion shifted to helping refugees after he himself become a refugee in 1995. Conflict stemming from the Rwandan genocide moved into his community in the DRC (then Zaire). Zeze and his family, part of the Tutsi ethnic group, became targeted and were forced to escape to a refugee camp, where they lived for several years before relocating to the U.S.
Over the years Zeze has held several key roles in and outside of the U.S. helping refugees integrate into their new communities. He is married with four children and holds a master's degree in public administration.
Much of Zeze’s outlook on life and relationships comes from his father’s kindness toward others and from the generosity he himself received from strangers, life lessons he is now passing on to his own children and the people he works with.
Joetta, a young Idaho educator, shares about pushing through struggles to embrace her calling
Mosaics is thrilled to welcome guest Joetta Julugbeh of Pocatello, Idaho. Joetta works in the classroom as a K-12 teaching assistant while earning her degree in education.
Joetta is the founder of the Makatas Dancers, a mentorship program that teaches girls traditional African dances, and the Makatas Heart Foundation, which works to advance education in Liberia.
“My mom told me, ‘If you are able to, once you’re stable, don’t forget the others,’” Joetta said. “And that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Joetta and her family resettled in Boise in 2003 when she was 10 years old. She graduated from Boise High School in 2012 and later earned the title of Miss Africa Idaho, representing Liberia.
Join our conversation to learn what Joetta’s first week in Boise was like, and why her fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Lincoln, inspired her to become a teacher herself.
You can see the Makatas Dancers in action at World Refugee Day Boise on June 17!
Idaho has a heritage of refugee resettlement that’s enriched our culture, economy, and communities. On the Mosaics podcast, we’ll hear from Idahoans with lived refugee experience and from community members who are building a culture of belonging. We all have a role to play in creating the bigger picture of a vibrant and connected society.
Presented by the Idaho Office for Refugees with grant funding from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
This week Mosaics talks with Tina Polishchuk, executive director of the Ukrainian Welcome Center.
Tina, whose own family fled religious persecution in Ukraine more than 30 years ago, was building her career and raising a young family in Idaho when Russia invaded Ukraine last year. What started out as a clothing drive became a twist in her own life that she never saw coming.
The Ukrainian Welcome Center in the past year has welcomed and assisted more than 500 people fleeing the war. Learn more about why they chose to seek safety in Idaho, and how people came together to help them feel at home.
The community is invited to mark the one-year anniversary of the Ukrainian Welcome Center on Saturday, May 27, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Welcome Center, 304 16th Avenue North in Nampa. The building is the former Boise Rescue Mission’s Lighthouse shelter, which coincidentally closed as the conflict in Ukraine was starting up. The Rescue Mission’s CEO quickly jumped on board with using the space for assisting Ukrainian refugees instead.
“Despite the fact that there’s a lot of evil in the world, there’s always a place for good,” Tina said. “And I think we’re seeing that realize itself in the Ukrainian Welcome Center.”
Learn more at www.ukrainianwelcomecenter.org.
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