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
Afsana is a teacher from Afghanistan who has learned through her life experiences how to find hope amid displacement and uncertainty. In 2021, Afsana’s husband had to flee Afghanistan to escape persecution, leaving behind his wife, son, and daughter who was just 20 days old. The family had no idea how long they would be apart.
Afsana remembers the lonely uncertainty of those days – and the drive to keep moving forward for the sake of her children. Thankfully, through a lot of waiting and anxiety over whether they would be accepted or not, the family was reunited in Idaho over three years later.
Afsana is once again doing work she loves as a family literacy coordinator at a local language school where she started out as a student. She encourages other immigrants to remember their strength as they learn to live life in a totally different country and system.
“Please stop comparing yourself with those people that have been a long time here," she shares. "Everybody has their own journey, and you are stronger than you’re feeling.” Note: We are using Afsana's first name only out of an abundance of caution for her loved ones.
00:00 Welcome to Mosaics
00:31 Afsana’s Teaching Roots
02:32 Life Upended in 2021
07:25 Reunited at the Airport
11:32 Starting Over in Idaho
17:45 Encouragement for Immigrant Women
21:13 Staying Positive Through Hardship
27:56 Friendship and Culture Shifts
31:58 New Joys in Boise
We’re excited to welcome back Sadia Abdulkadir to Mosaics! Sadia spoke with us in 2023 as a social work undergrad, and since then she’s earned her master’s degree and is now working as a licensed social worker. Many of her clients, like herself, have experienced refugee resettlement firsthand.
Sadia shares about listening in the moment, working with interpreters, staying grounded, and approaching her work with curiosity, humility, and humanity.
People who have been forced to leave their home and resettle in another country may face messages that they are not worthy to be here or it’s not their place to pursue higher education, Sadia says. She encourages anyone feeling this way: you are worthy of pursuing a fulfilling life, and you’re not alone on this journey.
We discuss the recent changes to SNAP and Medicaid that are causing many refugees around the country to lose coverage. For help connecting with resources, please contact us at iorinfo@idahorefugees.org.
Boise foodies Palina Louangketh and Adan Callsen joined Mosaics to share about their love for cooking, rooted in family traditions, and how they share the joy with others.
Palina, executive director of the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora, is hosting a Lao Culinary Experience at the Idaho Foodbank's Meridian kitchen on Nov. 11, in partnership with the Idaho Office for Refugees. The event is free and open to all ages.
Adan Callsen is founder of Under the Table, a community dinner group, and manager of the West Bench Farmers Market in Boise. Check out the market before the final day of the season on Sept. 24 at Spaulding Ranch.
This episode was recorded live at Radio Boise on Sept. 9 and published by SB Studios.
This week on Mosaics, we hear from four storytellers about their journeys of displacement to becoming an American. Tune in to learn more about Idaho's resettlement history, hear firsthand accounts from storytellers representing Ukraine, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and experience the cultural heritages they continue to carry with them as they contribute to the American experiment.
Featured storytellers include Alla Aguilar and Tom Kanon (mother and son), Yasmin Aguilar, and Ezra ‘Kevin’ Irankunda. Ernestine, a high school student in Boise, performed an opening song in Kinyarwanda. Boise City Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton presented an opening message, and Mosaics host Holly Beech shared about the resettlement history and trends in Idaho.
This event was presented by the City of Boise on June 4 in partnership with the Idaho Office for Refugees and hosted at JUMP, part of the City of Boise's America 250 series.
This episode was recorded live and produced by SB Studios.
Muzdalifa Hamad joins us on Mosaics to raise awareness about her home country, Sudan. Sudan is the focus of the Pace for Peace Run for Refugees 5K on May 30 in Boise (sign up here!).
Muzdalifa’s parents fled the Darfur region of Sudan before she was born and raised their children in Libya, where life was difficult but safer. The family resettled in the U.S. through refugee resettlement when Muzdalifa was in middle school. She remembers the support and kindness of her teachers as she learned English and became familiar with her new surroundings. Muzdalifa went on to earn a doctorate and is now a licensed pharmacist.
Sudan has a rich history of different language and ethnic groups, faith and cultural traditions, and architecture - including the most pyramids in the world. However, its people have suffered from political and military conflicts for generations, including colonization and competition over territories rich in gold resources.
Proceeds from the Pace for Peace will go to Agency for New Americans, a resettlement organization in Boise, and to the Atiye Charity Association, a nonprofit providing direct support to refugees in located in and around Sudan. Since its founding in 2024, Atiye has provided people with food, school supplies, and access to prosthetic care and rehab.Muzdalifa shares about Sudan’s history, her family’s experiences there, the caring community she experienced, and her favorite foods and holiday traditions that her family continues to pass down.
Andrea Schmutz, who moved to the U.S. from the Philippines at age 18, is the founder of Empowering Immigrant Women in Pocatello, Idaho. She is also an educator and pursuing a doctorate degree in educational leadership.
Andrea was recently named Miss Idaho for America Strong with the platform of Education Beyond Boundaries, which encourages immigrant women and single mothers to get a formal education so they can help themselves in whatever circumstances they might face. Andrea in recent years became a single mother herself, and the tight-knit community supports each other through life's challenges.
Andrea, a pianist, is putting on a concert this spring to raise money for Education Beyond Boundaries and fund her trip to the national Miss America Strong competition in August. Learn more here about how to support her and visit the Empowering Immigrant Women website to connect with Andrea. You can hear her first Mosaics interview from December 2023 in episode 25.
Anna Lloyd is the Executive Director and Afghan Allies Advocate with Task Force Argo. Task Force Argo formed after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to support Afghan allies and help people who were stranded in Afghanistan or neighboring countries.
In this episode, Anna, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, shares about the work of Task Force Argo and how she stays focused and driven amid the daunting scope of the situation and suffering. She finds purpose in helping each next person that she can.
“You can’t feel guilty about living your life,” Anna shares. “You have to live your life. Because when you’re at peace, and you’re fulfilled, and when you have happiness and joy and something to look forward to, focus and purpose and mission, you’re more productive to help somebody else in need.”
Anna served in the U.S. Marine Corps for nearly 21 years and was a Master Sergeant when she retired in 2018. She served in 4 deployments, including humanitarian deployments and 2 combat deployments in Iraq. From 2015 to 2018, she served as Deputy to the Legislative Director, providing advice and support to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on all legislative matters.
Anna now lives in Indiana with her husband and children. She plans to visit Idaho next month for Agency for New American’s movie night at The Flicks on April 23. The film, Fremont, is a 2023 American drama film about an Afghan refugee living in the U.S. after serving as a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan
Amy Pence-Brown is the new executive director of Artisans For Hope in Boise, Idaho, a vibrant community space of creativity and economic empowerment. Here's their story:
In 2009, a group of Boise women in a book club began discussing their common interest in textiles and care for refugees resettled in Boise. They felt many refugees were met with difficulties of adjusting and community misunderstanding and ambivalence. These women wanted to help find a creative and inexpensive way to help refugee neighbors feel welcome and become a part of the larger Idaho community. The vehicle? Textile handcrafts and an opportunity to connect, learn, create, and earn. Artisans For Hope became a nonprofit and started teaching Idaho refugees to sew and knit for free in beginner courses and the opportunity to become advanced sewists who sell their wares and earn a 60% commission. Sixteen years and nearly a thousand graduates later, we remain committed to the same mission.
Within the term “refugee” is a wide range of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences - including among refugees from the same country.Sanga Zamaraikamal Pori, a senior at Boise State University and fellow with Neighbors United, is a former refugee from Afghanistan. Her story is unique to her own set of experiences and perspectives.Sanga and her family resettled in Boise, Idaho, when she was 4 years old, when the Afghan community was smaller. She remembers being the only student in her class wearing a hijab.Sanga is proud of her heritage, including being a Pashtun. She passionate about building a future career that supports other refugees in some way. In her free time, she loves getting creative with thrift store finds to make beautiful and traditional outfits.
Desange Kuenihira wrote her book, Undefeated Woman, to encourage other young people from refugee backgrounds - and through the process she found strength and healing for herself. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Desange spent much of her childhood in a refugee camp in Uganda before resettling in Salt Lake City. She has since graduated from the University of Utah and founded UnDEfeated, a nonprofit uplifting students and women in Uganda, some of whom are navigating life after child marriage. UnDEfeated’s American sponsors can take trips to Uganda to personally meet the people they are sponsoring. Learn more about the work of UnDEfeated and hear directly from students at speakundefeated.org and on the UnDEfeated YouTube page.
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