Welcoming Refugees to Austin, Texas
Authored by Jonathan Black
Edited by Mela Ottaiano
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), since its founding in 1951 through 2021, upwards of 89 million people have experienced being forcibly displaced. With ongoing unrest in Afghanistan and war in Ukraine, that staggering number continues to rise. Over the last decade in particular, forced displacement has outpaced the available solutions. Austin, Texas, with its rapid growth, strong economy, and international character, is a promising destination for refugees. According to Refugee Services of Austin, the city is currently home to about 12,000 refugees. To be expected, that number is growing rapidly.
Even as a traditional immigrant (with resources and networks at your disposal), uprooting yourself from your home and moving to a new nation and new culture is challenging enough. It is much more difficult as a refugee, with no choice in relocating and often arriving with little more than the clothes on your back.
For that reason, Global Impact Initiative (Gii) has made serving Austin’s recently arrived refugees a priority through our Refugee Stabilization and Integration programs. This is a fancy way to say we help refugee families find comfort and success in their new home.
Refugee Stabilization and Integration
In observance of this year's World Refugee Day, June 20, we are looking at several of Gii’s services and resources benefiting Austin refugees. Executive Director Anjum Malik and other members of the Gii team offer insights that let us look beyond the numbers to how they have real impact on real people.
“Refugees are very brave people,” says Executive Director Anjum Malik. “It takes so much courage to leave everything you’ve known and start a new life under such circumstances. Gii is committed to giving refugees in Austin tools to find dignity, self-reliance, and a sense of belonging in their new home.”
Tutoring and Homework Support for Refugee Students
Being a refugee is especially hard on children. The stresses and challenges involved are incredibly disruptive to a child’s education and beginning school in a new home poses both linguistic and cultural challenges.
For that reason, Gii offers comprehensive support for refugee children. We pair refugee children and skilled educators, who then meet together either online or in person. Educators provide ESL training and bridge gaps in the child’s skills and knowledge. This support allows students to integrate as smoothly as possible into their new classrooms. But adjusting to schooling in a new culture is more than a question of language or content. Our volunteers also help children be aware of the behavioral expectations in U.S. classrooms and encourage them to stay engaged while also developing positive perceptions of their ethnic and cultural identities.
Making a Difference: Currently, 69 refugee children in the Austin area are taking advantage of these services and receiving online help.
Online Mentoring and Support for Refugee Women
Women also experience unique challenges as refugees. Often functioning as the heads of households, especially since men are often the first to find full-time employment beyond the household, women are the ones responsible for “keeping it all together.”
Gii’s Online Mentoring and Support brings together immigrant and refugee women who have successfully settled in the U.S. over the years with their recently arrived counterparts. Meeting over Zoom, women discuss their unique needs. Sessions are geared toward making refugee women feel welcomed and respected in their new community, reducing their overall anxiety, and providing practical information necessary to navigate their new home. The social networks refugee women develop through these sessions are important for both emotional and practical acclimation to living in Austin.
Making a Difference: Since January 2022, 231 refugee women have participated in and benefitted from Gii’s online mentoring and support.
Job Search Support
Full-time employment is a milestone for refugees. Not only is it a turning point in terms of resources and self-sustainability, but it brings a sense of self-esteem and of truly being a part of their new community. Gii is committed to helping refugees transition to quality, full-time employment as quickly as possible. To this end, our team reviews and updates refugees’ resumes, prepares them for interviews, and helps them adapt their skills to a U.S. workforce. One especially promising area of employment is truck driving or other commercial driving. The U.S. has far fewer commercial drivers than it needs and many refugees’ skills and experience make them natural candidates for such work. Gii works with refugees to help them pass the Commercial Drivers License Exam and recommends them for employment to our partners and contacts.
Making a Difference: Between January and June 2022, Gii has helped place 81 refugees in full-time positions and 273 in part-time work.
Learning Outside the Classroom
Gii has begun a Gardening Club, giving Afghan refugees a safe, comforting, outdoor space that allows them to grow and enjoy vegetables they like (often not available in local markets), supplementing diets and providing nutrition while also making friends, practicing their language skills, and rebuilding their lives.
“It’s amazing to realize that something as tiny as seeds makes such a big difference,” Anjum says. “These seeds reconnect them with their home and culture through smells, tastes, and textures. It’s very comforting during a time of such transition and uncertainty.”
Gii provides the refugees with the space and basic resources to establish the gardens, with refugees sowing, tending, and harvesting the plants themselves.
Making a Difference: Gii intends to supplement the program with informal nutrition classes offered at the garden.
Community Works Together
Anjum points out that Gii isn’t alone in its efforts on behalf of the recently arrived. “I’m grateful to be part of a community that does so much to welcome refugees.” She highlights upcoming World Refugee Day celebrations at Austin’s Bullock Museum on Saturday, June 18. The event will feature a Citizenship Ceremony, musical performances, family-friendly activities, and more.
If you are a refugee who could benefit from any of Gii’s programs, or know someone who would, please contact us: hello@globalimpactinitiative.com
