News

Denver Women's Commission highlights African immigrants and refugees

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:15:00 GMT

Follow this link: http://www.denvergov.org/women/VideoAdvocacyProject/tabid/443116/Default.aspx to see some videos about African women's experiences here in Denver. Some are clients, students, teachers and volunteers at CAO!

CAO featured in Chronicle of Philanthropy

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:15:00 GMT

CAO, with its fantastic partner Rose Youth Foundation, is highlighted in April's issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy! You can access the first part of the piece, and see the associated picture, at http://philanthropy.com/section/Face-of-Philanthropy/206/. The full article is available to subscribers only for the next month. We're excited to have such national attention! We are hopeful that foundations all over the states will take notice of organizations such as ours, and populations we serve, as they plan their community support. Check back in May for access to the full article.

CAO Job Opening

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:25:00 GMT

CAO has an opening for a Refugee Parent Engagement Coordinator. Please see below for the full job description and how to apply.

COLORADO AFRICAN ORGANIZATION (CAO)

Refugee Parent Engagement Project Coordinator & Computer Literacy Program Coordinator

The Colorado African Organization (CAO) is a community-based nonprofit located in Denver, Colorado that supports African immigrants and refugees. With the mission to foster unity, advocate for all Africans in Colorado and provide services, CAO currently has programs in social services (case management), health education (community health workers), advocacy/outreach, and community education (English as a Second Language, citizenship, computer literacy and social integration). The Refugee Parent Engagement project coordinator is the bulk of this position, entailing the coordination and advancement of CAO’s parent engagement activities, including training and supervising 8 refugee community navigators to conduct monthly parent engagement sessions in their home communities and facilitate relations between refugee impacted neighborhood schools and newcomer refugee parents.

The Refugee Parent Engagement Coordinator will work directly with schools, teachers and parents in Aurora, Denver, Colorado Springs, Greeley and Ft Morgan. The Community Education Coordinator will oversee 8 refugee community navigators. This position will report directly to the Executive Director.

Specific duties include:

-Collaboration and strategic planning with refugee impacted districts to enhance refugee parent involvement in neighborhood schools

-Support, train, and supervise 8 refugee community navigators to disseminate information to communities through home-based meetings and ethnic association gatherings

-Monthly planning and reporting of 8 refugee community navigators’ program activities and efforts

-Coordinate 8 refugee community navigators and facilitate their interaction with school staff and teachers, in metro Denver, El Paso and Morgan/Weld counties

-Maintain ongoing communication with key staff and teachers at refugee impacted schools

-Collaboration with RSIG contractors for referrals, planning, delivery of services, and reporting

-Monthly reporting to RSIG grant coordinator re. verification of status of parent participants in programming

-Concerted efforts for DPS refugee parent involvement (at least 8 hours/month/CN)

-Collaboration and monthly meetings with DPS Multi-cultural Outreach office/team

-Collaborate with VOLAGS for referrals and parent orientations to the public education system

-Commute to Greeley, Fort Morgan, and CO Springs when needed for community navigator planning and reporting and ongoing program development

-Identify new opportunities for professional development of community navigators, provide community navigators with resources for referrals re. parent education opportunities, academic and social opportunities for youth, etc.

-Provide monthly programmatic reports as well as quarterly grant reports

-Participate in all project-related partner meetings; and coordinate all CAO-related activities with other project partners

-Advocacy for educational advancement of refugee students and communities

An additional but limited portion of this position includes coordination of CAO’s computer literacy programming. Specific duties include:

-Oversight and support of one contracted computer literacy instructor

-Recruitment and oversight of volunteer computer literacy instructors

-Collecting enrollment, class participation, and student progress data

-Monthly program reports and other reporting upon request

-Outreach efforts to advertise CAO computer classes among network and outreach for new computer students

Other duties include:

Researching and identifying funding opportunities to expand program, as well as writing grant proposals for augmenting parent engagement programming (i.e. parenting classes, etc.)
Supervising, managing and supporting graduate interns to assist in programs listed above, as well as other pilot programs initiated by CAO staff.
Contributing to CAO’s monthly newsletter and blog about programmatic activities

Attend all trainings, conferences and meetings as requested by supervisor
Keep informed about refugee and immigrant issues, and available services, using current information to better identify and serve students, parents and community members
Represent the program at meetings and speaking engagements relevant to the responsibilities of the position
Perform all duties in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner
Undertake other duties as assigned
Work varied hours, including some nights and weekends. Front Range travel required as needed.
Must have valid driver’s license and suitable vehicle with insurance.
Clean background check and driving record. .

Qualifications Required

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in relevant area (social work, education, development, English etc) from an accredited American university.

Work Experience: At least 1-2 years of experience in supervision and education positions similar to that described above ideal. Nonprofit and grantwriting experience preferred. Program monitoring and evaluation understanding preferred. Experience working in refugee, immigrant and/or African populations highly preferred, especially those based in Colorado. Volunteer and internship experience may be substituted for work experience. Knowledge of the refugee resettlement process, as well as existing connections in the local refugee provider network, highly desired.

Language Skills: Fluency in speaking and writing English is required. Ability to speak and or write other languages, especially those relevant to the refugee community (Arabic, Swahili, etc) CAO serves will be an advantage, but is not a requirement.

Personal Attributes: Cultural sensitivity is essential. Self-starter and experience working independently. Able to work with limited supervision. Patient, tolerant and understanding. Able to work with others, Knowledgeable about African, Southeast Asian and refugee cultures and sensibilities. Excellent presentation and speaking abilities. Existing connections within the African, immigrant, school, nonprofit and/or refugee community in Denver would be an advantage. Excellent writing skills.

Compensation: $35,000- $37,000 per annum starting, dependent on experience and education.

Benefits: CAO offers health, dental and life insurance to its employees. CAO does not have a retirement plan at this time

Vacation Time: 15 days per annum plus 7 sick days. Comp and flex time will be arranged.

Terms and Conditions: The existence of this position is dependent on the availability of grant funds.

To apply, please send resume, cover letter and contact information for 3 references, including relationship to applicant, to jobs@caoden.org

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE! CALLERS’ APPLICATIONS WILL BE DISCARDED.

Incomplete applications will also not be accepted. Due to high volume of applicants, only those short-listed for interviews will be contacted.

CLOSING DATE: April 18, 2012

CAO's Citizenship Program Video

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:40:00 GMT

Follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf3SMUwhp4g&context=C30dc16eADOEgsToPDskI-hHn3edmndMmqqdyVAGh5 to see the Denver Coalition for Integration's short video highlighting CAO!

CAO, and Ethiopians in Colorado, highlighted on Colorado Public Radio

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:38:00 GMT

Listen, or read the transcript here: http://www.cpr.org/article/Colorado_to_Ethiopia_pt_4_Winning_the_Visa_Lottery

CAO and its new partner featured in Denver's Westword!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:36:00 GMT

Please see Denver's Westword article on refugees from Burma featuring CAO employees Kit Taintor and Drucie Bathin: http://www.westword.com/2012-01-12/news/burmese-refugees-denver/

CAO receives new ORR grant!

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:45:00 GMT

CAO has been awarded a 2011-2014 Ethnic Community Self-Help grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. This grant will expand the role of CAO to that of a technical assistance provider for newly arrived refugee communities-- namely the communities from Bhutan and Burma. Refugees from these countries have outnumbered refugees from Africa in recent years, and they are in need of an organization akin to CAO so that their needs are fully met, and voices fully heard, in Colorado. Under this new grant, CAO will assist two ethnic community based organizations (the Colorado Rangers and the Global Bhutanese Community of Colorado) grow, so that they may advocate for and serve their respective refugee communities. Congratulations to all! For more information on this grant, please visit the ORR website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/.

CAO wins new USCIS grant!

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:38:00 GMT

CAO is excited to announce we have received a 2011-2013 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services citizenship education grant from the Department of Homeland Security. This funding allows CAO to provide citizenship and civics-focused ESL classes to hundreds of African legal permanent residents per year, free of charge. For many immigrants, citizenship is the ultimate attainment of the American dream, and CAO is excited to support them on their paths to responsible citizenship. CAO was also the recipient of this grant in 2010-2011. For a full list of grantees, or more information, please visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov.

CAO members participate in CIRC annual assembly

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:33:00 GMT

The Colorado Immigrants Rights Coalition held its annual assembly in Estes Park this past weekend (October 1-2). CAO's Adrien Mangituka Matadi led the CAO team of participants and served as the Master of Ceremony. CIRC is a statewide immigrants rights group that has traditionally worked with Latino populations, but in recent years has started to see "immigrant" rights as being a broader issue that simply that of Latinos. CAO sees its participation in such advocacy work as paramount to its mission and partnership with CIRC as a benefit to all-- regardless of place of birth, language or background. United, we stand!

CAO's Community Health Workers in the News!

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:58:00 GMT

Health Policy Solutions also ran an article about CAO's fabulous cadre of African community health workers. Visit the full article here: http://www.healthpolicysolutions.org/2011/05/24/african-women-prevent-hiv-share-health-expertise/ or read on below for the article's text. (Note: Sadiya Kulane is incorrectly identified in the article as Zahra Kulane. Apologies to Sadiya!)

African women prevent HIV, open doors to health

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon

The Somali women gather in the living room of a townhome in Denver’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, just across Colfax Avenue from the Auraria Higher Education Center. The scarves on their heads shimmer like the nearby downtown skyscrapers on this Saturday evening in May.

The host has created a centerpiece of lemons in a glass vase and will serve dinner to her guests, an iconic American meal: pizza.

Some of the women have brought their children. One cuddles a month-old baby, her seventh child. The host has both a self-assured college-aged daughter, who is studying at Colorado State University, and a toddler daughter, who happily jumps from lap to lap. A 10-year-old fourth-grader sits next to her mom, eyes wide as she takes in the chatter.

The gathering of about a dozen people feels like a small party or an informal book club meeting until the guests of honor start speaking.

“You have to watch your men and your teenagers,’’ says Zahra Kulane as she discusses the key topic for the evening — HIV.

Kulane has lived in the U.S. since 1993 and has been training for two years in Denver to work as a community health outreach worker. Her husband owns a successful Denver restaurant and she has lived here far longer than most of the other women. She speaks excellent English and knows her way around the community.

Each month, Kulane and her fellow community health workers attend training sessions to increase their knowledge of health issues. Some are also studying to become nurses or to work as certified nursing assistants. Each month, they hold small gatherings, like this one, with friends and friends of friends to spread the word about a concept that is new to most of these refugees and immigrants: preventive health care.

Back home in Africa, many people only visit a hospital or see a doctor if a family member is dying. The concept of preventive health care or screenings for early detection of diseases like cancer of the prostate or breast is a foreign concept to many new immigrants.

Altogether the 14 community health workers speak 20 languages. They get paid small stipends each month for both the training classes they take and the ones they teach. On this night, Kulane makes her presentation in Somali. Her topic this month is HIV, although she tells the guests ahead of time that it’s a general health talk. She doesn’t want to scare them away. The workers have studied a variety of health issues from obesity and nutrition to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and breast, cervical and prostate cancer.

Assisting Kulane for her May program is Dr. Oumar Ouattara. A doctor from the Ivory Coast, he came to the U.S. in 2004 and earned a masters degree from the Colorado School of Public Health. He now heads the health outreach program for the Colorado African Organization, a Denver nonprofit that supports African refugees and immigrants throughout the state.

After Kulane talks, Ouattara holds up a chart from the Centers for Disease Control with a disturbing bar graph. It shows the rates of new HIV infection by race and ethnic group in the U.S. Stretching way beyond any other line is the bar representing black men, both those born here and African immigrants.

HIV rates among black women also far outpace infection rates for white or Hispanic women. According to the CDC, blacks accounted for nearly half of all people living with HIV and 45 percent of those with new infections. The rate of new HIV infections for black men was six times as high as that of white men, while black women are nearly 15 times more likely than white women to contract HIV.

In Colorado, African women are at even greater risk than men. Of the 59 new HIV cases documented among immigrants from Africa between 2005 and 2010, 32 were among women, while 29 were among men. Nearly half of those new cases emerged among Ethiopians, the African immigrant group that has been in Colorado the longest. Many African societies are patriarchal. The wealthier the men, the more likely they are to have multiple sex partners, says Kit Taintor, executive director for CAO. The behavior among men puts their women in great danger for contracting HIV.

“The highest risk factor for HIV is being an older married woman,” Taintor said.

That makes outreach to women especially important. At the evening gathering, Ouattara delivers a message that he hopes the women will spread among friends and family members.

“HIV is just like diabetes in America. It is a chronic disease. If you take medication, then you can live with it,” he said.

Studies that CAO and others have done show that Africans both here and back home believe that HIV will kill them.

“They see it as a death sentence. If you have a death sentence, why would you want to get tested? If they know something is wrong, many will not go to the doctor until death is knocking,” Taintor said.

Ouattara and the community health workers are working to turn that attitude upside down. Again and again, their message is clear: get tested, get treated, prevent additional infections. People can live with HIV and AIDS.

Kulane delivers her kicker.

“Early detection is important. You can test for HIV even before there are symptoms. Every six months, go check,” she said, telling the women exactly where and how they can get themselves tested and encouraging them to urge their husbands or teens to do the same.

At this point, the conversations in the room take off. The women are abuzz about HIV and their thoughts about their husbands and other men in the African immigrant community.

“They are reckless,” says one woman. There is a sense among these women that many men both in Africa and here in the U.S. have sex with multiple partners even if they are HIV-positive. The women are clearly angry that some men knowingly infect their wives.

Still, in Somalia, Zahra Adam says a woman wouldn’t dare ask her husband to be tested.

“You’d get divorced right away if you said anything to your man. They get offended. They are very arrogant,” she said.

But, with her young daughter at her side, she says she’s sees African women changing their attitudes once they arrive in the U.S.

“Here the women have more power,” she said.

A model borrowed from the Latino community

Two years ago, Taintor of CAO and others were brainstorming about how to better spread key health messages among African immigrants, especially women. CAO had done some health education lectures in formal settings, but they found that men filled the rooms. They needed a way to reach more women and looked to programs that have been used to combat diseases like diabetes among immigrants from Mexico.

The idea of training women to be lay community health workers is called promotores de salud and is used in Colorado and across the country at clinics that serve Spanish speakers.

Not only does the concept help boost health education, it may also encourage more people from minority communities to enter health fields where shortages are expected to worsen sharply in coming decades.

Spreading information through word-of-mouth is also quite common in Africa, said Taintor who has lived in Malawi and Uganda.

“The best messages are going to be oral and through women. They’re the caretakers of the family. They talk amongst themselves and they’re the backbone of the family and the country,” she said.

The same method works well for immigrants who are not yet fully integrated into their new homes. Taintor estimates that there are now about 35,000 African immigrants in Colorado, nearly all of whom live in Denver. The population has grown by about 300 percent over the past decade. But it’s not easy to reach people. Funding for the community health workers comes from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which has spent about $70,000 on the program.

“They don’t listen to local radio stations. Often they’ll have music streaming online or will tune in to Al Jazeera for news,” Taintor said.

The diverse languages among African immigrants, who come from as many as 55 different countries, can also be a stumbling block. That’s why Taintor and Ouattara have deliberately sought out health workers from multiple countries who speak so many languages.

More than once, the health experts have found that political squabbles from Africa have affected gatherings here. For example, one of the health workers tried to set up a meeting for a discussion on prostate cancer in the Eritrean community. She had done a home presentation and it was so popular that members of the community asked her to give the presentation again for a larger audience. But, a flare-up between rival Eritrean factions prevented the second talk.

Holding small sessions in homes has worked especially well. Sometimes the health workers struggle to get women to come to their talks because they are so busy. Feeding them a good meal is key. Some of the health workers cook traditional African meals, but they seldom can afford an extravagant meal since they only get $30 in reimbursements and receive low monthly payments for their outreach work.

Preventive care a new concept for some immigrants

An evaluation of the program found that both the health workers themselves, and members of their audience are boosting their knowledge of key issues.

“Both the community health workers and community participants were beginning the process of reexamining many of their ideas about health and nutrition. The health workers expressed increased confidence about presenting information to their community and felt a strong sense of satisfaction and accomplishment,” the evaluators wrote.

“People are asking all these great questions and everyone is feeling empowered by the information,” Taintor said. “Opening the door to having these conversations is huge.”

In the future, Taintor is hoping that the health workers can play a bigger role serving as navigators who can accompany patients to doctors’ visits and help them understand the culture of U.S. health care.

“There are so many issues: access, lack of transportation and language barriers. I will hear of people who show up at a clinic and wait for two hours, then say, ‘the receptionist was mean to me.’ For many of these people, going to the doctor is not an enjoyable experience. They do not see it as worth taking time out of very busy lives to go. We’re brainstorming about how to handle that,” Taintor said.

Little by little, however, the concept of preventive care is trickling through the community.

“When we grow up here, we learn about cancer and preventive health,” Taintor said. “In Africa, children learn about malaria and cholera. The community health workers are providing a basic education so (immigrants) can learn about preventive care. Once they move here, malaria is not going to kill them, but diabetes might.”

In the past, if an immigrant women saw a flyer for a free breast cancer screening at her mosque, she might not have understood what it meant or how it related to her. But, after hearing a presentation on breast cancer from a community health worker, that same woman might follow through and get a mammogram.

Nike Kotun is one of the community health workers. She moved from Nigeria three years ago and is now studying at Metro State College to get a Bachelor of Science in nursing.

During one of the training sessions for the health workers, she and the other women toured a clinic called It Takes a Village in Aurora. The clinic offers free HIV and STD testing and counseling. They then take their knowledge and pass it back to people in their communities. Another training session focused on trauma. Many of the refugees have dealt with rape or war.

“Telling our stories is one of the most helpful things we can do,” said Lauri Benblatt, a Boulder therapist who has used art and dance to work with refugees and earthquake victims in Africa and Haiti. “It is scary, but you have to relive the memory.”

Kotun and the others take the lessons they learn, then pass them on.

“We give references on where people can get help,” Kotun said. “Sometimes people confide in us. If it’s an issue I cannot handle, I just talk to Dr. Ouattara.

“I like the program,” Kotun said. “I really like making a positive impact on people’s lives. We create awareness on how people can live and live well.”

CAO's Oumar Ouattara featured on Solutions website

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:52:00 GMT

Solutions is a project of the Buechner Institute for Governance at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver. Designed to be a source for objective information about the critical health policy issues facing Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West, Solutions features in-depth reporting and analysis, expert commentary, links to supporting research and opportunities for interested readers to engage in discussions.

One recent article about CAO and Oumar Ouattara, CAO's Community Health Program Manager, was featured on May 24, 2011. Read below for the full story or click on this link to take you to the article on Solutions' website: http://www.healthpolicysolutions.org/2011/05/24/african-doctor-coaches-cadre-of-immigrant-women/

Doctor coaches cadre of immigrant women

Posted on 24 May 2011.

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon

When a robber pointed a gun at Oumar Ouattara while he was working the graveyard shift at a busy 7-Eleven on Denver’s East Colfax Avenue, Ouattara begged the gunman not to shoot and wondered why he had ever left his native Ivory Coast.

Like many immigrants, Ouattara had to take any job he could to survive after arriving in Colorado.

Unlike some immigrants, Ouattara was highly educated and had left behind a good life in his native Africa. A doctor, he was married and owned a four-bedroom home. On a lark, Ouattara entered the annual U.S. lottery that awards 55,000 green cards to immigrants from diverse countries. In 2004, on his first try, he won the right to live and work in the U.S.

He came with his wife and their first child. At first they had to live in a host’s home, squeezing together into one room.

Back home, Ouattara had had both comfort and respect.

“In Africa, a physician is like a god,” Ouattara said.

In Denver, Ouattara had to struggle to survive.

“This is the price you have to pay. This is the sacrifice you make to move your life forward,” he said.

Ouattara took his first paycheck and moved his family into a one-bedroom apartment. While working difficult, sometimes dangerous jobs — far removed from his health expertise — Ouattara crafted a plan for a future.

His medical degree from Africa would not allow him to work as a doctor in the U.S. Rather than starting over and essentially going to medical school again, Ouattara decided to educate himself in a different area — public health. He knew that learning about prevention of critical health problems like HIV would give him great knowledge to take back to Africa someday.

Ouattara earned a master’s degree from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2009. He and his wife are buying a home and now have two children. And Ouattara found work in his field at the Colorado African Organization, a nonprofit founded by Africans to help immigrants adapt to their new homes in Colorado. Ouattara is CAO’s community health manager and works to drive down rates of HIV while boosting education about issues ranging from breast and prostate cancer to managing diabetes.

Among the programs he runs is one that deploys more than a dozen lay community health workers into Denver’s African community to boost health literacy among women and to ensure that new immigrants know how to access the complex health system in the U.S.

Ironically, when CAO Executive Director Kit Taintor was searching for the right person to head the community health worker program, she wanted a woman. But, she found Ouattara instead. His enthusiasm and warm smile are contagious. He empowers female health workers, whom he trains then dispatches into their communities. As a male doctor, Ouattara has brought a secret weapon to the program.

The women conduct regular monthly teaching sessions in their communities. The programs are aimed at educating women, but often men attend as well. Both Taintor and Ouattara said that many African men who come to the U.S. bring with them patriarchal stereotypes that men are superior. When Ouattara attends outreach sessions with the women, he essentially gives the women his blessing.

“What he’s able to do is answer all the higher-level medical questions that come up. He also backs up the women and gives them respect. As a man, Oumar is helping because the men are sitting there nodding. It allows the women to build up their credibility in the community,” Taintor said.

The outreach sessions have proved tremendously helpful to open doors so immigrants can seek critical preventive and diagnostic care in the U.S.

“The meetings have become an informal place to ask hard questions,” said Taintor. “A woman might say, ‘My husband is peeing all the time (a possible symptom of prostate cancer).’ The health workers can tell them, ‘You need to go to the doctor and this is where you can go.’’’

Ouattara said there are three key barriers that prevent immigrants from seeking health care here: social and cultural barriers, financial challenges and language barriers.

He said the African health system is entirely different. Few people there think of seeing a doctor to prevent illness. Rather, you see a doctor when you are sick. And Ouattara says the entire family engages with you. If a patient is in the hospital, the family provides the patient’s food and supports the care.

Ouattara said there are other simple differences. For instance, Africans will often bow their heads and not look directly into the eyes of a caregiver. “If I look down, I am giving you my full respect,” Ouattara said.

But, U.S. caregivers often find this behavior disconcerting. They want to look their patients in the eyes. Ouattara urges Africans to learn new ways. “You can bring your culture here. But you also have to adapt to the new culture.”

Ouattara and the community health workers are finding that immigrant women are taking more ownership for their health issues. For instance, the community health workers counseled one woman who had met a fellow African immigrant online. The man lived in another state and the two had never met in person, but planned to marry. The health workers encouraged the woman to ask the man to take an HIV test before their marriage. The woman followed their advice. As soon as she suggested the test, the man disappeared. While the woman was sad that the relationship had crumbled, she told the health workers that she was relieved to have avoided possible HIV exposure.

In another case, Ouattara and the health workers halted a potentially dangerous tuberculosis outbreak. They learned of an older woman who was home with severe coughing, fever and weight loss. She was afraid to go to the hospital and thought that without money, she could not get care.

Ouattara correctly suspected TB and reassured the woman.

“TB is a public health issue. We will take care of you,” Ouattara said.

Educating women so they can become leaders in their communities gives them confidence and puts them on the front lines for improving health access for immigrants.

“Africans are more integrated into the U.S. health care system,” Ouattara said. “Women are in the middle of everything — children, husbands, families. We know that if the women get the message, then the husband gets the message too.”

"A Moment to Reflect"

Thu, 19 May 2011 16:16:00 GMT

The community from Burma in Colorado has an event on May 28 at 1:30-4:30 pm at Place Bridge Academy to remember the history and struggles of the people from Burma. Food, drink, dancing and fun! See you there!

Welcome to Shelbyville film screening May 25

Mon, 09 May 2011 19:36:00 GMT

Set in the heart of America's Bible Belt, Welcome To Shelbyville focuses on a small Southern town as they grapple with rapid demographic change and issues of immigrant integration. The film captures the complexity of the African American, Latino, white, and Somali subjects as their lives intertwine against the backdrop of a crumbling economy and the election of a new president.

View it as part of Rocky Mountain PBS's Community Cinema series at the Tivoli Theater near Metro State on May 25, a Wednesday, starting at 6:30. Visit this site: http://www.rmpbs.org/calendarEvents/?event=12028 for more information and to get your free tickets!

Worlds Largest Refugee Camp turns 20

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:17:00 GMT

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/04/the-worlds-largest-refugee-camp-turns-20/100046/

Click on the link to see photos from the camp. Many Somali refugees living in Colorado now used to call this home.

Denver Post article on refugees in Greeley

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:14:00 GMT

Please click on the link http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_17865744 for a great article on efforts by our partner, Lutheran Family Services, in Greeley to bring refugee kids together using football (or, um, soccer)!