"America is always an unfinished project, but it's programs like welcome for that remind us of how good we can be, can bring out the best of our country."
Josh Black, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs speaking to Hoosiers at the Global Village Welcome Center.
Through June 24-27, we hosted the Welcome Corps team in four cities across Indiana for their national roadshow to engage Hoosiers with refugee private sponsorship.
In just four days, we organized over ten in-person engagements (public events and private meetings), had over 450 participants, met with leaders from faith communities and higher education institutions, directly met with diverse communities with direct ties with refugees abroad including Afghan, Haitian, Burmese, and Venezuelan groups, generated over fifteen new private sponsorship group applications (over 75 applicants), scheduled four Welcome Corps info sessions at institutions across Indiana.
Welcoming Communities in the Hoosier Heartland
at Indy's Global Village Welcome Center, Indianapolis
On Tuesday, June 25, refugees, performers, community leaders, and State Bureau representatives got together to celebrate Indiana's past of welcoming refugees and how we can keep that tradition alive through the Welcome Corps at the Global Village Welcome Center in Indianapolis.
Strangers and friends alike enjoyed international food from the various businesses located in Indianapolis' international marketplace district. We hosted a musical performance by Indy artists and immigrants Pavel Polanco-Safadit originally from the Dominican Republic and the R&B Haitian star, Oltanie Charles.
Assistant Secretary for the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes opened up about how her parents, Cuban refugees who came to the United States during the rise of the Castro regime, instilled in her a sense of gratitude to the American people from a young age.
Alongside Assistant Secretary Noyes, we had a variety of local government and refugee policy experts speak to the importance of welcoming refugees, including:
Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs, Josh Black
Indianapolis Deputy Mayor, Judith Thomas
Patchwork Indy Director of Strategic Partnerships and Refugee Congress delegate, Ally Ntumba
Afghan American Community Center Executive Director, Najia Sherzad Hoshmand
Deputy Executive Director of Community Sponsorship Hub, Basma Alawee
Most notably, we had the honor of hosting Meshack Asende, a Congolese refugee, and his sponsor group's members, Carla Kilgore and Leslie Sperry.
Meshack recounted his story of fleeing his homeland of the Democratic Republic of Congo to a refugee camp of 150,000 people in Tanzania. He lived there for 27 years with little hope for building a future.
Carla and Leslie shared their experience in sponsoring Meshack's family. Carla said, "One day last winter, Meshack was walking me out after a visit, and he just flung out his arms and he said, "I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!"
"One day last winter, Meshack was walking me out after a visit and he just flung out his arms and he said, "I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!"
Learn more about Meshack, Carla, and Leslie's refugee sponsorship journey here.
Learn more about Indy's Global Village Welcome Center and the organization that co-hosted the event alongside Patchwork Indy and the Welcome Corps here.
Building Welcoming Communities Across Indiana
The Welcome Corps and Patchwork Indy team travelled to Muncie, Fort Wayne, and Bloomington meeting with community members from all walks of live.
Some of the events and meetings we held to engage different communities with the Welcome Corps included:
Haitian community members in Indianapolis, co-hosted with the Pillars of Haiti.
Burma communities and other Indianapolis South Side residents led by the Burmese American Community Institute, Chin Community of Indiana, and Hope for Tomorrow.
Venezuelan leaders at the Platanos mobile Venezuelan restaurant in Noblesville.
Spiritual leaders from different faiths in the greater Indianapolis area, co-hosted alongside the Center for Interfaith Cooperation and the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance.
Muslim practitioners and other Muncie citizens alike at the Islamic Center of Muncie.
Fort Wayne community members represented by Burmese, Congolese, and Latinos at the Purdue University Fort Wayne alongside Amani Family Services and Purdue Fort Wayne's Institute for Holocaust and Genocide studies.
Bloomington locals at the Monroe County Public Library alongside Indiana University Bloomington.
We have yet to grasp the full extent to which these three days have impacted our communities and are still following up with multiple community members about private sponsorship.
Join us in helping those desperately in need of a home. Together, we can build strong, diverse, and welcoming communities.
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