Organization becomes extended family for immigrants
By Nicole Morales
The Portland Upside
July 2009
By Nicole Morales
The Portland Upside
July 2009
We are a world of an estimated 6.8 billion people. 16 million of us have fled our homelands because of civil and ethnic strife. As refugees, we seek to legally resettle our lives in a country that grants us permission. Since 1975, approximately 2.6 million of us have resettled in the United States. And about 1,000 of us arrive annually in Oregon. Fortunately there are organizations that assist in what is often a challenging life transition.
One such organization in Portland, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), lends its many hands to help refugees and legal immigrants begin a safe new life in the city. The organization officially formed in the mid 1980s when two local agencies, committed to the betterment of Asian refugees, decided to extend their services to refugees coming from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. However, its roots go back to 1976. As a nonprofit organization, IRCO has continued to empower their clients to become self-sufficient individuals who contribute to the community through social and professional interactions.
On June 19, IRCO invited the community to learn more about its refugee population in recognition of World Refugee Day 2009, which formally takes place on June 20 every year worldwide. At the event, IRCO shed some positive light on the world refugee dilemma and issues closer to home. Those in attendance learned how IRCO helps its clients transition into city life. Four speakers shared their personal histories and how they are learning to live life in the Portland metropolitan area.
One speaker, Djimet Dogo, is a longtime member of the IRCO community. Because of growing governmental repression in the central African country of Chad, Djimet left his home country and resettled in Portland in 1999. He recounted a humorous but sobering story.
“When I first got here, I tossed out every dime onto the street and kept the pennies whenever I had loose change,” he said. “Back home the small [copper] coins are worth more than the silver ones.” It was only when Djimet attended classes at IRCO that he learned that the opposite is true. Djimet is able to smile about his experience, “but so many of us have to start everything from zero.”
Today, Djimet works for IRCO’s Africa House. He is often one of the first people that recent African refugees meet at the Portland International Airport.
“Large families arrive at the airport with nothing but a plastic bag hanging from their wrists,” he remarked. “Stapled to the bag is a photo of their family [to identify them].”
IRCO understands their clients’ delicate situations and basic needs. Rowanne Haley, IRCO Manager of Community and Donor Relations, shared that 175 staff members provide services to their clients in their first language—60 languages in all.
“IRCO partners with over 200 organizations to deliver its services, and has worked with over 4,000 employers in the metro area to provide employment to its clients,” according to Rowanne.
Through its directory of nine major service areas, IRCO offers a multitude of programs to fit every client. There are services for all ages in areas such as health education, work preparation and training, youth mentoring, and English language learning. In addition, IRCO’s Asian Family Center and Africa House host specific programs catering to the organization’s Asian and African populations.
Africa House, in outer southeast Portland, opened in early 2007. Djimet, the program coordinator, explained that Africa House “is the linkage between the new arriving families and the [existing community], so we link them with people from their culture, from their country, that speak the same language with them.” The center’s staff and volunteers help new families transition from living life in a refugee camp to living life in an urban environment.
“We help them [into] their new country, culture, and way of life, so that families will stay together.”
Africa House teaches their clients cultural and financial literacy skills, many of which native citizens take for granted. Practical how-to’s—paying one’s monthly utility bills or riding the bus—combine with cultural etiquette lessons—how and when to say “excuse me.” All need to be taught to African refugees who settle here. These skills are essential if they are to become self-sufficient and contributing members of their community.
Some families need continued support, however. A family may go without electricity for three days because they are unaccustomed to monthly billing cycles or are unfamiliar with the different ways they can pay their bills. But when they seek assistance from Africa House, a call is made to PGE, misunderstandings are clarified, and the bill is paid.
The most rewarding job aspect for Djimet is “when we help a family that is falling apart and we help reconcile husband and wife.”
He described the importance of elders during family hardships.
“In Africa we have the whole village intervening to keep the family together—here it’s just wife and husband and they don’t know where to go for help. We play this role that elders play back home to keep harmony and peace in the household and the community,” he emphasized.
The families are grateful and show their appreciation in a number of ways.
“At 8:30 in the morning [I’ll] see flowers and cards left by clients at the door saying ‘Thank you for helping our family.’” Djimet concluded, “It’s a really tough job, but somebody has to do it and I’m so glad to do it to keep people together.”
Reward and work satisfaction are also apparent within the organization.
“The thing I enjoy most about working here is the internationalism of the environment—I learn something new almost every day,” said Rowanne. “For someone who loves to travel and learn about other cultures, that’s a huge bonus for me.”
There are a number of ways people can get involved with IRCO, including volunteering, serving on an advisory committee, making monetary and household good donations, and requesting interpretation or translation services for private or commercial purposes.
IRCO does good things for people coming from difficult life circumstances. Every client becomes a self-sufficient contributing member of the community and in return enriches the livelihood of our dynamic city.
_____
To find out more about IRCO, visit www.irco.org
Nicole Morales strives to connect people via multicultural education and writing. She teaches ESL at a private university outside of Portland and welcomes your inquiries at
nmorales.writes@gmail.com
One such organization in Portland, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), lends its many hands to help refugees and legal immigrants begin a safe new life in the city. The organization officially formed in the mid 1980s when two local agencies, committed to the betterment of Asian refugees, decided to extend their services to refugees coming from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. However, its roots go back to 1976. As a nonprofit organization, IRCO has continued to empower their clients to become self-sufficient individuals who contribute to the community through social and professional interactions.
On June 19, IRCO invited the community to learn more about its refugee population in recognition of World Refugee Day 2009, which formally takes place on June 20 every year worldwide. At the event, IRCO shed some positive light on the world refugee dilemma and issues closer to home. Those in attendance learned how IRCO helps its clients transition into city life. Four speakers shared their personal histories and how they are learning to live life in the Portland metropolitan area.
One speaker, Djimet Dogo, is a longtime member of the IRCO community. Because of growing governmental repression in the central African country of Chad, Djimet left his home country and resettled in Portland in 1999. He recounted a humorous but sobering story.
“When I first got here, I tossed out every dime onto the street and kept the pennies whenever I had loose change,” he said. “Back home the small [copper] coins are worth more than the silver ones.” It was only when Djimet attended classes at IRCO that he learned that the opposite is true. Djimet is able to smile about his experience, “but so many of us have to start everything from zero.”
Today, Djimet works for IRCO’s Africa House. He is often one of the first people that recent African refugees meet at the Portland International Airport.
“Large families arrive at the airport with nothing but a plastic bag hanging from their wrists,” he remarked. “Stapled to the bag is a photo of their family [to identify them].”
IRCO understands their clients’ delicate situations and basic needs. Rowanne Haley, IRCO Manager of Community and Donor Relations, shared that 175 staff members provide services to their clients in their first language—60 languages in all.
“IRCO partners with over 200 organizations to deliver its services, and has worked with over 4,000 employers in the metro area to provide employment to its clients,” according to Rowanne.
Through its directory of nine major service areas, IRCO offers a multitude of programs to fit every client. There are services for all ages in areas such as health education, work preparation and training, youth mentoring, and English language learning. In addition, IRCO’s Asian Family Center and Africa House host specific programs catering to the organization’s Asian and African populations.
Africa House, in outer southeast Portland, opened in early 2007. Djimet, the program coordinator, explained that Africa House “is the linkage between the new arriving families and the [existing community], so we link them with people from their culture, from their country, that speak the same language with them.” The center’s staff and volunteers help new families transition from living life in a refugee camp to living life in an urban environment.
“We help them [into] their new country, culture, and way of life, so that families will stay together.”
Africa House teaches their clients cultural and financial literacy skills, many of which native citizens take for granted. Practical how-to’s—paying one’s monthly utility bills or riding the bus—combine with cultural etiquette lessons—how and when to say “excuse me.” All need to be taught to African refugees who settle here. These skills are essential if they are to become self-sufficient and contributing members of their community.
Some families need continued support, however. A family may go without electricity for three days because they are unaccustomed to monthly billing cycles or are unfamiliar with the different ways they can pay their bills. But when they seek assistance from Africa House, a call is made to PGE, misunderstandings are clarified, and the bill is paid.
The most rewarding job aspect for Djimet is “when we help a family that is falling apart and we help reconcile husband and wife.”
He described the importance of elders during family hardships.
“In Africa we have the whole village intervening to keep the family together—here it’s just wife and husband and they don’t know where to go for help. We play this role that elders play back home to keep harmony and peace in the household and the community,” he emphasized.
The families are grateful and show their appreciation in a number of ways.
“At 8:30 in the morning [I’ll] see flowers and cards left by clients at the door saying ‘Thank you for helping our family.’” Djimet concluded, “It’s a really tough job, but somebody has to do it and I’m so glad to do it to keep people together.”
Reward and work satisfaction are also apparent within the organization.
“The thing I enjoy most about working here is the internationalism of the environment—I learn something new almost every day,” said Rowanne. “For someone who loves to travel and learn about other cultures, that’s a huge bonus for me.”
There are a number of ways people can get involved with IRCO, including volunteering, serving on an advisory committee, making monetary and household good donations, and requesting interpretation or translation services for private or commercial purposes.
IRCO does good things for people coming from difficult life circumstances. Every client becomes a self-sufficient contributing member of the community and in return enriches the livelihood of our dynamic city.
_____
To find out more about IRCO, visit www.irco.org
Nicole Morales strives to connect people via multicultural education and writing. She teaches ESL at a private university outside of Portland and welcomes your inquiries at
nmorales.writes@gmail.com
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