There are many immediate needs that refugees have to address when they arrive in the United States. For those who don’t speak English, language is often the most critical priority. At the same time, finding employment and a means of self-support are never far from a new American’s mind.

In Denver, a program at Emily Griffith Technical College is helping refugees develop their English while also building the vocational and interpersonal skills required to thrive in an American workplace.

The program is called the Work Intensive Skills Camp (WISC), and it is just one part of Emily Griffith’s progressive English curriculum for refugees. Participants in the one-month program receive English instruction that centers on the vocabulary of the working world, and they receive training in the sectors of the labor market most likely to offer them a job, fields like food service and hospitality.

Emily Griffith partners with EMM affiliate Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services and other refugee resettlement agencies in Denver to serve more than 1,000 refugees each year.

Instructor and curriculum designer Kate Goodspeed said the WISC  program — which she affectionately refers to as "employment bootcamp" — is a critical step to sustained employment success for her students.

“It touches on a lot of different things you’ll find in the workplace. The programs lasts one month and the last week is job shadowing,” Goodspeed said. “That’s a very valuable experience for them.”

The classroom at Emily Griffith is set up like a lab, with stations replicating the workspaces refugees will encounter in kitchens, hotels and factories. So-called “soft skills” like following a work schedule, determining job duties from assignment boards, and even using a combination lock in the locker room may be foreign to many newcomers.

In addition, behaviors like making eye-contact when speaking and smiling – even when you’re not especially happy – are norms that perplex many refugees. To address that challenge, Goodspeed said the WISC program centers on American workplace culture as much as on technical skills.

From a teacher’s perspective, Goodspeed said the most gratifying aspect of the job is seeing refugees thrive in the new lives their find in Denver.

“I find our students are just sort of awesome. They’re very positive in the face of some very difficult experiences,” she said. “One woman was hired as a housekeeper, and she got employee of the month six months later. Sometimes we wonder if people will be able to succeed, but they can prove themselves. They do prove themselves.”

St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is developing a new Thanksgiving tradition.

For the second straight year, the church will hold a Thanksgiving feast for newly arrived refugees in the community, using the occasion as a chance to say, "Welcome."

"What I learned in elementary school was that the pilgrims were refugees in essence, who came to the new colony and were starving. And the natives, the residents, invited them for this feast," said St. Marks Pastor Paul Trenne.

"I thought, what a great way to plug into this tradition. It’s not just a meal, it’s a way for us to move from being strangers to neighbors, and hopefully even friends."

The church plans to serve dinner to more than 100 newcomers, refugees who resettled in Grand Forks through EMM affiliate, Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota.

In addition to providing food, St. Mark's is providing transportation to the dinner for its guests. The church's women's group has prepared gift bags for refugee families, and the church quilting group will donate a new quilt.

The event is part of an evolving relationship between the St. Mark's congregation and the refugee community in Grand Forks. The church hosted a July 4th picnic for the city's new Americans, has organized clothing and furniture and has included refugees in their rummage sale and other church events.

Trenne said the church's ministry has resulted in a new sense of purpose and energy within the congregation, as church members have found their kindness and warmth returned from the refugees they meet.

"It has to do with how people feel about the congregation and the excitement level about the ministries of the congregation," Trenne said. "They feel like they’re making a difference and a change in the world."

Church member Olive Webber said the Thanksgiving dinner and other outreach events have been a lot of work, but she said the effort has been worthwhile.

"From a Christian point of view I believe that what we do for our neighbors – how we love and welcome them — that’s what we should be about," Webber said. "These people come with nothing as far as worldy goods, so we have to help them with that. But we also need to let them know that there are people here who are going to be their friends."

EMM's newest affiliate in Wichita, Kansas -- Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry -- was featured on local television in a piece about their developing ministry.

Bridge Refugee Services in Knoxville, Tennessee, was featured in this story  about a Burmese family that was reunited after years apart.

The Global Gardens program in Boise, Idaho, serves many clients from EMM affiliate Agency for New Americans and was the subject of this story.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate many things -- not least of which is food! In keeping with our recent tradition of offering recipes from around the world, here are two tasty dishes from our network.

Mohammed Najeeb is a former refugee from Iraq and currently serves as a program coordinator for EMM's affiliate in West Springfield, Massachusetts, Lutheran Social Services of New England.

Mohammed was kind enough to a recipe for Iraqi-style stuffed grape leaves. Mohammed says that the dish, known as dolma, is a challenge to prepare, but a delight to eat.

Ingredients

1. One 16-ounce jars of grape leaves

2. Two pounds beef, or two pounds lamb, minced

3. One cup long-grain uncooked rice ( basmati rice works best)

4. 3/4 cup tomato sauce

5. Two tablespoons tomato paste

6. One medium onion, finely chopped

7. Two garlic cloves, minced

8. Two teaspoons salt

9. One teaspoon black pepper

10. One teaspoon cumin

11. One teaspoon paprika

12. 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

13. 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

14. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

15. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

16. A pinch of ground cardamom

17. 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

18. 2/3 cup canola oil

19. Four to five carrots

Directions
1. Soak grape leaves in water for 20 minutes and drain.

2. Peel and slice carrots lengthwise and line bottom of pot with them. This helps keep the grape leaves from sticking to the pot.

3. Soak rice in hot water for 10 minutes and drain. In a large bowl, combine rice, beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and all spices.

4. Place each grape leaf shiny side down with stem end toward you on a flat surface. Cut off stem. Place 1 tbsp of rice mixture on leaf near the stem end. Roll top over once, fold ends in, and continue to roll completely (rolling away from you). Repeat with remaining leaves.

5. Arrange rolled grape leaves in pot seam side down, tightly packed. Place each layer in opposite direction of previous layer, in a criss-cross fashion. For even cooking, try to have no more than four layers.

6. Combine lemon juice and oil and pour over grape leaves. Top with water until approximately 1" below top layer.

7. Place large plate on top, and place a heavy weight on plate (a foil-wrapped brick works great).

8. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 and minutes, until rice is thoroughly cooked. Allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.

9. Serve with lemon wedges or Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Total Time: 2 hrs
Prep Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 1hr 15 min

Tatyana Yakimov is a program aide with Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services, EMM's affiliate in Denver, Colorado. Tatyana shared a recipe for borsch from her native Russia. 

Instructions:

1. Fill pot with water and add one pound beef
2. Boil meat until almost done
3. Add shredded green cabbage, about 1/3 head
4. Add 3-5 potatoes, cut in pieces

5. Cook until preferred consistency achieved

In a separate saucepan:
1.Put oil in pan and heat
2. Add one medium onion chopped small or diced
3. Add one or two shredded carrots 
4. Add one shredded or chopped bell pepper 
5. Add one chopped tomato 
6. Add one medium shredded beet 
7. Add some ketchup or tomato sauce (2-3 tablespoons)
8. Stir and stew
9. Add some black pepper and dill; you can add some sour cream too, about one or two tablespoons
10. Add one clove of diced garlic 

Once meat, potatoes and cabbage are done:

1. Add vegetable mixture to pot
2. Let it barely come to boil and turn off heat
3. Cover lid with the towel and let set
4. Serve hot and add sour cream to the bowl

As of October 31, 2011, EMM affiliates had assisted 241refugees since the start of the fiscal year on October 1. This work is carried out with the support of parishes and community volunteers across many dioceses of our church.

Those refugees comes from the following regions:

Africa: 52 refugees

Near East and South Asia: 121 refugees

East Asia: 61 refugees

Latin America and Caribbean: 7 refugees

This newsletter is produced with support from the United States Department of State. Opinions expressed here may not reflect the positions of the Department of State.