Connecticut church members give their all to help refugee family

What started with some available real estate and a brief presentation at a diocesan convention has led to a transformative ministry for the Episcopal Church of the Holy Advent in Clinton, Connecticut. 

August marks the first anniversary of the arrival of a family of six refugees from Iraq who have been staying in the church’s rectory and transitioning to life in the United States with the help of Holy Advent members.

The experience of providing assistance to refugees in conjunction with an Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) affiliate office is known as co-sponsorship. In Connecticut, EMM affiliate Integrated Refugee and Immigration Services partners with faith communities like Holy Advent, along with other groups, to meet the needs of resettled refugees.

For Holy Advent members and the family they’ve helped, this experience has included a number of challenges. But with the family’s five adult siblings now all working, learning English and adjusting to life in the U.S., it’s clear the partnership has been a success.

“The amount that they have accomplished in just 11 months is astonishing,” Holy Advent vicar, the Rev. Bruce Shipman, said of the family. “I think [refugee co-sponsorship] is the right thing to do. I think we’ve never doubted that, but it has been demanding.”

The experience has been demanding, in part, because the church has offered an extraordinary level of support to the family. Both in terms of scope and duration, Holy Advent’s efforts have greatly exceeded what EMM asks of churches and other co-sponsors.

Hear more about the co-sponsorship experience from Holy Advent members and a member of the family they've assisted by clicking HERE.

Refugee/scientist, looking to future with help from EMM affiliate 

Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) of Columbus, Ohio began resettling refugees in partnership with EMM in February. The agency is expected to assist approximately 75 refugees through EMM by the end of the year.

CRIS's first EMM client arrived on February 10 in the person of Abiyu Getahun, a 34-year-old geophysicist from Ethiopia. Six months after coming to the U.S., Abiyu is thriving, working full time and taking steps to continue his graduate studies.

“I didn’t expect such kindness and such an environment here,” Getahun said of his experience with CRIS. “I know [non-governmental organizations] in Ethiopia, but I didn’t expect this.”

And as he moves forward with his own struggles, Getahun speaks movingly when describing the experience of being a refugee.

“Being a refugee is too hard," he said. "But I can tell you every refugee is very peaceful. They need to live peacefully.”

Read more about Abiyu's experiences and his efforts to build a new life in the U.S. by clicking HERE.

Idaho-based Agency for New Americans was highlighted in this story about a soccer program for refugee youth in Boise.

Ram Rai, a former EMM refugee client and a current caseworker at EMM affiliate Lutheran Social Services of New England , was profiled in this story which ran in the Springfield Republican.

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Or find the EMM affiliate program nearest you by referring to our directory HERE.

EMM's Deputy Director brings years of experience into new role

EMM is proud to welcome Demetrio Alvero to the position of Deputy Director. Demetrio has been serving as the agency's Grants and Finance Administrator and began moving into his new role on August 1.

Demetrio was kind enough to answer some questions about his new job, his career history with refugees and his motivation for pursuing this line of work.

1) Can you describe your new role at Episcopal Migration Ministries?

It is an exciting time at EMM. We are growing as a ministry, extending our reach to new affiliate offices in new parts of the country. The challenge is to ensure that as we grow, we have the infrastructure to maintain our level of service to all our stakeholders -- our affiliate network, Episcopal dioceses, donors, associated agencies & organizations, and the refugees we assist. It is our service-oriented approach that is our strength. In the day-to-day work of managing operations, we -- Executive Director Deborah Stein and I -- will be focusing on ways to improve our services and to meet and exceed the standards in our field.

2) What did you do before stepping into this new position?

I was the Grant and Travel Loan Manager for DFMS/EMM. Prior to joining DFMS, I was the Director of Administrative & Financial Services for Comunilife, a NYC-based non-profit, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children, adolescents, adults and families living with mental illness and/or HIV/AIDS in New York City’s underserved, diverse communities.

3) What was your experience working with refugees before coming to EMM?

I worked overseas for over 20 years with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jamaica, Guatemala and Kenya with special missions to over a dozen countries; holding senior positions as either Chief of Mission or Finance and Administration Officer. My work with IOM involved various activities related to helping refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and migrants. Prior to IOM, I worked with the International Rescue Committee in Costa Rica as their Country Representative and helped run a refugee camp under the auspices of UNHCR and the Government of Costa Rica in the mid-1980s.

4) What do you find most gratifying about this line of work?

My parents came to the USA as immigrants from Cuba in the late 1940s, but my extended family came from Cuba in the early 1960s as refugees. Their experience and my own growing up as a first-generation American shaped who I am. Witnessing first hand how tough it was for family members to navigate their way in a new country, it seems -- looking back -- that it was natural I’d pursue this line of work. It has been my good fortune to work together with colleagues and co-workers in organizations that impact the lives of those who have no other option but to flee their homeland. I think for all of us who work in this field, it is the positive feedback from those we have assisted (refugees, IDPs, migrants) that keeps us going. 
 

5) What do you like to do when you’re not in the office?

I enjoy -- not necessarily in this order --listening to classical music and attending concerts at the New York Philharmonic, the 92 Street Y or Carnegie Hall. I've been a baseball fan since my father took me to see the Brooklyn Dodgers in Ebbets Field when I was 5, and I have been a hockey fan since having seen the New York Rangers play in the old Madison Square Garden. I like to read; I’m a big fan of the hard-boiled school of mystery writers.  And weekends with family and friends rounds out my time away from the office.

As of July 31, EMM affiliates have assisted 4,121 refugees in fiscal year 2010, with the support of diocese and many volunteers. Those refugees have come from the following regions:

Africa -- 528

East Asia -- 953

Latin America/Caribbean -- 280

Near-East and South Asia -- 2,299

Europe -- 61