We are pleased to inform you that the Nationalities Services Center has received a grant from Office of Refugee Resettlement to launch the Achenese Community Self-Help Collaborative Project. NSC plans to provide services to support ethnic community building and strengthening activities for Achenese refugees and asylees living in the greater Philadelphia area and other regions.
NSC plans to support and encourage development of the existing ethnic community leadership in hopes of creating an ethnic community based organization. Activities will aim to foster civic participation and encourage civic engagement.
NSC’s collaborative project with the Achenese community seeks to implement activities to meet the following objectives:
• Provide members of the community with organizational development support including leadership training, committee support, mentoring, accountability and community conflict resolution training.
• Provide English Language Training in the home of a member of the community by mobilizing a paid teacher to meet with interested Achenese on a weekly basis.
• Support community organized and sponsored activities for youth to ensure that they are best equipped to navigate American and Achenese culture.
• Implement a series of community orientation sessions (small group meetings) to meet the information needs of the ethnic community’s elders and adults, young adults, and youth.
• Achenese community with an emphasis on bringing all parties to the table.
• Provide interpreter training to the four English speaking Achenese and ensure that members of the community are able to access linguistic and culturally sensitive interpreter services.
NSC will take the lead in this project. NSC’s dedicated project coordinator, a social worker with experience in ethnic community organizing and support as well as project management expertise, will provide appropriate coordination and technical assistance under the supervision of the Director of Social Services. The technical assistance provided will seek to meet the needs of the ethnic community, as well as to further the mission of resettlement agencies, the general community, and the State Refugee Coordinator, as needed.
We eagerly look forward to partnering with the Achenese community to work in together to implement this exciting initiative by forming planning committees and participating in events, community meetings, attending ELT, and sponsoring events. The Achenese community will also work to identify the scope and nature of an ethnic community-based organization that they have expressed an interest in creating.
We are looking forward for a rewarding collaborative. Please contact Leyla Dursunova or Martuni Abdul should you have any further questions about the project.
Sincerely,
Juliane Ramic
Director of Social Service
