Branka's Story
A seven-year old girl huddles in the corner of a darken warehouse basement. She trembles in fear listening to the sounds of shelling and grenades outside. She sits alone in the dark because the electricity has gone off again and she prays silently for her mother and older sister's return from their daily trip across town to carry back plastic jugs of drinking water. Finally, the family is united. The little girl looks expectantly at the food rations and sees the same lentils. "Mama" the little girl asks, "do you think that I can have just one egg to eat before I die?"
The above is not an excerpt from a storybook nor is it a scene from late-night television. This really happened and this is something that Case Manager Branka Pavlovich will never forget. Branka works at Catholic Charities of Dallas' Refugee and Empowerment Services Division (RES). She is one of 22 former refugees who came here over the last decade and today helps others displaced from their homeland.
Catholic Charities resettled Branka Pavlovich and her daughters in 1995. Within two weeks, Branka found her own job as a grocery bagger clerk and later, as her English improved, she was promoted to cashier.
"The first two years were the hardest," admits Branka. "I remember crying almost every day and wanting to return home. It was very hard being a single mother with no real support, and trying to raise two young children. "People think I adjusted faster than others because I found my own job. I didn't have a choice; I had to make it work because of my girls."
Before being hired by Catholic Charities, Branka, like many refugees, worked two jobs at the same time "to make sure bills were paid. and the girls had enough to eat." In 1997, a fellow refugee, Vesna Dautovic, told Branka that Catholic Charities was hiring Bosnian- speakers so Branka applied and was immediately hired. In her 10+ years as Case Manager, Branka estimates helping more than 700+ refugees secure employment.
"My work at RES is not easy," says Branka. "It is not just finding someone any job. My job is to help my clients find the best job possible so that they don't have such a hard time like I did. Branka's eyes become misty as she recalls how difficult her early days were. "Nobody told me about any of the services for refugees and nobody helped me find a job. Somebody at work told me it would take maybe two to three years to understand American culture." Branka laughs and admits, "I've lived here for more than 12 years and I'm still learning."
One thing that Branka learned recently is that America has its share of refugees, too. She helped a refugee family from Sierra Leone that was displaced from their initial home in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina. This was a family of nine and only the father and eldest son were working when the case was referred to Branka for assistance. After interviewing the father, mother and son, Branka helped the mother secure employment at a local hospital is South East Dallas and helped the father and son secure better paying jobs with another medical facility. The family's combined income enabled them to purchase two used cars and the father recently completed additional vocational training that will ensure his future success in health care. Branka has since given the family additional information to help the twin daughters, age 16, apply for financial aide when they apply for college in the near future.
When Branka is not helping her clients secure employment, she is working with elderly refugees and helping them to understand important insurance documents and medical bills. "I spend lots of time with former clients that are 60+ years old because they will lose their benefits if they don't pass their citizenship exam after being here for seven years." Branka's current project involves a Bosnian woman who worked for a meat manufacturer for more than 10 years, "She was one of my early job placements and she stayed at the same company until she got laid off about six months ago. I need to help her contact Social Security and find out how much longer she needs to work before she can start collecting retirement benefits."
Vesna Dautovic from Bosnia
Like Branka, Vesna Dautovic and her family came to Texas in 1995. After working at a daycare for 12 months, Vesna was recruited to work with Catholic Charities when she came to the office for help applying for her Green Card. " Back then, more than 80% of the refugees coming here were from my country(Bosnia)," says Vesna. "They desperately needed staff that could communicate in English and Bosnian to help all those refugees adjust to a new country and a very different culture"
Currently, Vesna manages two programs, Cultural Orientation and Youth Services. Each year, she provides one-on-one assistance and group orientations to more than 350 families from Catholic Charities and other local refugee resettlement agencies. Her work includes teaching clients how to live safely and navigate through the intricate maze of life in America. She teaches the basics of shopping, cleaning, city travel, hygiene and understanding how to use all kitchen/home appliances. Vesna also partners with several service agencies such as the Dallas Police Department, DISD, the Fire Department and Parkland Hospital to give on-going seminars.
When school is in session, Vesna and a few dedicated volunteers operate the After-School Tutoring Program. When school is out, Vesna coordinates field trips to the local museums, the Dallas Zoo and other special events for children. "My days and weekends all seem to run together," admits Vesna "but when you hear the laughter and see the smiles, it's all worthwhile."
"I love working with refugees,"says Vesna. "They are so appreciative of what little help I can give them. Working with the children is a real joy. They are like small sponges absorbing everything." Vesna worries most about refugees that are 50+ years old. "It breaks my heart to see someone lost between two cultures."
Sisay Teketele from Ethiopia
Sisay Teketele came to Texas with his family in 2004. Of eight family members resettled by Catholic Charities, six received job placement assistance through Employment Services. Prior to coming to America, Sisay traveled from his native Ethiopia to many African cities and refugee camps to teach others about Life in America. Once he completed the initial RES resettlement process in Dallas, Sisay was recruited to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) and to help Vesna with Cultural Orientations.
Ask any of the ESL students, Sisay is "their favorite teacher". Much to the chagrin of management, Sisay's classes border on becoming a safety hazard. Students line-up outside waiting for class to begin, then once the doors are open, it is 'almost standing- room only.' Sisay modestly attributes his success as a teacher to his students. "I encourage them to practice" and I "offer lots of individual, one-on-one attention."
The 'Lost Boys of Sudan' are special to Sisay. He said these young men "had nothing but their dreams when they came here." He remembers them as diligent students, always coming to class on time and completing all homework assignments. Sisay shared their philosophy, "Education is my mother and father." Even though many of the 'Lost Boys' have moved out of the area, they still remain in contact with Sisay.
In 2005, Sisay was assigned to RES's Family Strengthening Program. He worked closely with other division associates holding workshops for refugee couples. While most of the workshops focused on money management, Sisay said the discussions focused on improving communication. "Refugees have to learn about equality between men and women in western culture and how important it is to be open to change." Sisay also helps Vesna with the After- School Tutoring program and working with the 10 -12 year olds in different Youth Activities.
Mulla Nkrumah from Sudan
Like Sisay, Mulla Nkrumah also has a passion for teaching. Before coming to American, Mulla taught Life Skills ESL for six-years. While in his native Sudan, Mulla sadly watched fellow University students return home when the war began only to later learn that many were killed. Putting his faith in God's hands, Mulla and his family went to Cairo under "displaced citizens" status until they were designated as refugees and were resettled in Texas by Catholic Charities.
"Working for Catholic Charities is my destiny," says Mulla with a shy smile. Mulla currently works as a Case Manager in RES' Resettlement Department. In this capacity, he helps newly arriving refugee families from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Congo and most recently Burundi adjust to life in America. In 2006, Mulla was responsible for helping acclimate more than 24 newly arriving families resettle here. " This was no easy task, since many of these families had nine to 14 family members."
Depending on where his skills and talents are most needed, Mulla has also worked with the Cultural Orientation Program and Family Education & Training Services. He has taught ESL, Civics and conducted Family Strengthening workshops.
Mulla says that the most challenging aspect of his job is to educate clients about their rights and responsibilities.
Mulla derives the most job satisfaction from helping others. "My clients trust me," he says, "They know that I am always accessible." Laughing he says, " Refugees also know that in my culture, it is rude to say NO." Mulla is involved with helping refugees 24/7. He was recently certified to be a minister and is very active as a church leader and family counselor where most of the congregations are refugees.
Mulla's family is very supportive of the long hours that he dedicates to his work. They understand his sacrifices and are proud of his work. Mulla appreciates his family support and earlier this year, was able to support his wife and her friend opened a restaurant close to RES that offers Sudanese "comfort foods." Many times throughout the year, Mulla partners with another RES associate, Inshira Mungwa to resolve challenging issues in the refugee community. Like Mulla, Inshira and her family are originally from Sudan. Prior to coming here, Nancy worked for a special government agency in Kenya that sent her on assignment to live and work in a refugee camp for several months. "That was a terrible experience," says Inshira, "there were more insects crawling and flying around then there was food to eat. Looking back on those days, I now understand why refugees are in such poor physical condition and the children suffer from malnutrition. Even the food rations are never enough."
Inshira
Inshira began work with Catholic Charities as a volunteer in 1996 to help with the 'Lost Boys.' When Catholic Charities received a grant to support this special population, Inshira was hired as a caseworker. Although Inshira was initially hired to work with Sudanese refugees, she also helps different populations and was very active in the Orientation Program giving seminars, working one-on- one with families and intervening during family crisis.
Inshira says the easiest part of her job is "taking care of her clients and helping them to adjust." She beams when she talks of her work with refugee women "teaching them to assert themselves and become independent."
Inshira supports different RES programs. When RES began the Family Strengthening Program, Inshira divided her time between that area and Cultural Orientation.
Sheikh-Maye and Fatma Ahmed from Somalia
Refugee and Empowerment Services also manage the Refugee Cash Assistance Program. This is a special funded program to help newly arriving refugees receive some financial assistance during their first eight months in the US. For the past four years, Sheikh-Maye Ahmed has enrolled refugees in this program and helped qualified clients access other services such as Food Stamps and Medicaid.
Sheikh and his family, from Somalia, lived in a refugee camp for five years before coming to Texas in 1997. While in the camp, Sheikh helped with interpretations because of his fluency with several languages while his wife, Fatma, a nurse by profession, worked with the Red Cross and Save the Children Foundation.
Sheikh's early experiences as a newly resettled refugee were less than positive. He and his family did receive job placement assistance from the agency that resettled them but the commute to work was unbearable long for $ 6.25 per hour. When Sheikh tried to seek better working conditions and higher pay, the agency threatens to cut-off all benefits. Fatma meanwhile came to Catholic Charities to seek help with a job up-grade and was offered a part-time position as a receptionist. She suggested Sheikh go to Catholic Charities for job placement assistance and he was immediately placed in a manufacturing position to work as an interpreter and help train other refugees from Somalia learn how to operate machines and prepare the finished products for shipping.
In 1999, Sheikh and Fatma applied for positions with Catholic Charities and were hired. Both were hired as caseworkers, Sheikh with Employment Services and Fatma in Cultural Orientations. Sheikh says that he is deeply committed to his work at Catholic Charities because " It has a good reputation in the refugee community for taking care of clients."
Sheikh concentrated on helping refugees secure employment for five-years, until 2004. During that period, he estimates placing 300+ in permanent jobs earning above minimum wage. "I did my best and never gave up on my clients, " he said, " Because things were so difficult for me and my family, I didn't want others to suffer like we did." One client that Sheikh will never forget is a refugee that was jailed because he refused to fight for the Iraqi Army. Sheikh helped him get hired with seven different employers in a short span of 12 months. "The poor man had lots of problems," said Sheikh, "I just couldn't give up on him when he needed me."
In his current position, Sheikh continues to advocate for his clients. Over the past year, he has helped two single mothers secure cash benefits when their paperwork was "lost in the social services system." To ensure, food stamps and Medicaid forms are properly completed, Sheikh fills them out for clients and faxes directly to the processing agency to expedite action.