Stories of Change

Top: Joseph holds cabbage he grew on the Vegetable farm. Middle: Joseph (right), and fellow program participants Wilondja and Simon. Bottom: Joseph removing grasses/weeds on his plot

Joseph Grows Alongside His Vegetables

When we give nature care and help it grow, we often end up growing with it. This philosophy can be seen at the vegetable farm at a refugee camp in Tanzania. In this vegetable garden, refugees learn about sustainable organic vegetable farming and combat food shortages in the camp. As the program participants grow with knowledge, the plants and vegetables they care for grow with them.

With the support of our partner, Canadian Food Grains Bank, our vegetable farming program provides training on vegetable production, nutrition and marketing techniques of farm products for refugees living at Nyarugusu Refugee Camp. So far we have reached 810 refugees and their households, totaling about 4,050 individuals.

Moize Munenwa Joseph, 22, spends most of his day under the sun, tending to the vegetable garden. Joseph, who came from Congo as a refugee, had little knowledge about sustainable farming before coming to Tanzania. He told us, “I never looked at agriculture as a very important activity. After I joined the CWS agricultural project, I came to realize that agriculture can be more useful and more helpful in supporting my family than the other work that I have been engaged in before. Through farming, I managed to harvest amaranths, Chinese cabbage and onions, some of which we have used at home and the rest we sold to my neighbors. I recently earned almost $6.50 from the sale of vegetables, which I used to buy stationery for my younger brother who is in school.”

Since joining the program, Joseph has participated in various agriculture training courses which have allowed him to discover better vegetable farming methods. He shares, “at home, we used to grow some vegetables but the insects were destroying the plants so we could not earn enough for the family. Thanks to CWS, however, soon after I joined this project, I was trained on Integrated Pest Management and other local methods, including farm cleanliness, to overcome pests and seed selection to improve the yield. This has greatly improved the yield on my farm.”

As an active and dedicated program participant, Joseph was selected as one of the program’s lead farmers and helps train and educate the other program participants. He stated, “I’m very happy that people trusted and selected me to be their lead farmer. Through this role, I get to know/understand people and address their needs whenever they arise. CWS has imparted me with different skills not only in leadership but also in group dynamics, gender-related issues and nutritional knowledge about how to prepare a balanced meal.”

Before joining the program, Joseph relied on intense and laborious jobs such as carrying luggage to help feed his family of eight. Now he is able to partake in an enjoyable activity that yields both food and a stable income. “With CWS I have found agricultural work to be very simple and does not require much energy. Through this activity, I can still take care of my family and ensure we consume healthy food,” he says. Joseph is an inspiration and a true leader in the community and continues to help others learn and grow through the Vegetable Farming Project.

A Friendly Space to Be a Kid


May 31, 2022

Scroll through the slides to see our Refugee Hub in action Our childhood years are a time for learning, growing, making friends and forming happy memories that will last us a lifetime. When war happens, however, all of this is disrupted. Children are forced to abandon their studies, their friends and the only life they have ever known. As their …

Stories of Change

Top: Kitchen equipment is delivered at the shelter. Middle: Julia and her six-year-old son, Mysha. Bottom: new Kitchen area in the Refugee Accommodation Center

A Familiar Meal, a Sense of Home

During the darkest of times, a familiar meal can bring us back to a place of calm and happiness. For Julia, a familiar meal is just one of the many comforts she and her family were forced to leave behind in Ukraine. Like many other Ukrainian refugees, Julia had to abruptly drop everything and take her mother and two children to a nearby country for safety.

Julia and her family are currently residing in the Refugee Accommodation Center in Soroca, Moldova. While they are safe, they still live in fear and anguish thinking about their loved ones and the life they were forced to leave behind. For Julia, this includes her husband, who is now working in a relatively safe part of Ukraine in order to maintain an income for the family, her mother- and father-in-law and the small shoe business Julia ran in Kharkiv.

The shelter Julia and her family are residing in lacked kitchen equipment, which created challenges to food accessibility and nutrition. Due to this issue, many refugees have been avoiding the center and seeking refuge elsewhere. Currently, about 70-80 people reside in the shelter which has a capacity of about 300 people.

To combat this, CWS has donated $28,000 worth of kitchen equipment to the shelter. Not only will this new equipment alleviate some of the struggles the residents have to go through, but it will help develop community and a sense of home. “We are happy to participate in preparing the meals and creating a bit of atmosphere that reminds us of home,” Julia shared.

Beyond daily meals, Julia expressed excitement about the other fun things she can now cook for her two boys, Mysha and Kyrylo. With joy she tells us, “my younger son loves when I prepare sweets at home. I can’t wait to surprise him with some pancakes, preferably with Nutella or chocolate cream. My older son would love an omelet with sausages for breakfast. I don’t think he would ever get bored with a breakfast like that. You know, children are a great joy and a strong driver and motivation. I am happy that in this difficult situation for all of us I can have peace with them here.”

These simple joys are what many refugees use to fuel the strength that allows them to continue moving forward. At CWS, we are continuing our partnership with local organizations in Moldova to best understand how we can provide support. In the next coming months, we will be working to provide medical supplies, clothing, bedding and other donations to refugees residing in the community. Our hope is to support many more refugees like Julia and her family, so that they may also find moments of joy and comfort during these difficult times.

Learn more and join us in providing other Ukrainians like Julia and her kids with a sense of home by clicking here. 

Stories of Change

Home in Mayfield Kentucky destroyed by recent tornados

In the Face of Disaster, a Community Comes Together

When Sabrina decided to make the dangerous journey from her home in Guatemala to the United States, she knew she would face new challenges. She had to leave behind her family and friends and establish herself in a city where the only person she knew was her older sister, Valentina. She also knew that she would face difficulties due to language barriers. Sabrina grew up speaking a Mayan language of Guatemala called K’iche’ and spoke limited Spanish and no English.

What Sabrina did not expect, however, was the community of other K’iche’ speaking Guatemalans she would find in Mayfield, Kentucky. At school, she was able to find a group of students who spoke K’iche’ and helped her adjust more easily to her new life. Sabrina and Valentina quickly realized that there is strength in numbers when a series of tornados hit Mayfield in early December.

While at home, Valentina received a call from Gaby Acree, who works at Sabrina school as the Migrant Education Program Coordinator. Gaby warned the family that a tornado was coming and that they needed to shelter in place immediately. Valentina shared, “we hid in a room which we believed would be the safest. Thanks to God, nothing happened to us, but our roof was ripped off by the strong winds.” Fortunately, since the family was told to seek refuge in their home, no one at the home was injured.

This, however, was not the case for many of the family’s friends and neighbors, who were badly injured and whose homes were completely destroyed. Valentina recalled, “that night, many of my neighbors came to my house and stayed in my living room. It was filled with people and many ended up staying the night since this happened around 9 p.m. They slept here in my home and I gave them all the blankets I had.” She added, “they arrived with no clothes, with nothing, so I gave them my own clothes.”

The next day, her neighbors began to slowly depart from their home, and Sabrina and Valentina’s family began to confront the effects of the tornado. With no electricity or water, they relied on members of their community who brought them water from the countryside. One of Valentina’s family members had a gas stove and allowed them to use it so that they could cook. Another had running water and invited them over so they could shower.

For an entire month, this is how Sabrina, Valentina and Valentina’s four daughters survived. They relied on their community, and their community relied on them. Gaby connected the family to CWS and the family was able to receive financial assistance and information about local clinics, food pantries, attorneys and other useful resources. Sabrina shared that before receiving financial assistance, she didn’t have a lot of clothing as she didn’t bring much from Guatemala and also lost many of her belongings during the tornado. After the assistance, she was able to go out and buy herself some clothes with Valentina. The two young women continue to receive support from their CWS caseworker. 

As the family continues to focus on their recovery, CWS continues to check on the family and address their needs. Sabrina, who is focused on learning English, said to us, “I want to say thank you very much. [CWS] helped us a lot.” Just as Sabrina and Valentina welcomed their neighbors into their homes, we at CWS are working to ensure our newest neighbors feel welcomed and supported in their new homes here in the United States. This is especially true in the face of a natural disaster of immeasurable magnitudes, such as the one that hit the community of Mayfield, KY, on the fateful night of December 10, 2021. 

Note: Pseudonyms have been used in this story to protect the identity of our clients

We are grateful for our valued partners, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Brother’s Brother Foundation and Church of the Brethren for their support in our Kentucky response. Their kind generosity has allowed this project to be possible.

Stories of Change

Letter from Antonio and Miguel. Translation: “Greetings and blessings for your life. May God continue to bless you. I am very thankful for the program and all of you that helped us. Thank you for the economic support that you gave us. Along with my family and nephew, we are thankful. This is a major help for us. Thank you. We have received the thousand-dollar check that you sent to us. Thank you, many blessings.”

“They Remembered Us”

Around 10 p.m. on a chilly December night in Mayfield, Kentucky, 16-year-old Miguel’s phone began to go off. The words “TORNADO WARNING” lit up on his screen as loud alarms rang from his phone. Soon, the electricity and water went out and Miguel could hear the loud winds and rain outdoors. Miguel, who recently came to the United States from Guatemala without his immediate family, thought to himself, “what do I do?” His uncle Antonio told us, “we weren’t prepared. It was a surprise,” and added that they didn’t think about seeking refuge in a safe place in their home.

Eventually, the alarms on the family’s phones stopped but were quickly replaced by dozens of text messages from friends and family asking if they were okay. Luckily, they were safe.

The next morning, as soon as the sun came out, Miguel and his uncle walked outside their home to find an entirely different town than the one they knew. “We saw that a powerful tornado had passed through and destroyed many houses,” Miguel told us. He added, “stores were destroyed and cars had flipped over.”

With no electricity, no food and no water, Antonio stayed home with his family. He added that he has a one-year-old daughter, which made him especially nervous to leave. While this decision cost him his job, he remarked, “how could I leave my family when there was no water and no heat?” Instead, Antonio dedicated his time to waiting in long lines to receive food donations and looking for opportunities to get help.

Antonio considered applying for assistance from the government but had heard from his Spanish-speaking friends and neighbors that the application required specific documentation that many immigrant families have not yet received. At the time, Antonio wasn’t aware that his U.S. born daughter would qualify him and his family for relief assistance. Fortunately, the family soon received a call from Gaby Acree, who works at Miguel’s school as the Migrant Education Program Coordinator. She and her assistant Carmen Alvarez told the family about CWS and the services they could receive. Miguel shared that through CWS, they received financial assistance, information about community resources and education on how to access those resources, free legal support and information about other community resources. He said, “[Without CWS] things would have been different. We wouldn’t have support. I am thankful for CWS’ help.”

Through this program, Miguel and his family are slowly rediscovering stability and normalcy. Antonio is working again and is supporting Miguel and the rest of his family so that they can have a better future. Miguel, who loves his math class at school, has dreams about what his future could look like in the United States. “I would really like to become an engineer or a lawyer,” he shared. Antonio also has big hopes for his nephew and commented, “he has a lot of plans and he has a future ahead of him. He wants to have a good future. He wants to study, he wants to learn. This is difficult for him to achieve in Guatemala, where we don’t have enough money for food, never mind school. ”

Miguel and his family are part of the large community of indigenous Guatemalans in Mayfield. Their recovery is not only important for their own future but for the future of Mayfield, whose economy relies heavily on the work done by its Latino population. In a letter written to CWS, Antonio wrote, “thank you for the economic support that you gave us. Along with my family and nephew, we are thankful. This is a major help for us. Thank you.” 

Like Antonio, Miguel also expressed his gratitude and said, “I want to thank CWS because they helped us. They remembered us.” Here at CWS, we are actively working to make sure families like Miguel’s family are not forgotten. By providing attention and care to unaccompanied minors and their families, we aim to be there for them in all phases of their journey.

Note: Pseudonyms have been used in this story to protect the identity of our clients

We are grateful for our valued partners, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Brother’s Brother Foundation and Church of the Brethren for their support in our Kentucky response. Their kind generosity has allowed this project to be possible.

Stories of Change

Top: Taylor Elementary students help assemble CWS Cleanup Buckets (photo by Rebecca Roetzel), Middle: Rebecca Roetzel volunteering at CWS Warehouse (photo by Craig Thomson), Bottom: Project Hope in New York (photo by Joel Edwards)

A Ripple of Love: Kits Behind the Scenes

A family is living in a temporary shelter after a disaster.

A refugee is arriving in their new home.

A neighbor is experiencing homelessness in the cold winter season. 

In all of these situations–and many more–the CWS Kits and Blankets ministry is there to help.

From our CWS School Kits to our Emergency Cleanup Buckets, all our kits have one big thing in common: they are made with compassion and love. Without the support of our communities and congregations who put in countless hours to assemble our kits, we would not be able to reach tens of thousands of people every year.

Before a CWS Kit or Blanket reaches the hands of our program participants, it is carefully assembled by a volunteer who understands the importance of our kits and what they symbolize. One of our volunteers remarked, “what the backpack really does is symbolize hope; it symbolizes acceptance, and it symbolizes dignity as a human being.” Another volunteer told us, “we do this because we know it helps people in need.”

The love that is put into our kits during the assembly process is continued once they have reached our warehouses.  Rev. Terry Kukuk from Presbytery of the Miami Valley shared, “to think that we have gotten a bucket that someone has prepared, prayed over and sent on, and we have received it, blessed it and sent it out… it becomes more than just a bucket; it becomes a bucket of hope.” Rev. David Mallory, CWS Kits Coordinator in North Carolina, added, “whoever assembled this, assembled it with love and care.”

This message of hope and support is one that our CEO, Rick Santos, shares when discussing the impact our kits have on our newest neighbors. He says, “many people cross the border with literally just the clothes on their backs. They don’t have clean water. They don’t have hand sanitizer, they don’t have– for women, for example- feminine hygiene products… When we have asylees crossing the border looking for refuge in the United States, we think that this backpack will help them, at least in the first week or so, to have enough things to survive.”

Our former Kits and Blankets Program Coordinator, Adam Myers, similarly discusses the importance of cleanup buckets for families that have been affected by a natural disaster. He says, “People are often in a condition in which they’ve lost everything… the Cleanup Buckets are one of the more expensive items. To source that yourself after you’ve gone through a disaster would be expensive, so that helps them get a head start on being able to reclaim their lives.”

Behind every kit and blanket, there is a prayerful and enthusiastic volunteer. Michelle White, who is Office Manager at Newman Congregational UCC in Rumford, RI, expresses her gratitude to volunteers and says, “by reaching out to help others you have created a ripple, an act of kindness which will no doubt spread the love we all need to be a part of.” We are thankful for our volunteer-led ripple of love that allows us to reach our most vulnerable neighbors throughout the world.

Stories of Change

Rosemary stands in front of CWS Miami office

Rosemary’s Courage in The Treacherous Journey to Safety

WARNING: This story discusses multiple instances of rape and will be difficult to read. 

When Nicolas Maduro became president of Venezuela in 2013, life as they knew it crumbled for most Venezuelans. For Rosemary, the change happened right before she was about to become a young mother at age 17. “It was very difficult to have a baby during that time. The government was a repressive one. You had no freedom of speech, there was no way to live a dignified life, there was no work and no school. There is no way to live in Venezuela,” she reflected recently. 

While life was already difficult for Rosemary, who by age 21 had two kids, things became impossible when she was raped by a police officer in her city. The officer soon began threatening to kill Rosemary. Afraid for her life, Rosemary was forced to leave behind her two young children and her mother, and flee to Trinidad and Tobago. She was forced to travel without any documents since the police had taken everything away from her after she was raped. “They won’t let you have any documents so that you can’t leave and tell the world what is going on in Venezuela,” she explained. 

In Trinidad and Tobago, Rosemary met her current husband, and the two decided to make the treacherous journey to find asylum in the United States. She shared that as part of the journey, she had to cross through Venezuela secretly. “It was as if I was a criminal. If I went to my house they could arrest me or maybe even kill me since that policeman had me under surveillance. I couldn’t see my mom or my kids before continuing,” Rosemary said. 

In the next leg of their journey, Rosemary crossed the Amazon jungle. She said, “we were in the jungle for almost eight days with no food and with only water from the river. We walked every day without stopping from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. when it got dark. We crossed the jungle, mountains, rivers. It was very dangerous.” Crossing the jungle was difficult enough, but for Rosemary, it was a living nightmare. Her group ran into assailants during their crossing. The unthinkable happened again, and Rosemary was sexually assaulted. “They took our money, they took our phones, they took everything,” she says. A second group of assailants robbed them of what they had left before they made it out of the jungle.

Unfortunately, Rosemary’s trouble did not end in the jungle in South America. She shared her experience in Mexico and explained, “Mexico is very dangerous. You meet people that promise that they will help you get to the United States. And instead, they steal your money, make false promises and take you as a prisoner.” 

Rosemary and her partner were able to make it through Mexico and finally to the border shelter, who took them to a church where they could take a shower and receive food and clothing.  “There they gave me a card with the address and contact information for CWS so that I could call in case I needed legal and economic help. They knew what we had gone through and that we came here with nothing. So that’s how I found you guys,” Rosemary told us. 

Through CWS, Rosemary was able to find a place to live in Miami, and she received beds and economic and rent support. In addition, Rosemary was able to get a lawyer and submit her application for asylum, free of charge. While she still holds the dark memories of her past, Rosemary feels that each day she is getting better. She said, “knowing that I can help my family and that I am in a safe place makes me feel more calm.” 

The experiences Rosemary has gone through are unimaginable, but she refuses to let go of the joy and hope she has inside of her. With a bright smile, she told us, “I like this country; the United States is the land of opportunity.” She shared that she believes the key to moving forward is a good attitude, which is what she feels she has found at CWS. She tells us, “we have had the opportunity to have a friendly face and someone to talk to and share your story with. It’s not easy to open up your heart and tell someone, ‘I was sexually abused’. That’s not easy. It’s something you try to hide but CWS has even been like therapists for us. Thank you. I hope you all continue helping people like me that arrived here with nothing.” 

With newfound opportunities, Rosemary would like to go to nursing school to complete the degree she began in Venezuela. She dreams of the day she gets asylum and can bring her mother and children to come live with her in Miami. CWS hopes to be able to complete Rosemary’s request and continue helping many others like her. 

To help CWS support many more like Rosemary,  you can donate here.

Stories of Change

Ramona stands in front of CWS Miami office

Ramona Finds Her Voice and The Opportunity for a Better Life

Note before reading: This story includes references to sexual assault and kidnapping.

Like many Cubans, Ramona lived in her country under constant fear. She worked at a small restaurant to sustain her son and was silenced whenever she tried to express her thoughts about the government. “I was treated badly there because I didn’t agree with how things were done. If you protested, you’d immediately be seen negatively by peers at work,” she told us. 

While his mother’s voice was constantly repressed, Ramona’s son took to the streets and became a vessel for himself and his mother. “He didn’t agree with the regime either and he expressed himself in protests, so the police began going after him,” said Ramona. When there was a protest, you could count on Ramona’s son to be there, standing up for himself and his mother’s right to speak and be heard. 

Over time, however, the target the police placed on Ramona’s son made it difficult for them to live. They were constantly fined and searched. Ramona’s son came up with a quick solution to get out: a handmade boat. With this boat, Ramona’s son hoped to escape Cuba and find a better life. The day he left to sea however, the Cuban government detained him. Ramona told us, “he was in prison for a month. After that, they frequently fined us and made our life impossible. The fines and searches were constant. He was fired from his job since they found he had tried to leave the country; no job saw him as dependable. It was impossible to stay there, which is why we decided to leave.”

The two worked to get passports to leave to a nearby country, which they would then use “as a trampoline to arrive in the U.S.,” Ramona explained. Ramona’s son left first and after a year, Ramona reunited with him in Trinidad and Tobago. The next few years were nothing short of nightmarish for Ramona and her son. They crossed the Amazon jungle in Colombia, where they were robbed and Ramona was sexually assaulted. In Mexico, they were kidnapped and held as hostages until they managed to escape. When they reached the river needed to cross into the United States, Ramona recalls, “ the guards yelled at us, telling us we would drown, but we continued crossing the river until we arrived here.”

When they arrived at the church that provided them shelter, Ramona explained, “ I was not doing well. I could not talk, I had no voice.” A woman at the shelter noticed Ramona was not well and reached out to her with the contact information of a place that could help. After she regained the ability to speak, Ramona called the number she was given, which led her straight to CWS. Our team helped her enroll in a program that supports people who are seeking asylum.

“This program is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Ramona says. “I arrived extremely depressed. I basically just wanted to die. Since I arrived here, I felt better, with great support.” Since enrolling in the CWS program, Ramona and her son have gotten assistance finding an apartment, getting food, attending medical appointments and finding legal help. She told CWS that she is thankful for the woman that gave her the information about CWS. She said, “It’s not easy to arrive somewhere where you know no one and have no family. To be accepted and helped like I was here, like family, I think that’s the most amazing thing.“ 

In Miami, Ramona has discovered a new life and the chance to dream. “I hope my son will go to school here. Maybe study mechanics or medicine. I hope he becomes a professional. And if I can study too, I will. It’s never too late,” she said. Currently, Ramona’s main focus is to receive asylum so that she can get a work permit. She shared, “when I am able to work, I plan to donate to CWS so that they can keep helping others. This is what I promise and will fulfill.”

Despite the challenges she has had to face, time and time again Ramona rediscovered her voice and now uses it to tell her story. CWS hopes to continue reaching other asylum seekers like Ramona, helping them resettle, and lift up their voices. 

 

Stories of Change

Anna stands in front of CWS office in Miami

Finding Strength and Pushing Forward: Anna’s Journey

In Cuba, when someone speaks out against the government they risk being ostracized by their neighbors, coworkers and friends. When her neighbors protested against the regime, however, Anna did not look down on them. Instead, she stepped in and defended them at the expense of her ability to live a calm life in Cuba. She shared, “I am seen poorly in my country for this. This was one of the main reasons I left–so that I could give my children a better life and so that they would not be seen in the same way I was.”

Following her decision to leave Cuba and head to the United States, Anna crossed 12 countries. In Uruguay, Anna got pregnant and had a baby. She was forced to stay longer than planned there due to the health risks caused by the pandemic. When Anna continued with her journey, it was in a new world with her newborn daughter. 

While each country had its own challenges, Anna says, “the place I experienced the most hardship in was Mexico. In the jungle, I was ready for what I was going to experience, but I was not ready for Mexico. For me, none of the other countries were like Mexico.”

In Mexico, Anna worked at a small taco restaurant for long hours five days a week to make enough money to eventually cross into the United States. One morning before the sun had risen, Anna left her home to head to work. As soon as she walked out she was attacked by a group of men who beat her and left her defenseless. Anna recounted, “in the morning they waited for me and beat me because I served their table. It seems they were racist and did not like that a black woman was serving them.”

Despite the violence Anna experienced, she moved forward, pursuing her goal to reach a place where she could have a better life. Anna crossed the river into the United States, where she almost drowned. Some of the border patrols noticed that Anna and her baby were struggling to get across, so they helped her get out, gave her dry clothes and connected her to a border shelter. 

Anna waited at the border shelter until her family in Cuba was able to send her enough money to get her to Miami. “My goal was to get to Miami, start from scratch and start rebuilding my strength,” Anna told us. In Miami, she began residing in a small home with 12 other people, where she was eventually kicked out due to complaints by the landlord about overcrowding. While looking for a new place to reside, Anna found CWS. “CWS helped me with a lot of things. Although they may not realize it, they really helped me a lot,” said Anna. 

After many years of constantly having to defend herself and her friends, Anna is starting to build a life where she can use her strength to persevere. “I see my future a lot better now. If you find strength, things will get a lot better. It’s all inside of you, find the strength, push forward. I see a lot of aspirations for myself.” Anna’s strength is an inspiration and a reminder of the resilience of the people seeking asylum CWS works to assist. We hope to help Anna use her strength to establish a safe life here in Miami for herself and her children. 

Stories of Change

Top: NCDRN meets via zoom for their monthly meetings, Middle: Daniela (right) high fives fellow staff member, Jonitka Hall, Bottom: CWS DDP Team in Asheville delivering disaster preparedness training for Spanish speakers in the community

Turning Passion into Meaningful Action

For the last few years, Daniela Archibold has worked alongside immigrant communities in North Carolina as our Migrant Emergency Services Manager. Daniela describes herself as a “very passionate person” and told us, “ever since I can remember, I wanted to in some way help individuals. This job gives me the opportunity to create change at small scales and hopefully, in the long run, at a bigger systemic scale.” This passion is recognizable in the work Daniela does on CWS’ Domestic Disaster Program team. 

On this team, Daniela and her fellow staff explore and address existing barriers to disaster response in immigrant communities. One of the main barriers Daniela’s team has identified is language access. To overcome this barrier, Daniela and her team help communities with limited English proficiency to understand the different emergency alerts and how to react to them. They do this through workshops and by sharing information in people’s native language (Daniela herself is a native Spanish speaker). The team also maintains communication with the affected communities in the aftermath of a disaster through various platforms including WhatsApp and Facebook. 

To establish clear communication and strong relationships with these communities, CWS works closely with local organizations.  These organizations include AMEXCAN and the Disaster Recovery Network in North Carolina. Both share CWS’s mission to include and assist immigrant communities in emergency response and preparedness. 

Juvencio is the director of AMEXCAN and a leading member of NCDRN. He shared with us that the organizations he’s a part of are community-based and grassroots-oriented. This is something he expressed pride in as he understands the importance and value of local organizations. 

Like Daniela, Juvencio is passionate about his work and is driven by “the injustice that happens in rural communities and marginalized communities.” Through a grant from CWS, AMEXCAN has been able to hire a Disaster Coordinator and expand the services it provides to marginalized communities. “This partnership took us to a different level,” Juvencio stated.

The NC Inclusive Disaster Recovery Network hosts monthly meetings via Zoom in which Daniela partakes. These meetings allow community members to share any needs they might have and helps CWS and its partners stay connected with their neighbors. Daniela also collaborated with the group by writing recommendations to the Emergency Management Director of North Carolina to better support Spanish-speaking Communities during a disaster cycle. She continues to share her wealth of knowledge and expertise by speaking with other local disaster relief organizations about the importance of disaster relief and preparedness for immigrant communities. 

Together, Daniela and Juvencio are making a meaningful impact in communities that are often forgotten. “CWS gives voices to people who in many instances are fearful to speak their voice or who have additional barriers,” Daniela remarked. She added, “CWS is not only supporting a specific pool of individuals, but it’s also supporting diverse communities. These diverse communities are the essence of this country.” 

See our DDP team’s recent workshop titled “Delivering Culturally Competent Services for Immigrant Populations Through the Disaster Cycle” here.