Colorado African Organization (CAO) is a locally-run nonprofit – founded by Africans for Africans – that works to help refugees and immigrants make the difficult transition from their homelands into a new life in the state of Colorado. Colorado African Organization (CAO) is a locally-run nonprofit – founded by Africans for Africans – that now works to help refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers f
rom all over the world make the difficult transition from their homelands into a new life in the state of Colorado. Formed by a group of African professionals who knew from experience how difficult it could be to settle into a new country with a completely different culture and language, CAO helps refugees and immigrants integrate and succeed in all areas of their lives, with programs including Education and Skills Training, Employment Assistance, Civic Engagement, Language Classes, and Social Integration. Embracing the old African proverb that "sticks in a bundle are unbreakable," the organization makes help available to any immigrant or refugee, regardless of their country of origin, gender, ethnicity, religion, or economic status. While African immigrants represent less than one half of a percent of Colorado's total population, that equates to more than 25,000 men, women, and children who have been uprooted from their homes, careers, and families to search for a better life thousands of miles away. While there are some immigrants who arrive in America with some resources and English language skills, many are refugees, fleeing their home countries because of war and genocide. While refugees receive basic government assistance with their transition, that only lasts for eight months – not nearly long enough to adjust to an entirely new culture and language. CAO also works with individuals and families who have come to our country via a lottery visa, who arrive at the airport and often find themselves “on their own” in a new land, with no idea how to even find a home or get a job. Even though lots of refugees and immigrants were doctors, lawyers, and professionals in their home countries, they are unable to be certified – or even find hourly work – in the United States. That’s where CAO comes in. Rather than letting them face all of these challenges on their own, or fracture into small communities based on their ethnicity, CAO works to help them not only survive – but thrive – in their new home. With classes on topics like computers and English as a second language (ESL), health education, and social ties to others, CAO helps its members to beat the odds and find the American dream. CAO also provides leadership training in the form of technical assistance and capacity building for other ethnic community based organizations, to help them organize and grow to serve their respective refugee communities.
