Dream Refugee

08/19/2018

"The most memorable impression of the US is the first neighborhood we lived in Dallas, Taxes. Imagine coming from all black, all-Muslim Somali-speaking world to being dropped in the middle of Taxes. We didn’t see a single brown person in our first month of America."

Read Ifrah Mansour full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/8/18/ifrah-mansour-multimedia-artist-educator-and-somali-refugee

08/04/2018

On Wednesday, we celebrated the end of our first round of the Dream Refugee Mentorship program. Congratulations to our inaugural mentee, Tu Lor, for receiving a full ride to Bethel and a $500 Dream Refugee scholarship for successful completion of the program. We're so proud of you and honored to have worked with you in building this resource! You're going places.

Read Tu Lor story here: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2017/11/12/my-name-is-tu-lor-eh-paw-i-am-a-senior-at-como-park-senior-high-a-refugee-and-a-mentee-with-the-dream-refugee-mentorship-program

07/01/2018

"Having faith is my belief – I already succeeded. I use that to start my day and to end my day. As an artist – I’m not necessarily sure that’s what I am, but just to give a title for what I do – I feel like there is some duty that I must complete. There are some responsibilities that you must take care of, like self-expression on one hand. On the other hand, expressing the things that are dear to me, values and morals that I have within me through art and the medium of art. Yes, there is a weight on my shoulder." - Read Mohamed ORR full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/7/1/mohamed-orr-artist-fashion-and-somali-refugee

06/21/2018

Many thanks to Like a Girl for being part of this amazing global event! Check them out!

Had such a great night celebrating World Refugee Day at the University of Minnesota Thank you to Dream Refugee for hosting such an amazing event. It was an honor to be a part of your panel and spread the word about Like a Girl. Thank you Mohamed for a great event 🙏

06/17/2018

"The most difficult thing about growing up as a refugee was working hard to not let my past life experiences imprison me and limit my potential. The harder I worked and the higher the level of education I sought to achieve, I realized that I had to combat the societal misconceptions and stereotypes that refugees are not destined to become great successes in a country other than their own."

Read Arnisa Morina full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/6/17/arnisa-morina-future-lawyer-advocate-and-kosovan-refugee

05/27/2018

Personally, behind my struggles and success, was my family. They stood behind me in all the challenges that we faced. More importantly, we went through these adversities together and I did not feel isolated and alone during hard times. If you have a vision, it is easy to continue to strive and work towards your goal. Since coming to this country, one of my biggest accomplishments has been graduating college and getting a scholarship to a prestigious school, Baylor University. Getting involved in sports, playing Division 1 basketball, played an important role in my life to motivate me to become a more resilient, disciplined person. Playing at the highest level with so many competitive players is something that many children dream of and I was able to get this opportunity. It has also made me more humble, honest and down-to-earth person. Read’s Nuni Omot full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/5/27/nuni-omat-nba-prospect-former-baylor-athlete-and-kenyan-refugee

05/20/2018

My advice to new Americans is this: learn your story. Collect and record your story. Once you do that, tell your story in any way, fashion, or form that you can. Sing it, write it, paint it, act it out. If we don’t share our narrative, we cease to exist. If someone else tells our story, they’re going to exploit it. Additionally, make sure you learn America’s often untold history. Learn about Frederick Douglas and other people of color whose stories, much like ours as refugees, are also forgotten by the mainstream. Learn about LGBTQ folks and the systems of oppression that affect our society. We are part of a larger struggle for equality, dignity, and justice for all people. When you see movements like or , empathize with those who are stripped of their voice and take action. If nothing else, we have the power of grassroots organizing. We have the power of community. Read Tou Ger Bennett Xiong full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/5/20/tou-ger-bennett-xiong-activist-comedian-rap-artist-and-hmong-refugee

05/13/2018

"Education is the most important resource needed to help you thrive. Work hard and do your best to be self-sufficient, pay taxes, and further contribute to the development of this country. Never forget your country of origin, your culture, or traditions. Most importantly, keep in mind something I repeat to myself every day: “Being a refugee is not a choice, but a circumstance.”

Read MC Sedrick full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/5/13/sedrick-ntwali-blogger-public-speaker-and-congo-refugee

05/06/2018

"Education needs to change right now. White people are always trained on how to work with people of color but people of color should also be educated on how to deal with racism. Whenever there is an incidence of racism or oppression, most of the time money is poured on the white majority to teach them on how not to be racist. On the other hand, people of color, the recipients of bigotry are left to lick their wounds. There is no support system and the education needs to switch. And there are multiple ways to approach this: teaching people of color on how to deal with the physical and mental effects of racism, what their legal rights are, legislation and so forth."

Read Pa Der Vang's full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/5/6/pa-der-vang-mother-college-professor-and-hmong-refugee

04/29/2018

"Once I was invited to speak at a Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. I told my parents about the good news and everyone was excited and supportive of me. However, a few days before my Visa interview, the refugee travel ban was imposed and I was greatly affected. Even though it did not include South Sudan, the system could not differentiate between Sudan and South Sudan. In the end, I was not able to attend the conference. Speaking at GDC was one of my biggest dreams and it was the first time that the organization had ever invited a former refugee as a featured speaker.”

Read Lual Mayen's full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/4/29/lual-mayen-entrepreneur-game-developer-and-south-sudanese-refugee

04/24/2018

“I urge you to celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present.”

04/15/2018

"In the years that followed I won several awards including: Best Student of the Year, Best Marketer, Best Entrepreneur Under 25 Years of Age, Most Innovative Entrepreneur 2011, and most excitingly, a Royal Award. I even made bags for a couple of celebrity customers. Currently, I create my bags in a workshop in The Hague. Networking is an important part of my business. It is good to meet new people to grow my company and help people at the same time. At one of the meetings of Charles Ruffalo, I met Stedman Graham, partner of Oprah Winfrey. I really wanted to create a bag for him, so I did. Another time I heard Hillary Clinton was coming to The Hague. I knew someone at the local government, so I created a bag for her too. Many other Dutch and International celebrities like Jane Fonda, Quinty Trustfull, Jeroen Pauw and Oprah Winfrey own at least one of my bags as well. In the beginning, I gave my bags away, because that was part of my business marketing strategy. Eventually they became fans of my bags and would purchase them, which is great." - Omar Munie Clothing

Read Omar Munie's full story: https://www.dreamrefugee.org/stories/2018/4/15/omar-munie-story-international-fashion-designer-humanitarian-and-somali-dutch-refugee