Putnam Area Refugee Resettlement

12/23/2022

We've been sharing the magic of all of our diverse and beautiful traditions! Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays!

11/18/2022

Guess the mystery PARR Volunteer!

11/11/2022

Trick or Treat with some cute blue bugs and a figure from history!

09/15/2022

A lovely family of six from Afghanistan is here! The two oldest children are happily enrolled in school, and the parents are both attending local ESOL classes and also are receiving in-home English language tutoring. We've been exploring our local area and have celebrated two recent birthdays together! How can you help? Here's our current wish list. We are looking for monetary donations, which may be sent to: Putnam Area Refugee Resettlement, c/o Congregation B'nai Shalom, PO Box 46, Putnam, CT 06260, for a six-passenger vehicle, and also for a used bike for a four-year old girl. Thank you!

07/31/2022

(PARR works in partnership with IRIS, which works through CWS.)

Church World Services is pleased to join We Are All America and its partners to host Refugee Advocacy Days during the Congressional August Recess, which is scheduled the week of August 22nd. This is an opportunity for community members, faith leaders, advocates, resettlement staff, and others to show their support for pro-refugee and pro-asylum measures with their members of Congress while they are home in-district.

We invite you to register to participate in the Refugee Advocacy Days by Friday, August 5th. Participants will not only have the opportunity to meet with their Members of Congress and their staff (in-person or virtually), but will also be able to attend a number of special training sessions to help build and expand their advocacy toolbelt. All participants must attend at least one preparatory training scheduled on August 19th or August 20th. To learn more about the upcoming advocacy days, please see We Are All America’s Concept Note.

If you have additional questions, do not hesitate to reach out to Nejra at [email protected].

07/19/2022

It was great to see you at our PARR Ice Cream Social for our wonderful volunteers! Sorry, we were so busy chatting and eating tasty treats, including homemade ice cream with local blueberries, that we forgot to take photos!

07/09/2022

PARR is a community co-sponsor group that works in partnership with IRIS. Here's an inspiring IRIS story:

  From Cultural Companions to a Multicultural Café Story & Photography © Rachel Peet What started as a simple pairing of cultural companions seven years ago has now flourished into an interconnected, multicultural family at a heartwarming café and fellowship program in downtown New Haven, called...

06/23/2022

Two IRIS volunteers have collaborated on a wonderful middle grade novel incorporating the refugee experience and the inspiration it can provide to all of us!

From Amazon:

“An immediately compelling story, full of breathtaking descriptions of the natural world and unafraid to tackle big topics. Cal is allowed a full range of emotions about her situation, from deep love to terrible resentment, and Rosine makes for a remarkable and resilient counterpoint (Mwilelo drew on her own experiences as a refugee to tell Rosine’s story). Above all, it’s a reminder that life can be imbued with a sense of wonder, even in its most difficult moments.” ―Booklist

About the Author
Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo is the author of A Galaxy of Sea Stars and Ruby in the Sky, which earned two starred reviews and which Booklist called “quietly magical.” She is also a volunteer with IRIS-Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services in New Haven, Connecticut. She lives in Ellington, Connecticut, with her family.

Ndengo Gladys Mwilelo is a refugee from Democratic Republic of Congo. As an Ambassador with IRIS-Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (irisct.org), she does speaking engagements throughout Connecticut. She also volunteers with IRIS. She is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University and lives in New Haven with her family.

06/08/2022

IRIS refugee stories, poems and art in honor of World Refugee Day! You can purchase tickets here: https://irisct.org/worldrefugeeday/ #

Performers will be sharing their reflections on their home country, identity, and dreams for the future. Our speakers come from Syria, Congo, Afghanistan and beyond. Don’t miss exhibits of hand-woven Afghan carpets, calligraphy paintings, and pottery by artisans from Turquoise Mountain. Enjoy trea...

05/26/2022

Thank you so much to the generous folks at Putnam Plastics for their recent donations!

05/19/2022

An encouraging article on support for Afghan refugees!

A new program at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester helps resettled refugees from Afghanistan find jobs.

05/12/2022

We are all ready and waiting to partner with a refugee family! Now we have time to make Heavenly Kanafe from Food52:

Kanafe is the most heavenly Syrian dessert recipe that combines ricotta cheese, buttery phyllo dough and the fragrant rose and orange blossom water syrup.