TULSA, Okla. — A new program is working to help expand resettlement services for refugees across the country.
People with catholic charities said this program aims to expand refugee settlement capacity, which Cecilia Lun-Ngaihte said is vital to rebuilding their lives.
“We fled from our country like in 2007," Lun-Ngaihte said.
Lun-Ngaihte is a refugee from Burma. She's among the thousands of refugees who have been forced to flee their country of origin.
“Religious persecution, that’s why we fled from our country," Lun-Ngaihte said.
She arrived to the U.S. in September 2009. She said she will never forget the freedom she felt when she touched American soil.
“Happy to be safely arrived in the United States and then thank you so much for the government and then all the refugee resettlement agencies," Lun-Ngaihte said.
She said her resettlement process was a long one, but it equipped her and her family with the support they needed to rebuild their lives.
“The refugee resettlement, they’re working with us very well. They provide housing, and then food, and then finding a job for my husband, and then I can go at the time, I went to the ESL class also," Lun-Naighte said.
Julie Dulek is the Senior Director with Catholic Charities. She said last fiscal year, Oklahoma welcomed 1800 refugees. 800 of them resettled here in Tulsa.
“The countries, the refugees that we resettle most are from Burma, Afghanistan, and then we’ve also got some Russian refugees that are arriving, as well as some Iranian refugees and even Venezuelan refugees for this year," Dulek said.
Non-profit agencies like Catholic Charities have worked with the state to meet the resettlement need of refugees. But now, the U.S. Department of State is collaborating with the Department of Health and Human Services to create the Welcome Corps Program.
The program allows private sponsorship of refugees like Lun-Naighte. Dulek said this means sponsors would have the same responsabilites as resettlement agencies.
“The information that I’ve seen, is you know, groups of four or five friends, and you submit an application online. I’m assuming that they’ll do vetting with the program and then, the groups are supposed to begin fundraising, and then at some point they’ll be matched with a refugee," Dulek said.
The initial commitment is for 90 days, but the program hopes the friendships formed during that period of time will continue to last for a lifetime.
“We do have opportunities for people if they don’t want to quite get involved at this level, then they’re free to reach out to us and we have mentorships, co-sponsorships, support teams that we can match them with a refugee family if they wanted to get involved, but not quite at the Welcome Corps level," Dulek said.
As to Lun-Ngaihte, she's now a caseworker helping refugees resettle the way she was once helped.
The Department of State will begin facilitating matches between private sponsors and refugees arriving within the first six months of 2023.
They are hoping to get 10,000 Americans to step forward as sponsors.
To register for the Welcome Corps, there's you can visit the U.S. Department of State's website here.
If you want to get involved at any other level, you can contact Catholic charities.
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