Crossings|the Refugee Experience in America

For our pilot episode we take our listeners to the training workshop and boutique supporting We Made This.  We Made This is a refugee women's sewing training program designed to support women who have limited access to community development and integration.  It provides them the opportunity to participate in a holistic community assisting them with their journey to establish new lives in America.  It operates within the African Community Center in Denver, Colorado, a Refugee Resettlement Agency, serving refugees from war and persecution in their home countries.  Their parent company is the Ethiopian Community Development Corporation.  The ACC serves some 1700 refugees per year from all cultures.

We visit with the Program Lead, Hannah McMillan, two refugee women in various stages of development within the program, as well a professional seamster working on custom orders within the boutique's workshop extension.  These are personal stories of women who have developed tangible job-skills, a practical command of English, and an understanding of business culture, all while overcoming  the challenges of being newcomers to American culture and society.