Tag: <span>immigrants</span>

(Feb. 28, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Sarah Bodley, Associate Director of Empowered Women International to talk about their organization that helps minority women in the United States start and grow their own businesses. Founded 16 years ago by an immigrant woman, they empower women in the Greater DC Metro area facing economic and social challenges, including immigrants, refugees, and Americans with low income, to become economically mobile, financially stable and socially engaged.

EWI helps immigrant, refuge and low-income women turn their creative or cultural assets, artistic abilities and skills into successful businesses. Many women lack the understanding of how to start and run a business of their own. Perhaps they don’t speak the language, or are not familiar with how to keep the accounting books, or handle their taxes. Empowered Women International has developed training programs, including mentorship opportunities, to help these women succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

In this first segment, Catherine interviews Zenib Cherkaoui, a Morrocan woman who immigrated to the United States in 2010 with her children, and spoke no English. She is a talented artist and thought about selling her artwork, but had no idea how to market or sell her products. She met a woman connected with EWI at her local mosque, became a student at EWI’s Entrepreneurship Training for Success program, and is now happily selling her artwork in galleries. This program gave her the skills she needed to have confidence and grow her business. Her company, ZenaArt based in Falls Church, is now thriving. EWI has established many successful relationships with community partners over the past 16 years. This network of businesses and organizations provide resources to help sustain the programming, teach classes and provide mentor opportunities to women.

In the second segment Catherine speaks with Maribel Rodriguez, owner of Marble Arch Gardens. Maribel’s business sells a variety of herbal remedies. Her story is unique because she started her business after retiring from the Army. She was always fascinated with her Grandmother’s knowledge of herbs and carried memories and stories from her youth in her heart and mind. She obtained her master’s degree in Nutrition and Integrative Health, with a Certificate in Herbal Studies, but had no practical knowledge of how to start or run a business. After completing the Entrepreneurship program, she will now graduate to the next class called Grow My Business, which provides more of a strategic focus.

EWI is excited to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th. They will be running special programming to help support the women owned businesses that they are helping to develop.

On March 7^th from 6-8pm, EWI will be sponsoring a special panel discussion and networking event, including lessons and inspirations from female business leaders. The event is titled Pathways to #HerStory, and it will take place at WeWork in Crystal City. Click here for registration information.

On March 8th they will be hosting a marketplace on the George Washington University campus from 12-6pm where people can purchase products produced by the women-owned businesses that are part of the Empowered Women International network.

You can follow Empowered Women International in the following ways:

Website: www.ewint.org

Twitter: @EmpowerWomenInt

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EmpoweredWomenInternational

Instagram: www.instagram.com/EmpoweredWomenIntl

(Feb. 14, 2018) Catherine Read interviewed Dr. Klara Bilgin, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia International University to discuss the Diversity Visa Lottery Program. Born in Bulgaria, Dr. Bilgin has spent her academic career in America, starting in 1997 when she attended the University of Delaware. She was fortunate to be a winner of the Diversity Lottery, and was happy to share her views on why she feels strongly that cutting this program would be detrimental to the United States. In October of 2017, Donald Trump called for the complete shut-down of the program after a truck attack on civilians in New York City, citing the fact that the truck driver who committed the crime immigrated via the lottery from Uzbekistan.

The history of the Diversity Lottery Visa dates back to 1986, when it was originally designed to help Irish and Italian immigrants gain a legal path to citizenship . The program has evolved over time, and now includes a random lottery that allows entry for 50,000 lucky winners out of approximately 14 million applicants on an annual basis. Applicants apply online through the State Department in October of each year, and entrants find out if they have won the lottery by the following May. After the winners have been selected, an extensive vetting process then takes place to ensure that the applicant has the required education, 2 years of job experience, proper documentation, health records, and passes a safety and criminal background check.

Dr. Bilgin asserts that it would be a grave mistake to allow this program to be eliminated. In her travels across the globe, as an election observer and in academics, she meets people who put their hopes in this lottery year after year. These people are looking for a second chance to make a better life for themselves and their families, a quintessentially American ideal. From a political perspective, this lottery is a critical element in the Soft Power model. Millions of people across the globe will continue to be invested in the prosperity of the United States if they believe that they have a chance to come to the country. As people do win entry via the lottery, they will send money and gifts back home, creating a dense network of people who are intimately connected to the United States. This creates good will, a positive bond, and a strong connection with America. Dr. Bilgin notes that if this program is eliminated we will make more enemies than friends, and would send the wrong message to the rest of the world. She also believes it would create a vacuum, and allow space for other world powers to step up and fill the void.