Sparking Change grantees inspire youth to pursue friendship, creativity and a brighter future

For refugee youth, resettling in the United States has unique challenges. Learning a new language and culture while trying to catch up in school is not only an academic challenge, but also a social one. Making friends, joining clubs and playing sports are critical to helping refugees feel connected to their new communities. However, these challenges can feel nearly impossible without the right support networks. 

Many Sparking Change grantees recognized these challenges in their own children or communities, and some even experienced it for themselves. As part of their Sparking Change projects, these grantees took on the challenge of helping refugee youth excel academically, connect with their community and build self-confidence in navigating their new homes. 

Bahati

Bahati has more than twenty years of experience working with refugee communities. He is a former refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he saw a need for supporting adolescents ages 8-17 in his community in Texas. His Sparking Change project offers sessions and workshops for youth that touch on several development areas, such as communication, leadership and practicing healthy behaviors. 

Throughout his program, students began taking initiative and forming their own groups to discuss their personal challenges and offer each other support outside of the planned sessions. Bahati facilitated these conversations through informal group meetings, both in-person and over Zoom. 

“The program has fostered friendships among youth as well as social networks.  Students are self organizing and meeting at parks and church to discuss their personal needs,” Bahati explains. “Having seen this, we have come up with specific days of the week where there is no formal programming but to meet to discuss specific issues of interest youth face and answer questions they might have.”

Across the four workshops Bahati hosted through the Sparking Change grant, 101 refugee youth participated, with more than 50 percent of students attending more than one session. 

Dauda

As a resettled refugee from Sierra Leone, Dauda wanted to focus his Sparking Change grant on supporting the children of African refugees and asylum seekers. Specifically, he understands the gap many refugee children face when navigating systems like college applications, standardized testing (ACT/SAT/GRE), and pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities. If their parents haven’t navigated these systems themselves, many refugee children find themselves without a guide through what can be complicated processes. Dauda hopes that by supporting them through workshops and in-school sessions, they will be able to achieve greater academic and professional heights and pursue their desired goals. 

Although Dauda faced challenges keeping students engaged and encouraging parents to continue their work outside of the sessions, he achieved incredible results with his students. By the end of the program, he helped enroll 22 students who were interested in IT  in the Grow with Google program, and another ten in PrepScholar, a program that prepares students for the SAT and ACT.

Salemu

One thing that builds bridges across cultures and overcomes language barriers is art. Salemu, a resettled refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, wanted to focus his Sparking Change grant on encouraging youth from both refugee and local communities to pursue their creative interests. Throughout the year, he hosted art workshops and opportunities to meet and learn from professional artists, and his project’s finale was an art festival showcasing the work of youth from the community. 

At the art festival, he also brought in several professional artists to showcase their work and speak with youth. This included other refugee and immigrant artists from a range of disciplines, including painters, photographers, filmmakers and more.

Sateza

College is a time to learn and experience cross-cultural exchange with students from around the world. As a student at the University of Tulsa herself, Sateza wanted to inspire this kind of inclusion and celebration among her fellow students. Sateza is a recently resettled refugee from Afghanistan, so she understands the challenges of building connections in a new community. With her project, she offers welcome activities for new Afghan students, mentorship opportunities and cross-cultural exchange events with students across the university. 

Her project supported 19 Afghan students, with many of them benefitting from the mentorship aspect of the project. “We successfully implemented a mentorship program, which has been instrumental in providing continuous support and guidance to students,” Sateza shares. “This initiative helped build a strong sense of community and ensured that students always had someone to turn to for advice and assistance.” 

How you can help… 

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, supports the full journey of refugees who have been forced to flee violence, war and persecution. Our donors help refugees in their greatest time of need with shelter, food, water and medical care, and their support builds awareness for resettled refugees living in the U.S. With your help, more refugees will have the opportunity to build peaceful lives and give their families a bright future.