Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Offering Support: Willow Glen resident Sia Dunbar wears the traditional garb of her native country Sierra Leone. Dunbar and her husband had to leave their homeland in 1997 after rebels overtook the government.




African Women Refugee Rebuilders offer hope to newly arrived immigrants

Refugee Sia Dunbar tells women to dream

By Moryt Milo

As Afghan refugees flee their war-torn homes and flood over borders into neighboring Pakistan, their flight is a familiar sight to Sierra Leone refugee Sia Dunbar, the president and founder of the African Refugee Women Rebuilders.

A newly founded nonprofit organization established as a support system to help African women refugees entering the United States, the organization held its kickoff celebration at Willow Glen's United Methodist Church, 1420 Newport Ave., on Dec. 1.

The organization is created as a support system to help African women refugees entering the United States cope with numerous barriers.

Dunbar established the organization, which includes African women refugee board members who also fled their homes.

Through their own experiences entering the United States, these women learned that resettlement agencies can only provide services for 90 days.

Although there are government programs, like CalWorks, which help refugees locate jobs on a longer term basis--up to nine months--most organizations are only helpful in the short term.

Dunbar established African Refugee Women Rebuilders to bridge the gap, by offering various ongoing services, including a one-on-one support system for African women, helping them with language translation, healthcare services and mental health issues.

"Refugee mental health is a very important issue for these women," RefugeeWorks Director Jamie McLeod says. "Sia's organization focuses on creating a sense of community, which is a critical part of African culture."

Although there are other African refugee groups like the Somalia and Ethiopian Organizations, they do not focus predominately on the needs of women and children, McLeod says.

"These women come to a new land. They don't have a job, don't speak the language and are without opportunities," Dunbar says. "I wanted to find a way to coordinate the needed resources so these women could have a better live."

Willow Glen resident Carmen McBride works with the women Dunbar is trying to help. McBride, a teacher at the Immigration Resettlement Culture Center, 420 Park Ave., in San Jose, teaches refugees computer skills and English as a second language.

McBride says, "Men are often employed very quickly, but for the women, it is much more difficult."

Over the past year there has been a significant increase in the number of African refugees in McBride's class, as more Africans are resettling in the San Jose area.

"A year ago the classes were almost 100 percent Asian," she says. "Now it is 50 percent African."

Cambrian resident Dena Dickinson, director of the ambulatory public health program for Santa Clara County, confirms that the flow of African refugees into the county has increased.

She says, "We have a better support system than in other parts of the country. Our atmosphere is different. We are more accepting of diversity."

But even with a more accepting community, finding jobs and confronting financial challenges is an everyday experience for African women refugees. It is an experience Dunbar knows well.


Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Reaching Out: Willow Glen resident Sia Dunbar and her husband George work hard to adjust to a new country. Dunbar is the founder and president of African Refugee Women Rebuilders, headquartered at RefugeeWorks in San Jose. The Dunbars, originally from Sierra Leone, had to leave their homeland in 1997 after rebels overtook the government.




Dunbar, who entered the United States in 1998 with a degree in sociology and linguistics, says, "Finding a job has been difficult."

After three years of searching, she now works part-time as the recreation coordinator for Catholic Charities, and her husband, George, a geologist, who has also been unable to find work, went back to school to train in the field of computers.

In spite of these family difficulties, Dunbar is upbeat about living in the United States. She says the transition was made easier by having relatives in the area and the support of organizations like RefugeeWorks, International Rescue Committee, and Santa Clara Valley Refugee Health Program.

Willow Glen resident McLeod, who worked with Dunbar previously, found her to be "a tremendous conduit" in the community.

"We worked on the 2000 census project together," McLeod says. "She helped sign up Africans in the community by going door to door and explaining the importance of their participation."

McLeod also worked with Dunbar on another project pertaining to women's public health and female circumcision.

"This was an extremely sensitive issue that the county wanted to address," McLeod says. "But most agencies don't want to touch it because it's so personal and really involved close contact with the African community. Sia has a gift for working with people and helping get information from her community to service providers."

There is a huge gap between African and American culture, McLeod says. The refugees coming to the United States have fled their homelands with nothing.

"They have to start from scratch," McLeod says. "Women are especially caught up in the turmoil. When families are dealing with pressures and tension that fall on the women's shoulders, it's an additional burden for African refugee women."

Dunbar's organization was established to focus on women--the foundation of an African family--and make sure that women are not left out of the equation when their families are uprooted and forced into change.

It is Dunbar's tenacity and persistence, according to friends and colleagues, that brought out the support of her Willow Glen church members. Many didn't hesitate to brave the rain and wind to show their support. They sampled food from five African regions, listened to stories of struggle and heard the organization discuss its goals.

"I know the family, and Sia's story tells of such a need," Willow Glen resident and fellow church member Joyce Osborn says. "I'm here to support a worthwhile cause."

For Dunbar, it's a cause she hopes will empower women, especially young mothers with children and provide them with the necessary tools to achieve a successful life in the United States. Supporters say her organization is unique in its focus on refugee women.

Dunbar also says that developing strong cultural programs to preserve African customs is an important part of the nonprofit's goals.

As Dunbar addressed everyone in the church, she described the work of African Women Refugee Rebuilders as "little drops of water that make a mighty ocean," and she told the group "not to give up. Trust the dreams you had before you were uprooted and make your dreams come true."

Local Notebook

Carl Heintze: Do people really need copies of themselves?

Sports Briefs

High school sports