Seattle group helps refugees, immigrants overcome boundaries to employment

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The Lake City Refugee Artisan Initiative helps immigrants overcome the language barrier, transportation, and other cultural barriers to employment.

SEATTLE – May is the month of the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage). It is a month to celebrate the many contributions made by AAPI women in America.

An organization in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle empowers refugees and migrants by combating recent acts of violence through inclusion and opportunity.

Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman is a Taiwanese immigrant herself and founded the Refugee Artisan Initiative in 2016 to offer a unique education to other women who come to America.

“We stand with migrant women in America,” said Ming-Ming. “We stand by our AAPI community.” We stand against racism and hatred and we stand for the eventual freedom in which all women in America are accepted, respected and empowered. “

The organization helps overcome the language barrier, transportation and other cultural barriers to employment.

The Refugee Artisan Initiative teaches skills such as sewing so the women can find full-time employment and even run their own business ventures. The organization recently launched a fundraiser targeting $ 50,000 to enroll 20 more women in the training program.

Ming-Ming said the women she has worked with in recent years have come from countries like Vietnam, Ethiopia, Miramar, Morocco and even Afghanistan

Many refugees are used to making their own clothes, so the organization helps them hone their skills and help with job searches and even business licensing.

Hats, gloves, bags, and even pet beds are just a few of the things that the women of the Refugee Artisan Initiative have made mostly from “upcycled” materials.

Ming-Ming said sewing became an even more important skill amid the pandemic when her team was able to swiftly pan and make masks and even medical scrubs for hospital workers. You are now in a partnership with the Swedish hospital doing new peels for front-line workers.

Ming-Ming said the growth and impact of the Refugee Artisan Initiative has also increased its responsibility to the immigrant community. The organization is focused on bringing more women into the organization so that they can become skilled artisans and earn a dignified income.