SUCCESS STORIES

Without the the Center for Refugees & Immigrants of Tennessee's (CRIT) help, many immigrants & refugees in Middle Tennessee would be more isolated and unable to meet their basic needs, let alone thrive.  Several of our clients have flourished with our help.  Here are just a few brief client success stories:

Zamzam, now a young Somali woman in her 20s, arrived in the United States with her mobility-impaired mother in 2005.  As a result of seeing the war-wounded arrive at local hospitals in Somalia, she has always dreamed of becoming a nurse.  Upon her arrival in the U.S., Zamzam cared for her mother and worked two jobs in order to support herself and her mother, and to send remittances to family in Africa.  In late January 2007, she came to the Center for assistance applying to nursing programs.  Upon submitting her application, Zamzam was erroneously notified by the college that as a refugee she was ineligible to enroll in the program.  She returned to our offices and we worked with college administrators to get her application put back in the applicant pool.  Zamzam was one of only a handful of people accepted into the program out of a total of over 200 applicants.  And, she received a scholarship which covers full tuition, books and supplies, and includes some money to cover her living expenses!  She appreciates the Center for Refugees & Immigrants of Tennessee's follow-up calls to find out how her courses are going.  Zamzam recently said, “I am fortunate I came to the Center.  Without their help, I wouldn’t be pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse.”  

Update:  In August 2009, Zamzam graduated from her LPN program as valedictorian of her class and in October 2009 she passed the boards and received her Licensed Practical Nursing license!  With CRIT's help in her job search, she is now working as an LPN in a long term care facility.  Zamzam's next goal is to become a Registered Nurse.

Khadra is a widow and Somali single mother of 5 children who arrived in the U.S. in 2005 from Pakistan, where she fled with her children to escape the war in Somalia after her husband was killed.  In November 2006, she came to CRIT for help to get her TennCare reinstated after she had been erroneously dropped from it and received a large hospital bill for emergency surgery she’d undergone.  Working with TennCare Consumer Advocacy/Health Assist Tennessee, CRIT was able to get Khadra’s TennCare reinstated.  We then assisted her to move out of production work at a factory and into customer service work (at Wal-Mart, through which she now has health insurance for her family).  We continue to work with Khadra to try to transition her from customer service work to a professional job − in Africa she was employed by organizations such as the United Nations and Lutheran World Services.  Khadra’s whole family is a success story and because of their success, she was able to purchase a house in Antioch, TN in July 2007.  Khadra often says, “You do so much for me.  Thank you, sister. You always help me so much.”

Update: In the summer of 2009, Khadra was promoted to Laundry Supervisor at Wal-Mart.  She says that her next promotion will be to the Assistant Manager level.  She is proud that she has a whole section of the store that she is responsible for.

Fatima is Khadra’s daughter who is in her 20s.  She came to the Center for Refugees and Immigrants of Tennessee in March 2007 for help finding a job while she was completing a diploma in Medical Assisting.  Following CRIT's assistance with resume-writing and the application process, she is now working as a Neurodiagnostic Technologist at Vanderbilt University Hospital in the Department of Neurology.  She has also been admitted into Vanderbilt University.

Mohamed is a Sudanese man who arrived in Nashville in December 2006 with his wife and two small children.  Mohamed has a B.S. in Medical Technology and worked as a Medical Technologist in Sudanese hospitals and doctors’ offices.  He first came to the Center seeking help finding a job and getting Tenncare for his children.  CRIT helped Mohamed with his resume and job search skills and he found a job at Central Parking.  We continued to help him find a job in his field.  In December 2006, Mohamed got a full-time job with benefits working in Vine Hill Clinic’s lab, where he collects blood and specimen samples, tests them, and sends some out for testing.  Mohamed is very grateful to the Center for helping him find employment in his field through which he and his family now have medical benefits.

Mariam is a Somali woman who came to the United States in 1999 with her husband and four children.  Before her arrival in the U.S. Mariam received her medical degree in Rome, Italy and then returned to Somalia where she was a pediatrician.  Without a license to practice medicine in the U.S., Mariam had not worked since her arrival and she was getting desperate to find a job.  In fact, she was so desperate that she considered returning home to Somalia even though it was unsafe.  To help Mariam get back into the medical field, the Center created a resume for her, helped her find job opportunities and held mock interviews for her. With our help, Mariam is now working as a Medical Assistant at the Vine Hill Clinic.  She is happy to be using her knowledge of medicine once again and is grateful that the Center for Refugees & Immigrants of Tennessee helped her get a job which provides medical insurance to her family.