6 April 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The International Rescue Committee helps refugees who are forced to rebuild every aspect of their lives when they seek asylum.
Those include Arafat Abd Alla and Charmin Shearburn. Both have many titles; creators and business. The two work on meticulous designs and details on jewelry and henna.
Arafat explained how she ended up in the Midwest.
“We first landed at Egypt, then Egypt to Wichita,” Arafat said.
She has called Wichita home for over a year.
“It’s a hard decision to make, but sometimes it’s not your choice to leave your country, consider the USA second country,” said Arafat.
Arafat and Charmin are part of an economic empowerment group through the IRC.
“Women kind of become self-sufficient, break out of their shells, set up their own businesses and get them where they want to be,” said Sehareem Zia, the women’s economic empowerment specialist through the IRC.
Reframing perception, “when I work with my clients, I kind of ask them, ‘ok what did you do back home’ and some of them have run stores or run family businesses,” said Zia. “A lot of people would overlook that, but I’m like, ‘no, that’s a skill that’s management; you can put that on your resume.'”
Helping women to become designers of their own lives, “sometimes they may not even see how talented they are, their products are,” said Zia.
Gaining new meaning to titles already true; entrepreneur, way-maker, pathfinder.
The IRC is hosting a Women’s Bazaar April 20th:
When: Thursday, April 20
Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Where: Rhatigan Student Center 1st floor, Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount St. Wichita, KS 67260
Three ways to support: