Hi everyone! I am a little late to this post (we worked Saturday, so I had most of Friday off, and this completely slipped my mind). Compared to last week, week three went much smoother. No surprises made us pivot in our work, and everything went according to plan. The relaxed week came at the perfect time because we had our first annual World Refugee Day block party on Saturday, which gave us extra time to finish the event planning and finalize our volunteer groups well before the celebration.

We envisioned the block party as a space for staff and clients to mingle and enjoy one another’s culture. Haitian, Congolese, Ukrainian, Afghan, Ethiopian, and Nepali-Bhutanese community members came to the event to share food and show off their traditional clothing, dances, and music. The Nepali-Bhutanese dancers stole the show for me with their beautiful performances. In the past two weeks, I have talked a lot about the power of smiles, especially during refugee work, and these performances embodied that power. They reminded us all of the joy and empowerment that cultural celebrations can bring to the refugee communities. Many of these communities could not embrace their culture for so long, or were told they don’t belong if they did so, and it’s amazing to see the joy people have when they finally have the freedom to be themselves and engage in cultural traditions. Looking back, we pulled off a massive success with the event, and I cannot wait to see it grow next year!

Outside of the main event this week, I am excited to report that I have some partnership discussions scheduled for next week with several organizations. I love forging strategic partnerships, and I hope to document the progress of those meetings next week!