Mosaics

Something most Idahoans can unite around is our disdain for goatheads, also known as puncturevine. These lovely plants came to Idaho in the 1800s on sheep and livestock and have been piercing heels and paws and popping bike tires ever since.  Often people who relocate to Boise through the refugee resettlement program don’t have a car right away, so bikes are a crucial form of transportation. For t...

This week we’re taking a few moments to catch up on resettlement news and events in Idaho. For the next six minutes you’ll hear updates on Global Talent’s cohort of Afghan pilots, Global Gardens (which is selling at farmers markets and just opened sign-ups for its Fall CSA!), and upcoming events.  Thanks for tuning in and being part of the MOSAICS community. We’d love to hear from you! What questi...

When the opportunity arose for Americans to privately sponsor refugees, Joe and Kim Mitchell of Idaho Falls felt called to step up. They helped form a Sponsor Circle to welcome three Afghan pilots to Idaho Falls in 2022, the first new refugee arrivals the community had seen in decades. More recently they welcomed a family of four (now five) through Uniting for Ukraine.   On today's episode, Kim sh...

Maya and her family came from Bosnia to Boise as refugees in 1997 when she was 11 years old. As she has seen and been a part of Boise's growth from a small sleepy town to the city it is now, she considers herself more Idahoan than Bosnian or American. Much to her parents chagrin, her first career was as a cosmetologist while she operated her hair salon for 10 years. Since then she has had a career...

Amani and Bashir are experienced Afghan military pilots who served alongside U.S. allies. Now resettled in Idaho, they are part of Global Talent’s first cohort of pilots to work toward become certified commercial airline pilots in the U.S. It’s a demanding and expensive process – one they are navigating while supporting their families back home in Afghanistan. But they are determined. Once you fly...

Judith Mwamba is a teaching assistant at the English Language Center in Boise. She loves math, music, and laughter. Judith resettled in Idaho in 2022 with her young son, mother and brothers, and they long for the day when they will be reunited with her father and older siblings. Judith shares what it's like to feel like an outsider in a new country (which she's experienced twice), how parenting ha...

Illustrator  Jane Chu , former chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, shines light on ‎refugee and immigrant stories by drawing their keepsake items. Her work is inspired by her own mother ‎leaving behind all she knew in China to find a life of safety and opportunity. ‎   Jane presented at the  Idaho Conference on Refugees  this year and facilitated a Q&A with Dr. ‎Palina Louangke...

Todd Mack and Trey Carlisle, co-creators of The Black Legacy Project, share about their national project that helps people open up about race relations in their communities and work together to advance solidarity and belonging.   The Atlanta-based organization selected seven communities nationwide, including Boise, for a series of intimate roundtable discussions. Created by Music in Common, the pr...

A conversation with Wahid Amani, a cook, physical trainer, and army veteran from Afghanistan    Wahid Amani studied physical education in Kabul and joined the military in 2012, working closely with U.S. and NATO allies and building up a sports program for the Afghan army. When the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, Wahid and his brother and cousin, both Afghan Air Force pilots, had to evacua...

Zeze Rwasama shares his story from DRC to Rwanda to the U.S.   Zeze Rwasama is the director of the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Programs, which resettles refugees in Twin Falls, Idaho.  As a child Zeze dreamed of becoming an engineer in electronics, but his passion shifted to helping refugees after he himself become a refugee in 1995. Conflict stemming from the Rwandan genocide moved into his...

Joetta, a young Idaho educator, shares about pushing through struggles to embrace her calling   Mosaics is thrilled to welcome guest Joetta Julugbeh of Pocatello, Idaho.  Joetta works in the classroom as a K-12 teaching assistant while earning her degree in education.    Joetta is the founder of the Makatas Dancers, a mentorship program that teaches girls traditional African dances, and the Makata...

This week Mosaics talks with Tina Polishchuk, executive director of the Ukrainian Welcome Center.   Tina, whose own family fled religious persecution in Ukraine more than 30 years ago, was building her career and raising a young family in Idaho when Russia invaded Ukraine last year. What started out as a clothing drive became a twist in her own life that she never saw coming.  The Ukrainian Welcom...

Idaho has a heritage of refugee resettlement that’s enriched our culture, economy, and communities. On the Mosaics podcast, we’ll hear from Idahoans with lived refugee experience and from community members who are building a culture of belonging. We all have a role to play in creating the bigger picture of a vibrant and connected society. Presented by the Idaho Office for Refugees with grant fundi...