We are excited to announce the six graduates of the Fall 2020 Fellowship.
At Havenly, our aim is to build the community power of refugee and immigrant women through job training, political education, and organizing. In service of this mission, the Havenly Fellowship is a 6-month training program for refugee and immigrant women that provides part-time employment, paid educational workshops, and a strong sense of community.
This is our third pilot, and we are so excited to share its successes as we develop our curriculum. All of our fellows have found a job or adult education program to participate in within a week of graduation. They have worked at our cafe, attended more than 200 hours of classes, and created life lasting friendships over the past six months. We cannot wait to see what is ahead.
And with no further ado.. meet the Fall 2020 fellows!
Maria
Mexico
Maria has lived in New Haven for over twenty years and always dreamed of opening a business with her husband. She was selected as a venture in the Collab and CitySeed 2020 Food Business Accelerator, and is launching Alegria Cafe, an Italian-Mexican food truck.
Esmeralda
Guatemala
Esmeralda is a single mother of two on her way to a career in nursing. She wants to become a nurse because of how little access immigrants in her community have to health care. She is saving up for nursing school by working as a grocery clerk.
Kobra
Sudan
Kobra is a mother of two raising three kids in New Haven. She studied accounting in Sudan and hopes to work in the food business after she gets another degree in accounting here in the US. Her dream, one day, is to become a member of Congress to advocate for refugees and Muslim Americans. She is now working at the University of New Haven. Maha
Sudan
Maha is a mother of four on her way to being a dentist assistant. She has a degree as a veterinarian in Sudan, but when it was not recognized in the US, she got by through jobs as a home aid nurse. Maha was recently accepted into a dental assistant program at a Community College. Safa
Sudan
Safa is a mother on a mission to support other mothers through prenatal care and childcare. In Sudan, she ran a center providing services and childcare to early mothers. She studied early childhood development and prenatal care. She is now working at Edith B. Jackson Childcare, and hopes to learn enough to open her own center one day.
Amna
Sudan
Amna is a mother of six with a passion for food, and Sudanese food in particular. Havenly was her first job. She speaks French and Arabic as she grew up between Sudan and Chad. Amna hopes to one day open her own Sudanese food business and is now a food service worker at the University of New Haven.