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  • Pace for Peace: Advocating for Afghanistan

    Pace for Peace: Advocating for Afghanistan
    2025/09/10

    The Pace for Peace 5K is returning to Boise this month - this time with a focus on Afghanistan.

    “The situation in Afghanistan still is getting worse, not better,” said Yasmin Aguilar with Agency for New Americans. “We have clients here, they are suffering, they have family members there – extended or immediate – and our hands are tied.” Sayed Mirbacha, one of the local students organizing Pace for Peace, fled Afghanistan with his family four years ago after the U.S. military withdrawal and Taliban takeover.

    “Leaving everything behind and moving to another country…was shocking,” he said. “The support and the community I found here was so heart-touching to me.”

    Sign up here to support Pace for Peace: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pace-for-peace-5k-run-for-afghanistan-tickets-1487201251979

    Run for Afghanistan on Sept. 27. Proceeds will go to the Qamar Foundation, whose mission is to tackle social injustice and poverty through education.
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    51 分
  • Unified Purpose featuring the Idaho Office for Refugees

    Unified Purpose featuring the Idaho Office for Refugees
    2025/09/10

    Mosaics host Holly Beech recently joined the Unified Purpose podcast to dive into what it means to help people transition from surviving trauma to truly belonging in a new country. The episode explores how Idaho’s long-standing refugee program —celebrating 50 years of resettlement — goes beyond logistics, offering emotional support, career reintegration, cultural connection, and community partnerships to make resettlement meaningful and humane. From pilot retraining programs and mental health support to community soccer rivalries and women’s art circles, this episode showcases how small efforts, when done with heart, create powerful ripples of belonging and purpose. Unified Purpose is produced by Penji and reshared here with permission.
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    27 分
  • Idaho Launches New Pathway for Internationally Trained Physicians

    Idaho Launches New Pathway for Internationally Trained Physicians
    2025/08/27

    Doctors moving into the U.S. bring much needed skills but face barriers getting back to the medical field – including a competitive process to redo their residency training. A new law in Idaho is providing an alternative pathway for these physicians so they can complete a supervised apprenticeship and get back to the work they love. Today we’re joined by Dr. Scott Smith and Viktoriia‎ Siedikova ‎of Global Talent to learn how House Bill 542 is bringing a win-win solution to Idaho and providing a model for other states. Viktoriia Siedikova is a Career Advisor with Global Talent with a background in human resources, project management, and community advocacy. Originally from Ukraine and fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian, she brings a deep understanding of the challenges faced by newcomers to the U.S. Dr. Scott Smith is a mentor with Global Talent working with a cohort of New American medical professionals in Idaho. He is an internal medicine doctor, educational researcher, and professor of medicine ‎‎(emeritus) with the University of Washington. Since 2019, Scott has mentored 42 internationally trained physicians from 21 ‎countries. Of those, seven are now practicing in the U.S. To learn more about Global Talent and how to get involved, please visit https://glotalent.org/. Contact us at mosaics@idahorefugees.org with feedback, questions, and episode suggestions.

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    43 分
  • Lena Contor: Idahoans Are Making a Difference in Ukraine

    Lena Contor: Idahoans Are Making a Difference in Ukraine
    2025/08/06

    Lena Contor grew up in Ukraine and moved to Pocatello, Idaho, after getting married. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lena was presented with an opportunity to go back on a humanitarian relief trip. Her first thought was, “Who am I to do anything? I’m not rich. I’m not powerful.” But she couldn’t push the thought out of her mind, and she took the leap.

    She is now getting ready to go on her 10th trip back to Ukraine, and she has rallied the Pocatello community to fund solar panels that will power running water for devasted communities. Lena shows how overcoming self-doubt and thoughts of insignificance – and stepping up to do what we can in the moment – can have powerful ripple effects.
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    44 分
  • Fredrick Shema: What Motivated Me to Study Law ‎

    Fredrick Shema: What Motivated Me to Study Law ‎
    2025/07/09

    Fredrick Shema grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda before resettling in Boise with his ‎family in 2012 as a high school student. In college, he was able to go back to the camp ‎where he grew up for a research project, reconnecting with friends still living ‎there.

    Through this experience and working with Boise youth from refugee backgrounds, ‎Fredrick set his sights on becoming an attorney – wanting to make a tangible difference in ‎people’s lives. After earning his law degree this spring, Fredrick sat down with Mosaics to ‎share about his life, what he’s learned, and how he found his ‘why.’‎
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    44 分
  • Meet Damir Subasic, Local Law Enforcement Officer From A Refugee Background

    Meet Damir Subasic, Local Law Enforcement Officer From A Refugee Background
    2025/06/25

    Damir Subasic is a local law enforcement officer and trainer whose family came to Idaho many years ago through the refugee resettlement program. Damir and his family left former Yugoslavia when he was 9 on what he thought was going to be a visit to his grandma’s in Germany. But as war and violence escalated back home, it became clear they couldn’t return. Damir, the only Bosnian kid at school, faced intense bullying and isolation in those early years in Germany before making a few close friends who made life start to feel normal again. When Damir was 16, his family resettled in Boise, where his uncle had previously been sponsored as a refugee by the owners of a local deli. Damir went to school with his guard up, expecting to face more bullying and beatings. One day he met his first American friend – a seemingly small encounter that changed Damir’s perspective for the rest of his life. Damir went on to earn his degree in criminal justice and has worked in law enforcement for 15 years, including alongside other officers from refugee backgrounds. He now teaches at the police academy and speaks at schools and community events. “I try to be there for others,” he said. “There’s a trickle effect you don’t realize you might ‎have on someone way down the road.”
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    48 分
  • Tap Dancer Andrew Nemr on Enduring the Dark Night

    Tap Dancer Andrew Nemr on Enduring the Dark Night
    2025/05/28

    Andrew Nemr is an international performer, speaker, author, and teacher. His parents are originally from Lebanon, and in 2015 when civil war escalated in neighboring Syria, Andrew started exploring the idea of what it means to endure and encounter hope in the midst of darkness. His vision will come to fruition in August, when Andrew will tap dance for 12-hours straight in an immersive experience calledDark Night. Visitors are invited to reflect on and honor the enduring spirit within us all. (Find tickets at https://www.darknightlive.com/.) Andrew, who has been tap dancing since the age of 3, has a new book out this year, The Tap Dance Method, a practical exploration of tap dance land. Join our conversation to reflect more on what dark nights can mean for our lives and for who we are becoming.
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    1 時間 1 分
  • Run for Refugees: Uniting for Welcome

    Run for Refugees: Uniting for Welcome
    2025/05/07

    All are welcome to join the Pace for Peace Run for Refugees in Boise on May 24, 2025, in support of Agency for New Americans. The agency has been resettling refugees in Boise for many years. Community support is even more important this year as federal funding has been frozen. Proceeds from the race will help new refugee neighbors afford rent, utility, and medical expenses as they get on their feet in Boise. Brandee Robles from the Agency for New Americans shares with us how her agency is navigating the new national changes and continuing to support the hundreds of people who have been welcomed over the past year. Sayed Mirbacha, an organizer with Pace for Peace, shares why he is passionate about helping fellow refugees adjust to their new lives with hope, health, and community. Pace for Peace Run for Refugees: http://www.anaidaho.org/runforrefugees.html
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    41 分