Introduction
Non-governmental organizations refer to corporations that have been legally constituted by people and they operate independently without any government interference. They are organizations that operate on their own constitution and help the social in tackling problems that are related to politics, economic and social factors. They operate as nonprofit making organization and are funded partly by well-wishers or government but they exclude government representatives from their membership. They do not however operate like political parties but help to pursue social views in issues related to politics in a given area or region. There are many organizations in the world that operate as non-governmental organizations and they work closely with the community in which they are located and have been influential in solving social problems. The World Bank has over time emphasized on the need to allow non-governmental organizations to operate as they help in restoring hope to disadvantaged people in the society. This research paper seeks to analyze the role played the African Community Center in Denver and its Mandate in resettling refugees.
Analysis of ACC/ECDC
History of African Community Center
The African community center is a non-governmental organizations located in Denver. It operates as a program office for the Ethiopian Community Development Council which is situated in Arlington, Virginia. The Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) was established in 1983 after a concern was raised about the plight of Ethiopian immigrants in the United States and especially in the Washington metropolitan area. The initial program was run to cater for refugees of Ethiopian origin but the organization has since changed to cater for other African immigrants in the Washington and Denver communities. Since its inception the ECDC has been actively involved in resettling and rehabilitating the suffering Ethiopian refugees in the Washington area of the United States. The rising number of refugees in the Washington area raised a lot of concern and a decision to offer humanitarian help was reached which led to the establishment of the Ethiopian Community Development council. The organization has managed to grow and expand to other areas in the US like Las Vegas, Nevada, Washington D.C and an African branch in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
The African Community Center in Denver was established in May 2001 as a program office for the ECDC in Denver. The organization was to operate as an umbrella organization of the ECDC in the Denver region where it was to help asylum seekers with housing and rehabilitation projects as governed by their mission and vision statement. The organization became the fourth voluntary agency in the whole of Denver to serve refugees. The organization has been successive in resettling refugees and asylum seekers who lived on the metropolitan area of Denver. When the Center was established in the year 2001, it was to gain gradual autonomy from its parent organization ECDC but they still continue to share this relationship which continues up to date. As the name of the center suggests, it was established to cater for refugees from African countries who wish to seek asylum in the United States. With time this original program has been changed to cater for refugees from other countries and continents like the ones from Vietnam, Iraq and Bosnia. The organization since the year 2001 has been able to resettle more than 900 refugees from diverse countries around the world.
Vision statement
The African Community Center of Denver came up with this vision statement in its quest to steering social upbringing in various sectors across the country. The vision statement reads, “To be an integrative center of multicultural exchange where community members feel a sense of belonging and actively contribute to an inclusive society’’. The organization has been actively involved in utilizing the skills of volunteers and interns in community development as they gain expertise on current issues in the society. This vision has been the driving force of this organization as it strives to be a comfort to community integration and interaction as they work together to alleviate societal problems and challenges.
Mission statement
The African Community Center of Denver has highlighted its mission statement to read as “To help refugees rebuild safe sustainable lives in Denver through supportive networks of people, services and community activities”. The mission outlines the activities that the organization is involved in and how it operates to achieve them. The mission statement of the African Community Center of Denver, Colorado has been merged with its vision statement to provide the best services to refuges as a humanitarian effort in rehabilitating and giving refuges a new dimension to life. The African Community Center in a move to effectively offer help and support to refugees and asylum seekers in its area of jurisdiction has initiated programs and projects that are more related to its course. These programs are:
- Provide training facilities to refugees and asylum seekers to increase their work skills and earn a living after rehabilitation.
The activities of ACC revolve around offering educational and social services to new comers in a view to resettle them and adapt to new environment in the Denver and surrounding area. Most of the refugees are from war torn countries and they may have suffered trauma which affect their future life and thus assimilating them into the program helps them to recover from past trauma experiences. Counseling services are offered to new comers as this form the basic part of the program which is carried out at the center. Helping them to speak up helps to relive trauma and are able to settle on the new environment easily. Training helps the new comers to become self-sufficient and independent through proper decision making process. They can become economically productive and contribute to the American Community with their services. Through the outreach program the center is able to reach out to the Denver community and raise an awareness of the activities of the center and how the community can contribute to the change. This increases awareness and encourages cooperation with Denver community as they strive to promote cross-cultural interaction with the refugees. Cross cultural communication is encouraged by the center as it helps new comers to interact with the Denver community who offer help in resettling the newcomers to their new environment.
Funding
The African Community Center of Denver initial funding was done through a grant from the Federal Office of Refugees Resettlement (ORR). The funding was to set up a resettling program and center for refugees from Sudan who had sought asylum in the United States of America. After the grant from ORR the U.S State department began funding the center so as to include a resettlement program in its activities and expand to cater for more refugees than its initial number. The funding from the State Department only caters for thirty days for the refugee during which the center was required to have resettled them. The reason for this threshold from the government is to facilitate quick resettlement and assimilation of the refugees into the country. In the State of Colorado, the State has also set up another program that seeks to increase the prospects of employment for rehabilitated refugees in the State run by the Wilson/Fish program. This program operates concurrently with the African Community Program in Denver. Denver is the largest city in the State of Colorado and it being a cosmopolitan town has initiated programs that work closely with non-governmental organization with safeguarding the interest of the whole community.
The Colorado Refugee Services Program is mandated with monitoring the activity of the Wilson/Fish funds in the state. Through these activities the funds are used closely with the ACC program in Denver plus other Voluntary Agencies (VOLAG). The African Community Center of Denver works closely with other organizations around the world in trying to resettle refugees and help them re-establish new lives through giving them renewed hope and empower them to be self-sufficient. One of these organizations that have actively been involved in refugees and immigrants situation around the world is the Ethiopian Community Development Council which was formed in 1983. ECDC has been the parent organization of the African Community Center and has been cooperating on several projects although they are both involved in different activities. This cooperation has been instrumental in sharing information and resources in the U.S and over sea projects like in Ethiopia. The Denver foundation, Denver Office of Economic Development and the Colorado Trust have over the years made generous donations to the African Community center. The Center has also been receiving donations from well-wishers which might come in as individual gifts and other items; any monetary donation is always welcome from the community.
Core mandate
The ACC has over time been able to offer employment and internship program to several people in the community and neighboring areas. Internship programs are offered to individuals who wish to offer they services to the organization and help it carry on its core mandate in resettling and rehabilitating refugees in the Colorado State. The Center has employed 12 qualified employees with immense experience from working with refugees who are on a full time basis at eh center. The organization has gone farther ahead and employed three part time employees who assist the full time employees in administering the organization. Volunteer programs from the community are encouraged to continue working closely with the organization as it tries to achieve its goals and objectives.
Theory Driven Analysis
Various theories could be applicable in explaining the organization and operations of ACC. However, the neo-liberalist model is the most appropriate in this case, because it gives a clear and detailed analysis of how this NGO has designed it operations, and most probably, the rationale behind it. According to the neoliberalism theory, from an economic context, human beings are likely to be best innovative through redeeming personal entrepreneurial freedoms and skills in an institutional structure described by free markets and free trades, as well as strong private property rights. Furthermore, the part of the state is creating and preserving an institutional structure that is suitable to such practices. In the political context, neoliberalism is generally described as a political thinking that prioritizes individual freedom as well as the right to private property. The role of NGOs in general, and ACC specifically, in relation to neoliberalism ideologies could be best described with regard to the roles they play in the society, and their accountability in how they perform these roles. Therefore, ACC could be understood best through assessing how it has pursued its goals and objective based on the neoliberalism principles as follows:
Refugee resettlement
The organization since its inception has managed to resettle more than 900 refugees in the country by the year 2008 and this number continues to rise as times goes by. Most of the handled cases are from African countries while the rest come from other continents like Asia and South America. The resettling program is administered as the asylum seekers are trained to adapt to the American working environment where they are able to utilize their skills in their new environment. The community in Denver has been very supportive of this initiative by the State to rehabilitate and resettle refugees and asylum seekers in the metropolitan area. Helping them to interact with the community helps them to feel appreciated and this quickens the resettling process where they are able to be economically stable by acquiring a job in the area. The program involves housing and cultural adjustment to the new environment before they earn employment.
Employment Training
Some of the refugees who access the center may have undergone past trauma and they need immediate counseling services which are provided at the center as they start their rehabilitation programs. In 2005, the Center received funding from the Denver Office of Economic Development which was to be used to help the needy refugees in acquiring skills and expertise that would help them adapt to the American job market. The skills are provided in a less stressful environment which makes it easier for them to adapt and learn quickly before they are released into the job market. The training helps them to get employment opportunities which in turn make them self-sufficient and relieve the organization off its mandate to cater for their personal needs and concentrate on new comers. This training helps the refugees to reach the ultimate independence and economic stability as they settle in the U.S.
Community Outreach
The non-governmental organization has worked closely with other community based organization in view of providing the technical assistance needed to foster leadership skills of the refugees. Working with the local community helps to raise awareness of the different programs the center or organization is involved in. this outreach program has been used over the years to promote awareness about the plight of refugees and in what ways the Denver community may help in. It has actively been involved in resettlement of refugees who have undergone the rehabilitation program and they help them with cultural adjustment processes. The awareness has been successive in voicing out the crisis that some of these refugees undergo through and the challenges they pose tot eh organization when they are first taken as new comers.
Conclusion
The partnership that the African community Center in Denver (ACC) and the Ethiopian Community Development Council Inc. (ECDC) have formed over the years has been instrumental in rehabilitating and resettling refugees and asylum seekers from Africa and other countries around the world. The two organizations were formed with the sole purpose of helping the refugees from Africa to settle well in the US and move on with their lives in the new environment. The organizations are nonprofit making organizations that rely on donor funding for their activities and administrative costs. The American government and the community have been very helpful of this course. The ACC has been able to partner with other voluntary agencies in Denver as they seek to reach their objective of serving the refugees to the best of their ability. Finally, as discussed above, the operations and management of ACC clearly highlights how the principles or ideologies of neoliberalism are promoted in the modern society.
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