Mosaics

Friends call Yi Feng the "Mental Health Guy" for doing many things relating to mental health for the ‎past 12 years. He is a Registered Social Worker, Certified Master Solution Focused Practitioner, ‎Certified Narrative Therapist, and Organization Development enthusiast, seeking to build mentally healthier workplaces and more socially impactful ‎organizations. ‎ Yi Feng hails from Singapore and visited Idaho in May 2024 as a fellow with the Young Southeast ‎Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI).‎ While in Boise he worked with Mike Krause, Chief Coaching Officer of Global Bound LLC, to 'make good trouble' ‎and improve workplace mental health. Yi Feng shares interesting insights about Singapore, his first impressions of Idaho, and his approach to belonging and well-being.

Today we hear from Joel Ntando, coordinator of the Refugee Speakers Bureau at ‎the Idaho Office for Refugees. Joel has a background in theater and academia. He ‎lived and worked in South Africa for 14 years before resettling in Idaho and is ‎originally from the Democratic of Republic of Congo. He shares what World ‎Refugee Day means to him personally and what it means for everyone on a global ‎level.

Aanish Shamim is a first-generation immigrant from Pakistan who has called Idaho home since he was 3.

Aanish has a degree in international political economy from The College of Idaho and is the City of Boise’s Community Engagement Coordinator. He previously worked closely with students at the College of Western Idaho and helped empower marginalized communities through his role at Jannus Economic Opportunity.

In our conversation, Aanish shares about navigating life as a ‘Third Culture Kid,’ and how his Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca helped shape his perspective on religion and identity.

Aanish highlights the importance of amplifying individual voices and celebrating the richness of cultural diversity within society. Outside of his professional pursuits, he enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, playing cricket, laughing with his family, and doting on his cherished cat, Taara, meaning ‘Star’ in his primary language of Urdu.

Klaudia Saric is a Business Development Specialist at Jannus Economic Opportunity in Boise, Idaho. She works with aspiring entrepreneurs from many backgrounds, including former refugees like herself. Klaudia and her husband are from Bosnia & Herzegovina, which they fled in the 1990s due to war and ethnic cleansing. Klaudia saw firsthand the damage that is done when people are manipulated into seeing each other as less than human based on religion or nationality. Throughout her career, Klaudia has helped many people become successful business owners. As a former business owner and holder of a bachelor's in business administration, she values the entrepreneurial spirit. Becoming a refugee is like having your wings clipped, she said, and that drives her to help others regain their sense of choice and empowerment.

Reach MOSAICS with questions and story suggestions: [email protected]

Mosaics is recorded and produced by SB Studios

Welcome Corps Allows Private Americans to Help Resettle Refugees

Joe & Kim Mitchell are part of a private sponsor group in Idaho Falls that welcomed refugees to the city for the first time in decades.

In April 2022, through the Operation Allies Welcome program, their Sponsor Circle welcomed three Afghan Air Force pilots, allies of the U.S. military operation.

The community response was so overwhelmingly positive that the group formed a nonprofit, Idaho Falls Bridge Builders, which in 2023 welcomed another refugee family, from Ukraine.

Joe & Kim were inspired to be involved in a private sponsor group because they know what it’s like to be newcomers in a foreign country. Their family spent a total of seven years living in rural China, and the way they were welcomed into the community with open arms inspired them to provide a similar welcome to others in their home state of Idaho.

Connect with Idaho Falls Bridge Builders: https://sites.google.com/view/idaho-falls-bridge-builders/home

Learn more about Welcome Corps: https://welcomecorps.org/

Reach MOSAICS with questions and story suggestions: [email protected]

Mosaics is recorded and produced by SB Studios

Sakhi Hasmati was born in Afghanistan and lived in Pakistan, India, and United Arab Emirates before moving to Idaho to reunite with his parents and siblings about seven years ago.

“My parents, one of the reasons they were moving around, is because they had concerns about their children’s safety,” he said.Now, Sakhi helps other people who are earlier on in their resettlement journey, as the Idaho Community Advisor Network Supervisor at the International Rescue Committee in Boise.

When Sakhi first moved to Idaho, his goal was to move on quickly to a place with more earning potential. But he found a closeness within his family and community that’s made Idaho feel like home. Sakhi’s wife is awaiting approval to resettle here, too.

“I deeply appreciate the culture and kindness prevalent in this state,” Sakhi said. “In my free time, I cherish moments with family and friends, often enjoying a game of soccer.”

Sakhi loves learning about the laws and history of any country where he lives. (Sidenote from the episode: there are 27 amendments in the U.S. Constitution!)

Sakhi’s goal is to advocate, support, and deliver services to asylees, refugees, and immigrants. Recognizing the importance of families seeking and achieving long-term happiness and self-sufficiency, he’s passionate about bringing consistency to these families and aiding them in attaining a fulfilling, normal life.

Sadia Abdulkadir is a social work student at Boise State University. Born in Kenya, Sadia is part of a large, tight-knit family who resettled in Boise in 2008, when she was 4.  

“Since I was young, I was able to kind of adapt and change into the culture a bit more,” she said.  

Fashion is a way for Sadia to stay connected to her cultural roots. 

“I just appreciate people representing themselves,” she said. “Sometimes they can feel like they don’t belong unless they look a certain way, and most of the time that means getting rid of a certain aspect of their culture. I wish it was different, because for me I’m really into my culture and I love representing it.” 

Sadia looks forward to using her social work degree to help people. She’s thankful to her parents for what they endured so she and her siblings could have opportunities. 

“When I was younger the word ‘refugee,’ like the stigma around it, I didn’t really like it,” Sadia said. “But now I am definitely proud of being a refugee, and to me there’s a lot of pride within the word because it just reminds me what my family went through, especially my parents.” 

Moses Mukengezi is a dad, husband, soccer coach, commercial real estate broker, nonprofit board member and former resettlement worker in Boise. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Moses’ family resettled in Boise, Idaho, in 2007 when he was 13. It was through soccer that he first felt connection to the community. He went on to play for Boise State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in sociology.  

Moses has enjoyed several years of coaching refugee youth through Nations United Soccer and speaks six languages; he is especially fond of French.  

Moses has presented as a member of the Refugee Speakers Bureau, a program of the Idaho Office for Refugees (IOR). He is a board member for Jannus, Inc., which IOR is a part of, and for the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora. 

Hear more from Moses on StoryCorps, where did an interview with his wife, Kathleen, in 2022.