The Colorado Dream

English is the “language of opportunity.” That’s a line from Aurora’s 10-year Immigrant Integration Plan. Before creating this plan, the city conducted focus groups in 2019 with community members and found the two top priorities for immigrants and refugees were learning English and finding employment.

Research shows that immigrants who are proficient in English have higher paying jobs. Not only can they better support their families but the city of Aurora benefits too. The more money residents make, the more they can spend, and the more the city prospers.

To help foreign-born residents succeed, Aurora’s integration plan emphasizes education. How well are schools serving Aurora’s immigrant families?

The Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome episode three looks at efforts by two educational institutions and some of the unique challenges facing first and second-generation African students.

“A first generation African kid, my child can tell you, that goes to school acting like an American and then comes home and has to act like an African kid,” said Anne Keke, an immigrant from Côte d'Ivoire and Aurora Public Schools Board of Education Director.

Links and credits

To learn more about Salwa Mourtada Bamba and the city of Aurora, and to see photos of the people included in this episode and other extras, go to the Colorado Dream website.

Salwa on social media:

• Salwa Rita Mourtada on Facebook
• @Aunty_Salwa on Instagram

Also in this episode:

• Community College of Aurora: @CCAurora
• Aurora Public Schools: @aurorak12
• Village Exchange Center: @VECAurora

The Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome is a production from KUNC. It was written and reported by Stephanie Daniel. Editing by Johanna Zorn. Fact-checking by Cat Jaffee with additional help from Adam Rayes. This season's theme song was composed by Jason Paton, who also sound designedand mixed the episode. Additional music was composed by Matthew Simonson. Ashley Jefcoat is the digital editor. Special thanks to Chandra Whitfield, Robert Leja, Kyle Cunningham and Kim Rais. Sean Corcoran is KUNC’s news director. Tammy Terwelp is KUNC’s president and CEO.

Aurora is one of the most diverse cities in Colorado. In fact, about one in five residents is foriegn born. Over half came from the Americas, mainly Mexico. After that the largest groups hail from Ethiopia, Vietnam, Korea, El Salvador and India. To help immigrants and refugees succeed, the city created an integration plan. It was among the first in the country to do so.

“Our city leaders at the time, intentionally they (made) a very important decision,” said Ricardo Gambetta, manager of Aurora’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs. “They realize that in the last 20 years, we have a new face of the city.”

To implement the integration plan, Aurora partners with dozens of organizations including Village Exchange Center. The non-profit supports immigrant and refugee communities with a range of services including the Natural Helpers Program which is staffed by volunteers who are immigrants themselves.

“The natural helpers are like this bridge between their country and here,” said José Gómez , who manages the Natural Helpers Program. “ I feel that one of the biggest things that has kept our immigrant or refugee community, you can say down, is the lack of knowledge.”

The Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome episode two examines the city’s immigrant integration plan. Meanwhile, more than 15 years earlier, Salwa Mourtada Bamba gets a job and enrolls at the local community college as she settles into her new life in Aurora.

Links and credits

To learn more about Salwa Mourtada Bamba and the city of Aurora, and to see photos of the people included in this episode and other extras, go to the Colorado Dream website.

Salwa on social media:

• Salwa Rita Mourtada on Facebook
• @Aunty_Salwa on Instagram

Aurora History Museum

• @AuroraHistoryCO on Twitter

City of Aurora

• @AuroraGov on Twitter

Village Exchange Center

• @VECAurora on Twitter

The Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome is a production from KUNC. It was written and reported by me, Stephanie Daniel. Editing by Johanna Zorn. Fact-checking by Cat Jaffee with additional help from Adam Rayes. This season's theme song was composed by Jason Paton, who also sound designed and mixed the episode. Additional music was composed by Matthew Simonson. Ashley Jefcoat is the digital editor. Special thanks to Chandra Whitfield, Robert Leja, Kyle Cunningham and Kim Rais. Sean Corcoran is KUNC’s news director. Tammy Terwelp is KUNC’s president and CEO. 

The Black immigrant population in Colorado is growing faster than anywhere else in the U.S. They come from Africa, the Caribbean and beyond, and many settle in Aurora, where about one in five residents is foreign born. A lot of them have overcome great challenges to emigrate here, including Salwa Mourtada Bamba. 

Salwa was born in Liberia, West Africa and endured the country’s brutal civil war. She was displaced, her sister was murdered and she literally fled for her life, moving to Ghana for four years. But during moments of relative calm she would daydream about coming to the United States.

“To me, the American dream was just being afforded the opportunity to come here and attain the highest level of education that I possibly could,” she said. “It was always touted on television to be this place where you can be and grow and and gain the best at anything and at any dream you wanted to.”

Her dreams became a reality in 1998 when she arrived alone at JFK International Airport in New York City. A year later she was settled in Aurora, Colorado, ready to take on her new world.

To learn more about Salwa Mourtada Bamba and the city of Aurora, and to see photos of the people included in this episode and other extras, go to the Colorado Dream website.

Salwa on social media:

• Salwa Rita Mourtada on Facebook
• @Aunty_Salwa on Instagram

The Migration Policy Institute on social media:

• @MigrationPolicy on Twitter

The Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome is a production from KUNC. It was written and reported by me, Stephanie Daniel. Editing by Johanna Zorn. Fact-checking by Cat Jaffee with additional help from Adam Rayes. This season's theme song was composed by Jason Paton, who also sound designed and mixed the episode. Additional music was composed by Matthew Simonson. Ashley Jefcoat is the digital editor. Special thanks to Chandra Whitfield, Robert Leja, Kyle Cunningham and Kim Rais. Sean Corcoran is KUNC’s news director. Tammy Terwelp is KUNC’s president and CEO. 

In Aurora, Colorado about one in five residents is foreign born. While most come from Mexico, many hail from other parts of the world including thousands from the continent of Africa. The city created a plan called “Aurora is open to the world” and partnered with dozens of organizations that provide services to immigrants and refugees. But is the plan helping those most in need? In season two of The Colorado Dream, join host Stephanie Daniel as she explores the Black immigrant experience in Aurora as told through the eyes of one African immigrant living in Aurora as the city – and its residents – strive to become an inclusive home for all.

Trailer for Season 1 of the Colorado Dream, a KUNC podcast by Stephanie Daniel