Grace Kertz
Editorial Assistant

World Refugee Day brought community members and organizations together in an annual celebration at the North-East Branch of the Kansas City Public Library on Saturday, June 17th. This year’s event included cultural entertainment, resources for refugees, and of course, food trucks.

Julia Robertson, Refugee & Immigrant Services & Empowerment (RISE) Outreach Manager at the North-East Branch of the Library, said they continue to hold the event because “there’s always different groups of refugees coming.” This is the 18th year the event has been held in Kansas City, and the third year at the Library.

Organizations provide services for refugees at different stages of settlement. Della Lamb Community Services, a Northeast based refugee resettlement agency, is often the first touch point for refugees that settle in Kansas City, helping them acclimate to their new life here. Refugees get assigned to Della Lamb through the federal government. Once allocated, Della Lamb provides job placement services, English-language learners services and case workers that assist families with enrollment in school and how to apply for public benefits.

Another organization present was KC for Refugees, whose staffers handed out resources such as shoes, water bottles and personal hygiene bags directly to immigrants and refugees who attended Saturday’s celebration. Recognizing that “each family has a different need,” KC for Refugees provided an array of resources to meet the individual needs of refugees who attended..

KC Scholars, a local nonprofit education advocacy group, provides career-related resources through scholarships, training, and support services. Their new career training program, Great Jobs KC, is for adults 17 and older. Training is offered in a variety of trades including construction, healthcare, information technology, and manufacturing industries. Starting pay for the trades is traditionally over $45,000 per year. The organization emphasized that for those who qualify for the training, “everything is free.”

Kansas City Sister Cities Association’s goal is to “welcome anybody who comes from around the world.” The association interacts with 13 sister cities, including cities in Mexico, China, Africa and beyond. “It’s not material resources, it’s the connection with people in other cities,” said a volunteer with Kansas City Sister Cities Association.

World Refugee Day is a celebration just as much as it is a chance for outreach and providing resources. Dances and songs from different cultures were shared thanks to groups from the Ethnic Enrichment Commission. Nations represented included Malaysia, Germany, Kenya, Taiwan, India, Ukraine and Samoa. “We do always try to pull in some diversity as far as the cultures in the dances,” said Andrea Smith, Outreach Director of the Ethnic Enrichment Commission of Kansas City.

Organizations like Their Story is Our Story also celebrate and share diversity. Their “focus is telling refugee stories.” They do this through social media, their website, videos and short documentaries, global refugee archives and even a book, “Let Me Tell You My Story,” a compilation of refugee stories. The book is available for purchase, but all other mediums can be accessed at no charge. According to a group member, they share stories “mainly to change perception and reception of refugees.”

World Refugee Day is an annual celebration of sharing and culture, designed to connect refugees to resources in order to provide a better life in their new country.