Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
PROVO — Utah Valley Refugees is a small nonprofit dedicated to helping refugees adjust to their lives in Utah. But the group doesn't just want refugees to simply survive here. Its mission is to help refugees to thrive, be comfortable, independent and self-reliant.
The volunteers are doing what they can — down to the small but significant things — to help make that happen.
Utah Valley Refugees
On a quiet street corner near downtown Provo, a block south of the hustle and bustle of Center Street and the City Center Temple, sits the offices of Utah Valley Refugees. The top floor of the white brick building where the group operates is modest and unassuming.
Inside, one long hallway runs the length of the building. It leads to administrative offices, a music room, classrooms and conference rooms. This is where the organization's workers help refugees with the big necessities of relocated life in a new world. They help with things like finding housing, job training, education applications, legal issues, medical assistance, cultural integration and learning English.
But UVR's mission is to do more than just help refugees settle in a new place. Since refugees are here for the long haul, the organization wants them to come out on the other side of that resettlement and thrive. To be independent and self-reliant, comfortable and able to take care of themselves and their families. To do that, refugees need other things that might seem small, but that are just as important. The little necessities.
That's why, in addition to what goes on in the other rooms at Utah Valley Refugees' offices, there is a storeroom in the middle of the hallway, full of things that could seem small, but that can make just as big a difference as housing and education.
The little necessities
Best Bagalwa, wife of Utah Valley Refugees founder Leonard Bagalwa, met me at the group's offices to show me around. After we talked for a few minutes, she let me in to take a look in the storeroom. It was filled, floor to ceiling, with donations. There were clothes, shoes, blankets, diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies, makeup and hairbrushes. Coats hung next to dresses, which in turn hung next to buckets of shoes and boots.
All of it had come from donation drive in March. The organization had put out a call for help on social media. The list of needed items was long, varied and mainly focused on women for Women's History Month. It included things like body wash, hair ties and hair oil for curly hair, razors, microfiber cloths and so on. The donations had poured in during the drive. People brought boxes and boxes of supplies. They'd filled that storeroom, Bagalwa said, then gave everything away and filled it again.
To a refugee, Bagalwa said, little necessities like soap, makeup and boots can mean the difference between just living and thriving. For example, it's one thing to have an apartment. It's another thing to be able to have what you need to keep it clean and be comfortable. Similarly, it's one thing to have to have a job and another to be able to show up to it feeling good and looking presentable. Or for refugee children to be able to walk to school in the snow in a pair of sturdy boots.
So now, even though the drive is over, Utah Valley Refugees will continue to give out what it has received to the refugees in need. The group is also still asking for donations and help, because even though the drive is over, the need for refugees is never over.
The ongoing need
Utah Valley Refugees currently serves around 50 refugee families throughout Utah County. Refugees who have come from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela and various countries in Africa. Most of them fled war, tyranny or a hundred other horrors. They came with spouses or carrying children. Many of them showed up with not much more than the clothes on their back. They also bring with them their own ingrained cultural and religious practices.
In addition to gathering donations, Bagalwa said the group is still facing some other unique challenges that comes with serving refugees from all over the world. Many of the refugees have trouble with the food from the food banks here. It's so foreign to them that they don't know how to cook it or eat it. Other refugees are practicing Muslims and have certain restrictions on what they can eat or wear.
But Bagalwa said the group is dedicated to helping refugees feel like they are at home. "I've learned to just respect it," Bagalwa said. "And help them adapt. And just help them feel welcome. I will move the earth if I have to, to help you find that ... comfort from where you called home."
Starting a life in a new world is never easy. There are new climates, language barriers and entirely different cultures. Some of these refugees have come from genuine villages in remote locations. Add to that the trauma of what has happened to them, and transitioning can be extremely difficult. It takes time, effort, and the support of others to to do it.
Bagalwa believes that with the help of the community here in Utah, it can be done. "You just have to do your part and I think this is me doing my part," she said. "And then give other people the chance to do their own part. I am a big believer in numbers. If we come together we can go farther and help more people."
How to help
There are many ways to can help Utah Valley Refugees. You can sign up support refugees families, help them find housing or volunteer in any of the group's many programs. You can also donate in many different ways, whether with money directly, donate in-kind donations, or by donating your time.
Two years ago, when Ukrainian refugees began to arrive here in Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox urged encouraged Utahns to give their time to help refugees. "Now we need volunteers who can tutor English, help families navigate their local services, and decipher transit maps," he said. "... Invite your new neighbors to dinner. Help them plant spring gardens. Include them in community picnics or walking groups."
That invitation still stands.
