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SALT LAKE CITY — Women of the World now operate with a 16-person staff, but early on founder Samira Harnish worked alone. But she was driven by a desire to connect with displaced women and offer them community and resources.
Harnish said WOW is "not just an organization; it's a beacon of hope, a sanctuary for forcibly displaced women who have faced unimaginable hardships," in the group's 2023 impact report.
"Our belief is simple yet profound: to care about refugees is to recognize the divinity in the eyes of the most vulnerable, and to engage. Instead of looking away," Harnish told the Deseret News in a phone interview.
Since 2009, she's worked to engage with refugees. She went from "having an office in (her Honda) Pilot for seven years" to being able to offer refugees language classes, career development resources, case management and create a bustling community full of women who want to help.
According to Harnish, one of the biggest barriers refugees face when they settle in the U.S. is language, both in a work setting and in daily tasks. Women of the World addresses this struggle through English classes. Practical English, she said, will help women looking to feel more confident in going to their children's school, grocery shopping, attending a doctor's appointment, and anything else that arises in their day to day lives.
In 2023 alone, the organization provided 336 English classes, 32 workshop sessions, 39 scholarships for higher education totaling $84,238.28, started 61 jobs and recorded an economic impact of $1.8 million, reaching over 1,500 refugees in 2023.
Harnish told the Deseret News that she'd always wanted to help women, "refugee or not." And like many people in the nonprofit sphere, she said she isn't in it for the money. Her reward takes the form of smiles, thoughtful prayer, transforming lives and her clients paying it forward. On the numerous occasions that her clients have expressed a desire to pay her, Harnish encouraged them to pay it forward, to use their newfound skills and resources to help other people.
When she started the organization in 2009, one roadblock to welcoming refugees was the notion that refugees were going to drain resources and money away from the people already in these communities. But in the nearly 15 years since the organization's beginning, Harnish said she has seen a palpable difference. Utahns, she said, have become more welcoming toward refugees, and the more she's able to educate them, the more they show up. They volunteer, engage with refugees and donate to the organization.
For her dedication to helping refugees, Harnish was awarded the Nansen Refugee Award in 2018 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In 2019, she was awarded the Global Citizenship Hero Award by the American Red Cross for her work with Women of the World.
Harnish told the Deseret News that she is often asked to bring her services elsewhere, where other refugees are looking for the sort of help she provides. As her organization grows, she hopes to expand into more of the U.S. to serve more refugee communities.
For now, she continues to concentrate her efforts on expanding her client base in Utah and running successful fundraising events like WOW's annual fashion show. Despite showcasing different fashions, the show is more about allowing the women to show off their cultures and to feel confident doing it.
The idea stemmed from a call with one of her earlier clients. The woman described being mugged and told to stop wearing her cultural dress by a stranger. Through the fashion show, locals get to learn about their new neighbors' cultures and celebrate one another.
The 2024 Fashion Show and Cultural Gala will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, at the Zions Technology Center.
