The Vision Project
Resettled refugee girls taking Oakland by storm
Challenge
Hundreds of thousands of refugee and asylee girls have been resettled in the U.S., and yet systemic barriers of racial, gender, and class oppression, among others, present real barriers and threats for these girls to stay safe, step into their full power and potential, and to access educational and professional options in the U.S.
Trusted Partners: International Rescue Committee Northern California
“RC brings professionalism wrapped in a cloak of warmth and humanity. It is this magical combination that has led to successful programming for more than 45 girls from over 9 countries, with incredible community support, including over $85,000 in local donations. Through the partnership of RC and IRC Nor Cal, the community believes in this program and the girls receive an experience filled with hope and future ambition. The photos of these girls envisioning their future selves as doctors, marine biologists, and rock stars speak for themselves!”
— Karen Ferguson, Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee, Northern California
Response
In 2017, Resistance Communications C partnered with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to adapt our global Vision Not Victim program into the Vision Project, a series of creative workshops to support resettled refugee girls living in the US to connect to their power and passions, learn about an array of professional opportunities and how to access them, be mentored, and use collaboratively created media to transform how their city views and values resettled refugees.
Impact
Through the Vision Project, 45 resettled refugee girls – from over 9 countries, speaking 7 languages - learned critical life skills and information about their rights, their diverse possibilities for the future, and connected to mentors from their community and professional opportunities, and a support network of other resettled refugee girls. They shared their experiences and visions with the Oakland community in multiple ways, including through media exhibitions that raised the needs and priorities of resettled refugee girls, engaged the mayor’s office, and raised the visibility of IRC’s work throughout Northern California. Over $85,000 in donations was also raised.
