Blog Archives

167 Jimmy Manyuru

1/28/2018

The eldest of eight children, Jimmy and his siblings played soccer down in the valley where they lived in Magadi, Kenya during his childhood. He attended high school in Nairobi, played rugby, and wished to study liberal arts, which led him to the US. In 2003 Jimmy came to attend Middlebury College in Vermont. His academic freedom led him to the field of Education. In 2016 he and his wife (also an educator) moved to Maine to work at Waynflete as the Associate Director of Student Life.
Jimmy Manyuru strives to create a welcoming culture that honors diversity within the school and the greater community. To learn more about the upcoming diversity summit Waynflete is hosting in April click here.

Music: Beres Hammond sings "I Feel Good."

nms_167_jimmy_manyuru_kenya_jan_28_2018.mp3
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166 Greta Lozada

1/21/2018

At the age of seven Greta, her mother and two brothers left their home and extended family in Venezuela and joined her father, who had come ahead, in Florida.
She grew up as an undocumented student in Miami and yet still figured out a strategy to work her way through college. She became a paralegal, finished her BA and brought all those experiences with her to Maine Law School, class of 2019.
Greta became a citizen in 2013 and takes her voting voice and advocacy very seriously. She uses her legal skills to assist others in vulnerable situations. At USM's law school she serves in the Refugee and Human Rights efforts through the Cumberland Law Clinic and also has taken other opportunities to learn immigration law (like her two weeks in Loredo, TX--see blog here). Her work is driven by love and understanding and she will continue on this upward trajectory until her goals are reached. She is no stranger to working hard to get to where she wants to be.

Music: Cubaneros "Y Me Siento Bien" ("Feeling Good" - Spanish version)

nms_166_greta_lozada_venezuela_jan_21_2018.mp3
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165 Ahmed Jasim

1/14/2018

Ahmed was born and raised in Iraq. He lived in Jordan, Syria, and was a college lecturer in Iraq and Libya before coming to the US in 2014 with his wife and four children. He has 17 years experience in the field of education with a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning and a Ph.D. in Sociology (in process) from Al Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya.
He presently works as a Parent and Community Specialist through the Multilingual and Multicultural Center in the Portland Public Schools serving the Arabic speaking community.
Beyond bringing the community together and helping his fellow new arrivals as a cultural broker and translator, he teaches Arabic and is a published author in the Union of Iraqi Writers and Poets. He loves how poetry makes him free, and shares such thoughts in this interview.
Additional resources for New Mainers which Ahmed recommends:
New England Arab American Organization
Learning Works
AmeriCorps

Music: Fairouz sings "Baghdad"

nms_165_ahmed_jasim_jan_14_2017.mp3
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164 Israa Enan

1/7/2018

Israa is a student and a poet. She and her family arrived in Maine in 2013. After attending Deering High School in Portland, she is now a Human Biology and Linguistics student at the University of Southern Maine.
Israa brings with her a love for Iraqi poetry and culture mixed together with a passion for justice. She invites women to express what is in their hearts by doing just that, herself, as a poet and performer of her spoken word pieces. (See her TEDxDirigo talk from 2017 here).
Israa recites her poem to Iraq personified called "Story of a Violin" and underscores the value of memorizing poetry which is shared among people in a culture or a movement. She feels that our words connect us with our beliefs and with each other.

Music: Shatha Hassoun sings "Ya Nabaat El Rihan" and Old Iraqi Song.

nms_164_israa_enan_iraq_january_7_2018.mp3
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167 Jimmy Manyuru

166 Greta Lozada

165 Ahmed Jasim

164 Israa Enan

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