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Promising Practices

Welcoming America has collected an archive of promising practices from the field. Filter by sector or strategy to find promising practices used by organizations to build support and welcome for refugees.

Church World Service Facilitates "Friendly Conversation" Between Students and Refugees

Last fall, Church World Service in Durham began facilitating "friendly conversation" between Duke students and local refugees with the launch of Dardasha ("Friendly Conversation" in English), an Arabic  exchange program. Students and families meet to practice Arabic and English as well as expand their cultural knowledge. The program has proven popular with both refugees and students and has expanded this semester to include twenty-two Arabic-speaking refugees from Iraq and Sudan and twenty-three Duke students.

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International Institute of Minnesota's Mentoring Program

International Institute of Minnesota’s mentoring program began over a decade ago after a local Somali woman had her life threatened.  This was shortly after September 11th, and there was a growing community need to bring people together to build greater cross-cultural understanding and decrease anxiety.  The mentoring program began by uniting women of different cultures and faiths, but it soon expanded to help connect new arrival families with longer-term receiving communities members.

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