Forum - 2022 01 07
“EMPOWERING REFUGEE WOMEN”
JANUARY 7, 2022, 9:30 a.m. via Zoom
*Zoom meeting link will be sent out by Jan. 5th to the women on our CWU email list.
If you are NOT on that list, but would like to participate, please contact Marilyn Stoops at mstoops@swcp.com
and she will add you to the list for this program.
Church Women United, an ecumenical Christian women’s group, will meet on Friday, January 7, 2022, at 9:30 via Zoom. The theme will be “Empowering Refugee Women” and focus on the mission of Umoja Abq. Chantal Muhumure, founder of Umoja Abq, will share her experiences of growing up in Rwanda, then moving to ABQ in 2017, where she found other refugee women who were having the same challenges as she did. She is now a leader of this women’s empowerment organization that is working with community organizations across the city. Volunteers are needed, especially young women who are looking for specific volunteer ways that make a difference in people’s lives. A Zoom link will be sent out by Jan. 5th. If you would like to participate, contact Marilyn Stoops at 505-265-8358 or email her at mstoops@swcp.com.
The mission of Umoja Abq is to “empower refugee women with tools and resources to enhance and develop their skills through education to successfully integrate and become self sufficient and independent into American society while still maintaining respective cultural values.”
Chantal Muhumure, founder of Umoja Abq, after struggling, but being successful in obtaining an extensive education in Rwanda, moved to Albuquerquein2017. She found that many refugee women have the same challenges that she experienced which gives her the passion to empower women in education and vocational training and how they can integrate in a new country. She is now a leader of a women’s empowerment organization that is working with community organizations across the city—including St. Timothy Lutheran Church women who are doing awe-inspiring work with Umoja. Chantal, as Executive Director, and Debby Morrell, their Board President, presented a program recently at Manzano del Sol that will be the basis for our January CWU meeting. There will also be an opportunity to learn more ways that each of us can support and make a difference in these families” lives. If you want a preview, you may visit umojaabq.org.
Our CWU sisters think this could appeal to younger women who are looking for some specific volunteer ways that make a difference in people’s lives, so take a look at your congregation and specifically invite the women of all ages to this special program to learn how they might help Umoja Abq!