Nolasque Balitebya began working for the IRC as a Swahili interpreter in 2019 shortly after he and his family were resettled in Missoula by the IRC. His 'can-do' attitude and eagerness to support newly arriving refugee families stood out to all staff at the IRC, and he was promoted to Caseworker in 2021. Now, Nolasque has begun the next step in his IRC journey. In March, Nolasque began serving as a Roving Direct Services Program Manager for IRC's Reception and Placement (R&P) programs. We sat down with Nolasque to reflect on his journey with the IRC in Missoula and what he is looking forward to next.

It was October 16, and there were over 280 people filling into SOMArts gallery in downtown San Francisco. This was GenR’s Force for Change event, where there was an outdoor bar with a DJ, and a huge gallery space full of tables of cookies and kabobs from Afghanistan, salads from Burma, and sweets from Syria. In a black box room off to the side of the gallery, there were huge photographs, propped up on easels, of refugees girls ages 8 through 11 embodying what they want to be when they grow up. The girls, who live all around the Bay Area, were posing as doctors, lawyers, and rock stars, in culmination of an empowerment workshop called The Vision Project, which was formed in collaboration with IRC. Guests milled around, observing, eating, enjoying themselves, and then they were gathered around a stage in the main gallery.  This was where the speech was going to take place.

Our impact: From supporting refugee youth in their next step of their academic careers to continuing to provide life-changing case management support to asylum-seeking families, the IRC in San Diego is pleased to share a brief look into what we have accomplished this Spring.

Over 70 sponsor groups came together in December to make the holiday season a bit brighter for newly arrived refugee families through the IRC in Salt Lake City's holiday gift drive, Light One Candle.  Take a look at some of our wonderful sponsors and what we were able to accomplish this year!

After dedicating 20 years of service to the IRC in all, IRC Virginia Executive Director Harriet Kuhr announced she would retire at the end of 2024. We sat down with her for an interview in December to get some final reflections on refugee resettlement in Charlottesville and her impactful nonprofit career.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of the IRC. Read about just a few of the volunteers who give their time.

Early in February, the IRC in Salt Lake City hosted a Legislative Briefing on Utah’s participation in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), in partnership with Catholic Community Services, the Refugee Services Office, and sponsored by Senator Daniel Thatcher.

Learn more about GenR: NY's recent Leadership Committee meeting