Djimon Hounsou In honor of Black History Month, we're recognizing the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable Black immigrants and refugees who've helped shape the vibrant tapestry of America. Today, we focus on award-winning French-American model and actor, Djimon Hounsou. Djimon Hounsou was born on April 24, 1964, in the Republic of Benin, formerly the Republic of Dahomey.…
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We were honored to have welcomed 31 New Americans from 19 countries while they took their citizenship oaths at the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Naturalization Ceremony in Buffalo this week. The Ceremony took place at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site downtown. The countries from which these new American citizens traveled are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Burma, Canada,…
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Update: We are no longer holding open donation hours on site. To coordinate your drop offs please contact our Donations Coordinator Cara at: donations@iibuff.org or call (716)883-1900 extension 329. Next week we’re resettling a new refugee family of six. Arriving from Malaysia, the family includes a grandparent and three young children, ranging from three to eight years old. We are…
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Claude McKay In honor of Black History Month, we continue to recognize the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable Black immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape the vibrant tapestry of America. Today, we recognize Jamaican-American poet and Civil Rights advocate Claude McKay. Festus Claudius “Claude” McKay was born in 1889 in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Born to farm-worker parents,…
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Our Professional Pathways program recently launched its new “Career Club,” an offshoot of our Job Club. The four-session career development series assists eligible professionally-focused refugee, immigrant, and asylee clients in returning to their former careers, continuing higher education, or transitioning into jobs that utilize their established skill sets. The workshops offer focused professional coaching and include: Sessions centered around searching…
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Hakeem Olajuwon Photo Credit: NBA.Com In honor of Black History Month, we’re recognizing the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable black immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape the vibrant tapestry of America. Today we focus on Nigerian-American NBA Hall of Famer, Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on January 21, 1963. His parents owned…
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Local non-profit Wheels for Workers 716 stopped by our location on Delaware Avenue to generously donate 18 bicycles, along with helmets and locks. They’ll now be given to our newly arrived refugee clients to help them get to and from work, school, grocery shopping, and other essential destinations. Wheels for Workers 716 assists re-settled families to integrate into our community…
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We were honored to have welcomed 49 New Americans from 22 countries while they took their citizenship oaths at the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Naturalization Ceremony in Buffalo this week. The countries from which these new American citizens traveled are: Burma, Canada, Congo, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Somalia, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine,…
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The International Institute of Buffalo has partnered with local artist and educator Aprille Nace to present an exhibition of artwork created by recent refugee arrivals to Western New York. Home is a collection of work that uses hand-painted ceramic tiles to evoke a sense of “home” for the refugees who created it. Nace recently brought various-sized ceramic tiles, acrylic paints, markers, glitter,…
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Guetty Felin In honor of Black History Month, we’re recognizing the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable black immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape the vibrant tapestry of America. Today we recognize Guetty Felin, a Haitian-American documentary filmmaker and curator who gained international accolades for her trailblazing work documenting the harsh realities of Haiti’s post-earthquake landscape. Born in…
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