SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The “Women of the World” charity was started by Samira Harnish to help refugee women find a new life. Samira had a very successful career in Utah’s tech sector until she met struggling refugee women trying to find a new home in Utah.
She says most of the refugees had been “forcibly displaced” from their home countries, .
“They have been forced to leave their country because of war, violence, oppression, and poverty, when they get here, we need to create a safe space for them to learn and belong as they start a new journey in life,” she said.
Their clients come from all over the world, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Central and South America, Venezuela, Columbia, and Mexico.
The new journey starts with education. Natalie Davis teaches weekly three-hour intensive English courses to the refugee women as a first step to becoming independent. But the center provides so much more than education.
“When the women come to our office and when they come through our door, they call our place a second home. Why? Because of a feeling of belonging, they know that someone here knows their name, someone is here to talk to them and to serve them,” Samira said.
“The fact that we have fixed resources here and are willing to be that support system for them means so much to them,” said Camille Morgenstern, the center’s Community Development Director. “We walk with them as they take those steps towards independence.”
Women of the World has graduated more than eight-hundred refugee women from the program.
“For me, this is my payment, this is my happiness, seeing those women reaching their goals because after all, they are human beings just like you and I,” Samira said.
Every year, Women of the World holds its annual fashion show. It’s an opportunity for the refugee women to dress up in their traditional clothing and show off their confidence, their beauty, and their smiles with a new community of friends and supporters.
This year’s show brought in almost $250,000 in donations to the charity. Add to that a $500 “Pay It Forward” donation from Jennifer Tarazon of Mountain America Credit Union.
