A nonprofit celebrates the ‘resilience’ of Utah’s refugee women

Before Magali Nieto stepped up on a makeshift stage to receive a certificate to mark her learning English, she exchanged quick hugs with her peers – women who, like her, are recent arrivals to the United States.

The last person she hugged was Samira Harnish, executive director of Women of the World, a Utah nonprofit that helps refugees like Nieto.

“These certificates are more than a piece of paper,” Harnish told Nieto and 31 other recipients at an awards ceremony Saturday at the Salt Lake County Government Center. “This is the moment you shine.”

The awards luncheon celebrated the “resilience, achievements and stories” of these refugee women, according to the group’s news release. Some, Harnish said, earned scholarships or admission to Utah schools. Others, like Nieto, were celebrating their journey of learning English.

Founded in 2009, Women of the World provides “customized” mentorship to Utah’s displaced and migrant women — through career coaching, conversational English courses and access to education.

Nieto, who left Colombia two years ago to come to Utah, said Women of the World made her feel like she “wasn’t alone.” With her family and friends still in Colombia, Nieto said she at first “didn’t know where to go.”

“There are many reasons why many people [come] to this country,” Nieto said. “Mostly, it’s to try to find a better life. To build something. Because if you don’t have that chance in your country, you have to leave.”

Nieto said she was able to find help at Women of the World. The group, she said, “offers you a family. … It’s a general inclusion into the community.”

Her first interaction with the nonprofit, Nieto said, was attending their English classes. Later, after the group helped her validate her Colombian business degree, Nieto attended digital marketing classes at Mountainland Technical College — the first time since arriving in the United States that she studied a subject other than English.

Now, as a case manager and housing specialist at the Asian Association of Utah, Nieto said she keeps in mind Women of the World’s mission, “[to] empower the client … to be self-sufficient.”

As Kenza Hamach picked through the array of Venezuelan tequeños and beef-filled Börek, she looked on with pride at the award recipients as they snapped pictures on the stage. Hamach said she wasn’t there to celebrate anyone in particular, but came to honor the women recipients “as a whole.”

“It’s nice to see everyone from different countries gathering together, happy and talking about how women can … be successful,“ Hamach said.

Harnish said the nonprofit is a “guide” and safe place, where Utah’s immigrant community can come to “at any time.”

“They are starting from zero to rebuild their life here,” said Harnish. “They know that [Women of the World] is an organization where they [can] feel very comfortable.”

Harnish, who immigrated to the United States from Iraq in 1979 to study engineering, said her first interactions with classmates and teachers were hostile — and many would tell her to “go home.” Now, Harnish sees her role at the organization not just as a motivator, but as an advocate for women like her.

“I am not only educating those women,” Harnish said. “I’m educating all Utahns.”