After months of planning and coordination between multiple community organizations, the International Center of Kentucky hosted approximately 400 members of the immigrant and refugee community at their annual World Refugee Day celebration at Owensboro Christian Church on Saturday. While World Refugee Day is officially recognized by the United Nations on June 20, organizations throughout the world celebrate the holiday on various dates.
Anna Allen, site director for the International Center said she has been involved in the planning of World Refugee Day for the past four years and was quite pleased with Saturday’s turn out.
“This is amazing,” Allen said. “This is a day our community can come together and share their culture with the community and our community partners can give out information and build ties with our clients. It builds our community and makes us stronger.”
From the time they entered the parking lot, children and families from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds were made to feel welcome and given a reason to celebrate.
Members of the Daviess County Public Schools were set up in front of the Exploration Station bus offering children the opportunity to “punch a prize” in order to take home a complimentary board game or hula hoop. The interactive wifi bus was later set up for children to experience reading and learning on an entirely different level, especially those without internet access.
Upon entering the church, multiple booths were set up from various community partners including the Owensboro Police Department, Daviess County Public Library and Owensboro Health Foundation who provided and fitted the children with bike helmets.
Every effort was made to create a comfort level of cultural acceptance. A large quantity of chicken that was donated by Tyson Foods was prepared traditionally, although there were many other American food items as well, such as spaghetti, pizza and fresh fruit.
Executive Director for the Owensboro Human Relations Commission, Kaitlin Nonweiler, has worked in the community with the English-learning population for the past five years. Nonweiler’s focus at this event was providing the entertainment. This came in the form of a Chin National Day traditional bamboo dance that young women performed using makeshift PVC pipe.
Nonweiler said through her knowledge of various cultures and their traditions, and by reaching out to former students, they were able to help add an authentic feel to the event.
