Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month - Perspectives from AAPI Waco Small Businesses
By Jaja Chen
The month of May marks Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Throughout the years, my perspective on what it means to be Asian American - Taiwanese American specifically - has expanded. As a child of Taiwanese immigrants growing up originally in Norman, Oklahoma, I was often one of a few children in my school that identified as Asian American. I dreaded bringing the food my mom would cook for lunch at school as I wanted to be like all the other students in my classes - eating sandwiches, chips, and “American food.”
Updated: 6:28 PM EDT May 4, 2021 Terry Stackhouse Following a surprise announcement from President Joe Biden Monday, refugee resettlement workers in Maine are developing plans to help as many people as possible before the close of this fiscal year in September. President Bided faced sharp criticism last month when he announced his administration would maintain the cap of 15,000 annual admissions for refugees, a historically low number instituted by former President Trump. Biden raised the annual cap for this year to 62,500 on Monday and pledged to raise the cap next fiscal year to 125,000. “People in the refugee camps are there for a lifetime, some of them,” said Safiya Khalid. The Lewiston City Councilor considers herself lucky. As a child, Khalid spent three years in a refugee camp in Kenya before resettlement in the U.S. She’s pleased with President Biden’s decision to quadruple the refugee cap. She’s one of the many who pushed back on Biden’s
WBOI News Intern Parnia Mazhar s story on providing services during the pandemic.
In February 2021, the city of Fort Wayne distributed $398,000 to seven non-profit organizations to provide support and assistance with the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations include Wellspring, YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne, Healthier Moms & Babies, The League for the Blind & Disabled, Health Visions Midwest, Community Transportation Network and Amani Family Services.
With financial assistance from the Fort Wayne community, Amani Family Services, a private nonprofit organization in Fort Wayne which supports multicultural families and individuals, has been working hard to ensure these populations receive the support they need.
Amani received the second highest grant, at $106,811, which will be allocated toward helping around 300 immigrants and refugees in northeast Indiana. The organization plans to do this through hiring a case manager who will help with outreach and educational activities, an