Ukrainian Immigration Workshops

The Diocese of Olympia Refugee Resettlement Office (RRO) has many programs and services that help immigrants adjust to their new lives in the United States. One of the programs are immigration workshops to help Ukrainians navigate our country’s immigration processes.

The workshop guides recent humanitarian parolees through the process of changing their status and guides them toward a path to citizenship. During the workshop, attendees can ask questions and seek information they need to know for this new pathway. The workshop is run by Larisa Podrogny, who works with the Life of Freedom organization in Bellevue. Larisa is an immigration specialist who is able to answer questions any attendee might have about the process. These free workshops are run monthly throughout the year to assist incoming new groups of humanitarian parolees and refugees.

Employment Succeses

Befiker, a refugee from Ethiopia, shows the strong work ethics and determination to become financially independent of many refugees. One striking quality that became apparent to me right away is his remarkable drive and determination. Just two days after our initial meeting, Befiker was interviewed by Gate Gourmet and promptly hired.

Befiker confidently states, "Computers come naturally to me," and he aspires to take relevant classes and eventually work at Microsoft. He possesses the ability to effectively advocate for his aspirations, demonstrating a clear sense of purpose and ambitious plans.

Abdul, a refugee from Afghanistan, arrived in this country with his wife and four sons. Back in Afghanistan, Abdul served in the Presidential Protective Services (PPS) for a commendable 12 years as part of the President's security detail.

With a keen interest in security, Abdul has found employment at PalAmerican Security and has diligently earned all necessary certificates, completed relevant courses, and fulfilled mandatory training requirements to do his job well.

Notably, Abdul consistently maintains a positive demeanor and expresses deep gratitude to all those who have supported him during this significant life transition.

Job Search Success Story

Hussein is a refugee from Iraq who arrived in May 2022, and was immediately enrolled in our Job Search program. Hussein had worked as a painter and construction worker for 10 years while he was living in Jordan. He wanted to continue painting or learning more construction skills, so we suggested work in Apartment Maintenance - a job that is always available and has decent pay.

RRO applied to jobs and reached out to companies that were a reasonable bus ride from where Hussein was living. A local company named LAG Enterprises responded enthusiastically, as they were already looking to support refugees, but had not found a way. Despite Hussein's limited English, they saw his experience and positive attitude and were willing to train and work through the language barrier.

Hussein has been well-supported by his manager, Lisa, and enjoys being able to gain even more skills as he renovates apartments, keeps the grounds clean, and takes care of tenant work orders. Lisa and Hussein communicate through the Google Translate app when needed, and RRO brought an Arabic interpreter to help in-person with hiring paperwork and any miscommunications that came up.

Hussein is strongly motivated to improve his English and has been taking evening classes at South Seattle College as well as having Saturday sessions with an RRO volunteer, focusing especially on English phrases that are relevant to his work. For the future, he wants to continue to expand the skills he can bring to work and study areas like electricity and tiling.

LAG Enterprises was impressed with Hussein's work performance and RRO's support throughout hiring and his first months, and even hired a second refugee from RRO's job search program in August. We are glad to see Hussein supported by his manager, the company, and volunteers - and to see his hard work and determination pay off!