Recently our employment counselor reached out to a school across the street from our office to see if they needed any teachers, and a wonderful partnership was formed.

Ms. Dee, who runs Appleseed Montessori in Richfield was excited to hear about the work of Arrive Ministries’ Employment Services. Her parents were the first political asylees from Sri Lanka who came to Minnesota in 1989.

Ms. Dee is very passionate about supporting and hiring people who are newer to the country. She remembers how her parents and two siblings had to leave everything and come to America with just two suitcases, because Sri Lanka wasn’t safe anymore.

I am hoping Anna and Fatoumata will be at Appleseed Montessori for a long time.

This past year, Appleseed Montessori hired two of our clients who after fleeing their homelands, were making a new life in Minnesota.

First Ms. Dee hired our Ukrainian client Anna, who has a Nursing degree and is passionate about children.

“Arrive Ministries’ staff was able to train Anna in for a few days until she became familiar with the routines of the classroom. We are very happy with that hire, she is a wonderful fit,” said Ms. Dee.

Since she had such a wonderful experience with Anna and appreciated her skills working in early education, Ms. Dee reached out to our employment counselor again asking for a candidate for a Toddler Aid position.

Our new client, Fatoumata from Guinea, just received asylum status and was in need of a job, as well as needing a daycare for her 4-year-old son. Ms. Dee offered Fatoumata a job and approved all the paperwork for her son to come to Appleseed Montessori.

“Fatoumata is very kind to the children and welcoming of the parents. Plus her son is thriving in my classroom and has made a lot of friends,” said Ms. Dee.

I could not be more grateful for my two new employees. It’s wonderful to be able to give them these opportunities.

It’s wonderful that Anna and Fatoumata are doing well, contributing greatly to the school, and their English is improving daily.

“I could not be more grateful for my two new employees,” said Ms. Dee. “It’s wonderful to be able to give them these opportunities. We love having a diverse staff; we are able to teach the children about different ethnicities around the world.”

We are grateful that Ms. Dee is giving these important opportunities to our refugee clients in need of a fresh start.

On   /   Stories of Hope