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Lutheran agency offers a warm welcome to Sioux Falls, S.D.


A safe place to begin a new life


Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota has helped resettle more than 400 refugees a year, including Kalyan Dahal, an ethnic Nepali expelled from his home in Bhutan. Dahal and his wife, Bishu, arrived in the U.S. in 2009 and now have a baby.


By Jo Ann Dollard F


or people hungering for safety and hope—those fleeing religious, political and racial persecution in their countries of origin—the Center for New


Americans in Sioux Falls, S.D., is a valuable resource. Since 2000 the center, a program of Lutheran Social


Services (LSS) of South Dakota, has helped people from Burma, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and other countries launch new lives in the U.S. It provides community orientation and education; case manage- ment; English as a second language (ESL) classes; employment, interpreter and immigration services; and financial assistance for up to eight months. Tis work isn’t a new focus for the Lutheran agency.


Aſter World War II, beginning in 1948, LSS provided resettlement services for displaced Europeans. Today it is one of 16 Lutheran agencies in the U.S. that work in partnership with Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigra- tion and Refugee Service to provide such help. In 2014 the Center for New Americans resettled


424 individuals. Aſter one year, refugees served by the program will be eligible to adjust their status to become permanent residents. Aſter five years in the U.S., they


38 www.thelutheran.org


can apply for citizenship. Tose 424 newcomers


are among nearly 70,000 refugees who came to the U.S. in 2014, “plus an additional approximately 10,000 special immigrant visa applicants for Afghani and Iraqi people who assisted the U.S. military overseas,” said Terry Abeles, LIRS director for refugee resettlement. When they arrive, they “face a new culture, a new


‘They come with high expectations of their new life in a demo- cratic, free United States of America. They work hard to learn English, find work and become part of their new community.’


language and new laws,” said Deb Worth, LSS associate director. “Tey come with high expectations of their new life in a democratic, free United States of America. Tey work hard to learn English, find work and become part of their new community.” Tat was the case for Kalyan Dahal, 31, who with


his wife, Bishnu, arrived in the U.S. in December 2009. Born in Bhutan, he was 7 when his family moved to a refugee camp in eastern Nepal. Tey were among many ethnic Nepalis whose families had lived in southern Bhutan since the 1800s but were expelled from their homes beginning in 1991.


LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA


LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA


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