Today marks the last day of ideas inside Minnesota, where ARC has its international headquarters. For the past couple of weeks we’ve been reaching out to local refugee communities – and the people who are doing the doable for and with them every day of the year.
For our last local idea (for now!), we partnered with Minneapolis-based Eat for Equity, a volunteer powered organization that brings different people together to share one delicious community meal. Hosted by four former refugees – from very different parts of the world – this bountiful dinner was an opportunity to connect with people who may have otherwise never crossed paths. And, to try some delectable, homemade dishes from around the world.
Hosted at PAIKKA in St. Paul, over 200 people joined us in celebration. From newly arrived Somali refugees like the Mohamud family to immigrants from Egypt to neighbors born in Minnesota, each table was filled with smiling faces and eager learners, all excited to get to know each other a little better.
The cooks for this four-course meal are all immigrants or former refugees themselves – from Somalia, Laos, Egypt, and Iraq. They’re not professional chefs – in fact, most of them were taught these recipes by their mothers, fathers, and grandparents. But dozens of Eat for Equity volunteers pitched in to help them serve our hundreds of hungry guests – something none of them had ever done before!
The first course was from Somalia – cilantro chapatti. The next was Chicken Laab from Laos, then Koshari with spicy tomato sauce from Egypt. And finally, to top it all off, a flaky filo dough dessert from Iraq called Kahi. Before every course, each cook – Nasra, Vilay, Mo, and Shaker – introduced their dish and explained its significance to their lives.
It may seem simple, but gathering people to share in a meal, to break bread together, is one of the most powerful ways to build community. At the end of the night, everyone left with full stomachs, new friends, and a feeling of goodwill and generosity. We can’t think of a better way to wrap up our time in Minnesota.
Tomorrow, we’re going back across the Atlantic, doing the doable inside the world’s newest refugee camp – Bidi Bidi, Uganda.
