A WFDD Original
Raleigh Bailey and the Center for New North Carolinians Welcome Immigrants and Refugees
Raleigh Bailey is the founding director of the Center for New North Carolinians. He and his group work to help new immigrants in North Carolina have access to various resources and services. He sat down with WFDD Radio Camper Ian Olson.
When I first saw Mr. Bailey, he had a big smile and hat. He made great conversation. First I asked him why he feels it is important to help new immigrants.
Well, I think that we are a country that has built itself upon immigrants. You know, all of us, our ancestors were immigrants, and I think that's what makes our country and state strong. North Carolina is one of the, growing into one of the major resettlement states for immigrants.
He told me many interesting stories about missions he's done. In Rwanda, he reported the conditions in camps of people who have fled from the Congo. He also told me he became interested in a movement called Hizmet, which means service in Turkish. The group mainly consists of Muslims who feel the essence of Islam is to help people. I then asked him about services his group informs immigrants about.
Support services for newcomers, helping them get access to health services, figure out how the health services work. We have interpreters who provide interpretations. We do some leadership development training for newcomers, so they can figure out how our system works, just so they can get the idea and, you know, we do some employment placement.
His Center for New North Carolinians is a non-profit, and they just want to help people. He has also received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. This was awarded for his commitment to community service. For 88.5 WFDD Radio Camp, I'm Ian Olson.
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