By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green is one of 12 communities across the nation chosen to be part of a Rural Welcoming Initiative. The goal is to continue Welcome BG’s efforts to help the community see immigrants as neighbors, not foreigners.
In Bowling Green, more than 1,200 residents are immigrants. More than 61% of those residents speak a language other than English.
Welcome BG tries to be a bridge connecting the diverse immigrant community with existing residents so that common ground and shared leadership can be realized, according to Mojabeng Kamala, director of Welcome BG
“They are your neighbors,” Kamala said of immigrants. “This is not a political issue. This is a humanity issue.”
Immigrants and refugees often come to the U.S. searching for safety and opportunities for education, employment, and to be part of a community. While some make their new homes in more populous cities, many follow opportunities in smaller cities and more rural parts of the country.
According to Welcoming America, rural communities often have much to offer these newcomers – steady employment, a reasonable cost of living, a sense of belonging, and for many, the chance to live in a place that is similar in size to where they come from.
Kamala wants to continue improving community conversations between U.S. born residents and their foreign born neighbors.
“I want people to talk to other people” at work, at the grocery store, at church, in their neighborhoods, she said.
Unlike some “welcoming” efforts elsewhere, Bowling Green’s program has strong support from city officials, Kamala said. Some welcoming programs have folded due to lack of support from elected officials, she said.
“That part of it is crucial,” Kamala said.
As an example of city support, Kamala said when the city government recently updated its website, all of the material was in English only. After Kamala mentioned that to Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter, the city added areas to click on for the same information in different languages.
The national nonprofit Welcoming America chose Welcome BG because of its commitment to building a more welcoming and inclusive community.
Welcoming America will provide Welcome BG with technical assistance, coaching, and access to ongoing peer learning opportunities to increase its capacity to create and implement more welcoming policies and practices. Participants will also be granted membership to the Welcoming Network that includes over 300 local government and nonprofit members.
The 12 communities selected for the Rural Welcoming Initiative are:
- City of Gunnison, Colorado
- City of North Liberty, Iowa
- City of Owatonna, Minnesota
- City of Rose Creek, Minnesota
- Comunidades Sin Fronteras, Moses Lake, Washington
- Empowering Families, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
- Immigrant Allies, Crawfordsville, Indiana
- Project FINE, Winona, Minnesota
- Town of Mansfield, Connecticut
- Welcome BG, Bowling Green, Ohio
- West Central Initiative, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
- YMCA at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. Through the Welcoming Network, the organization works to help communities develop the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion.
