Stories
Filipino Immigrant Family Finds Success in San Mateo County
Althea Avice de Guzman Althea Avice de Guzman grew up in the Philippines with her father and siblings. Shortly after she was born, her mother left the Philippines and emigrated to carve out a slice of the American Dream. In Chicago, Althea’s mom worked odd jobs from gift-wrapping at the… Read More
Mexican Immigrant Becomes Special Ed Teacher in San Francisco
Edith Arias As a teen in the late 1980s, Edith Arias moved from México to San Francisco with her mother and two siblings. Her mother was fleeing domestic violence and economic insecurity; in San Francisco she had family to lean on. But the transition wasn’t easy. Arias struggled to learn… Read More
South Korean Family Thrives in San Mateo County
Marian Lee When Marian Lee was six years old, her family left South Korea to begin a new life in America. They made a home in Daly City, a melting pot with a track record of welcoming newcomers. “Our public school teachers went the extra mile to accommodate immigrant children… Read More
Mexican Family Starts Business and Contributes to San Mateo County
Marilu Bedolla-Jaimes In 2000, when four-year-old Marilu Bedolla-Jaimes relocated from Mexico to the Bay area, the only English word she knew was “doggy.” Her parents, who had come to America for better economic opportunities, were unsure of how to address their most basic needs, such as securing housing, a bank… Read More
Ethiopian Immigrant Couple Start Home-Care Business in Minnesota
Abraham & Aster Giorgis DaluOwners of A&A Reliable Home Health Care In the 1970s, Abe and Aster Giorgis Dalu attended the same high school in Ethiopia — then, a decade later, they reunited by chance in the United States, where they had both settled. Now married, the pair run A&A… Read More
South Asian Couple with Refugee Roots Starts Elder Care Service Business in Minnesota
Souk & Youa HerOwners of Elder Care Day Services Souk and Youa Her are high-school sweethearts who bonded over their families’ shared background as Hmong refugees: Souk was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, while Youa was born in America soon after her parents left a Laotian refugee… Read More
Bhutanese Refugee Becomes Serial Entrepreneur in Saint Paul
Tilak PokwalOwner of Groceries & Nepali Kitchen When Tilak Pokwal was 14 years old, his Nepali family fled their home in Bhutan amidst a wave of ethnic cleansing. Tilak spent the next 18 years in a refugee camp in Nepal, leaving only to get a college education in Kathmandu,… Read More
Congolese Immigrant and Entrepreneur “Sews” Hope in Washtenaw County
Esperance MalongaOwner of U4Hope In 2011, at 34, Esperance Malonga was granted an American diversity visa. It was the fifth time she’d entered the lottery. “When I won, it felt like a dream come true,” said the Congolese native. “I’ve always wanted to raise a family and maybe even… Read More
New Americans in Washtenaw County
In January 2022, NAE merged with the American Immigration Council to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure immigrants’ ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Read More
Congolese Refugee Helps Others Plan for Their Future in Washtenaw County
Deborah NganduRelationship Banker In 2011 Deborah Ngandu accompanied her husband, Alain, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the U.S., where he was pursuing his master’s degree in clinical research at Mayo Clinic Graduate School. They had planned to return home, but in 2012 everything changed. That year, Alain’s… Read More
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