International Institute of New England

Uplift Women and Girls ♀️✨ Join us for our WILLOW Fund Breakfast Panel on Wednesday, June 10 at 7:30 a.m at the WBUR CitySpace. Hear from a panel with personal and professional expertise in the challenges and opportunities encountered by refugee and immigrant women and girls in our communities. The panel includes Ana Hebra Flaster, Author, a Cuban immigrant, published author, and journalist, Yves Salomon-Fernandez, a Haitian immigrant and President of the Urban College of Boston, Mariana Siqueira, Talent Acquisition Lead, Triumvirate Environmental, and Alexandra Weber, IINE’s Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer.

🎟️ Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the individual ticket price has dropped from $75 to $50!

🌟 Current students or nonprofit employees can purchase a ticket for only $25!

Your attendance helps support IINE’s WILLOW Fund (Women’s Initiative for Learning, Liberation, Opportunity & Well-Being), which works to remove barriers that impede refugee women and girls’ access to health education, safety, and employment.

Learn more about our WILLOW Fund and join us for the WILLOW Fund Breakfast Panel to improve the resettlement experience of immigrant women and girls: https://hubs.li/Q04jYgFM0

📽️ Join us in celebrating Pride & World Refugee Awareness Month during Belmont World Film's 24th International Film Series. The theme of the film festival, “Thicker than Water,” explores the ties that bind us together in our humanity across cultures and continents.

View three films showcasing moving and diverse immigrant stories from various corners of the world at West Newton Cinema.

-Enzo, Mon. June 1 at 7PM, a drama about a 16-year-old boy who defies his bourgeois family’s expectations by starting a masonry apprenticeship where he meets a charismatic Ukrainian colleague.

-Lost Land, Mon. June 8 at 7PM, a film about the perilous journey from Bangladesh to Malaysia of four-year-old Shafi and his nine-year-old sister to reunite with family. This first-ever Rohingya-language film, featuring an all-Rohingya cast, is the winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.

-Promised Sky, Mon. June 15 at 7PM, a film following three women from Côte d’Ivoire, living together in Tunisia out of status who take in a young girl washed ashore after a shipwreck.

Each impactful film will be followed by a discussion with professionals with various expertise, including human rights and film.

We are honored to co-present these films alongside Belmont World Film and Belmont Against Racism. Come by our table on Mon. June 8th and learn more about how you can support refugees and immigrants in our communities.

🎟️ Buy tickets today: https://hubs.li/Q04jnSdY0

belmontworldfilm2026.eventive.org

📣 Register for our WILLOW Fund Breakfast Panel on Wednesday, June 10 at 7:30 a.m at the WBUR CitySpace. Join us for an inspiring, educational event, bringing together a panel of expert speakers to provide insights into the challenges and opportunities encountered by newly-arriving women in our communities.

🔊 Meet the panelists:

-Ana Hebra Flaster, Author a Cuban immigrant, published author, and journalist

-Yves Salomon-Fernandez, a Haitian immigrant and President of the Urban College of Boston

-Mariana Siqueira, Talent Acquisition Lead, Triumvirate Environmental

-Alexandra Weber, IINE’s Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer

🎟️ TICKET PRICE DROP 🎟️ Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the individual ticket price has dropped from $75 to $50!

✨ Current students or nonprofit employees can purchase a ticket for only $25!

The event will help support IINE’s WILLOW Fund (Women’s Initiative for Learning, Liberation, Opportunity & Well-Being), which works to improve refugee women and girls’ resettlement experiences by removing barriers that impede their access to health education, safety, and employment. Learn more about our WILLOW Fund, and empower refugee women and girls and join us for the WILLOW Fund Breakfast Panel: https://hubs.li/Q04j01S90

Delivering Safety 🛞 Earlier this year, representatives from the City of Manchester NH Health Department spoke to our Congolese Women’s Group about the importance of fitting cars with car seats for child safety. Following this workshop, the Manchester Health Department staff delivered and installed 15 car seats for our refugee and immigrant clients.

We thank community partners, like the Manchester Health Department, for helping to ensure everyone in the community is safe.

Happy Haitian Heritage Month! 🇭🇹 ✨ Across our sites in Boston and Lowell, staff, clients, and community members gathered to celebrate Haitian Flag Day. At our Boston office, the event's MC, Lead Case Specialist Rodeney spoke movingly about Haiti's many contributions to the world and about IINE's support of the Haitian community in New England. Lowell Lead Case Specialist Andrins brought the house down with her rendition of the U.S. and Haitian national anthems as well as a performance of a romantic song remembered from her youth in Haiti. The celebration also included beautiful words from our Haitian staff members, a performance by Kompa singer Celestino, incredible Haitian cuisine provided by Tanga Vaina Laurent and a demonstration of how the Kompa is danced by Clervenson Moise with Angela, who also invited some staff members to come up and bust a move.

In Lowell, clients and staff paraded with their flags, dressed in their best blue and red, to City Hall for an official flag raising ceremony. As the flag was raised, Lead Case Specialist Andrins sang the national anthems of Haiti and the U.S. Then Lead Case Specialist Pierre and former IINE client and Suitcase Stories® teller Efdjeen spoke about the history and importance of Haitian Flag Day. Case Specialist Guervens led a moment of silence for victims of gang violence in Haiti, and IINE Board Member Belinda Juran and Lowell Vice Mayor Paul Ratha Yem presented IINE with a certificate recognizing our work on the city's Haitian Flag Day celebration. ❤️💙

Hear from our panelists ✨📣 Ahead of our virtual “On the Ground and In the Courts: Responding to Federal Attacks on Refugee Protections” on Thurs., May 28 at 12 p.m., a few of our panelists provided insights into the many harmful effects of the federal administration's changes to U.S. refugee policy. 📆 Register today for to learn more from these experts and to discover ways you can help: https://hubs.li/Q04hykP00

We're Hiring! 📢 Join a team that's passionate about welcoming new community members and helping to unlock the limitless potential of our refugee and immigrant neighbors. From English language instruction to data entry, there are many ways to support this important mission.

View our open roles and apply today: https://hubs.li/Q04hmj9P0

Becoming Healthcare Professionals 🩺 💙 Join us in congratulating the nine graduates of our Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program. 🎉🎉 Before graduation, the students took their state exams and three have already received their CNA licenses. We are proud of the students' achievements and look forward to seeing their future successes as healthcare professionals!

Learn more about our CNA program: https://hubs.li/Q04hkWpz0

Advancing Skills ✅ ✅ Join us in congratulating the latest cohort of our ESOL for Direct Service Providers (DSP) graduates! This training program, which teaches job-focused English skills, is offered in partnership with The Moore Center a service center for people with intellectual, developmental, and personal challenges. This was our first ESOL 4 Healthcare partnership in which community members participated in English classes with Moore Center staff. All of the 13 participants, who come from eight different countries, completed the class and interviewed for positions at the Center!