OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Organizations in Winnebago County offer support, resources and a community for immigrant and refugee families.
SEPO is an Oshkosh organization that offers support and resources for immigrant and refugee families.
They have programming for adults and children, give out food, clothes and basic necessities, and foster community connection and education.
Executive director, Mushe Subulwa, says after federal funding cuts earlier this year, their work has become more difficult.
“What happened in January was a shock not only to us here at SEPO, but for all the organizations in the Fox Valley,” he says.
Subulwa also says recent negative rhetoric against immigrants has impacted local families.
A recent viral video from Ashwaubenon shows a Cinnabon worker calling a customer a racist slur. The employee was later fired, but she has been able to raise thousands of dollars on her behalf.
“The immigrant population are under attack throughout the country, whether it’s in Minneapolis, it’s in Oshkosh- it’s everywhere,” he says. “That affects families. They are scared because of the rhetoric.”
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SEPO offers support for children too– partnering with the Oshkosh Area School District to host after-school programs.
Subulwa says the kids take on the same anxieties of their parents.
“These kids are really paying attention to what’s going on in their homes, what they see on tv, what they hear in their community, what they see in their homes, how they are treated,” he says. “What I encourage immigrants and refugees to do is bury your head in the sand, don’t attract unnecessary attention to you.”
For kids like Mugisha Bidagara, it’s a lesson they learn early.
“Some people bully me a lot,” Bidagara says. “They say ‘go back to your country,’ they say ‘African.’ I just ignore them. I’m proud that I’m African.”
Casa Esther in Omro is a Catholic organization that offers resources to immigrants, those experiencing homelessness and other communities in need.
From food to rent assistance, the organization provides help whenever they can.
“We have great staff, we can’t help everybody, but we do our best,” founder, Father Joseph Mattern, says. “One of our expressions is we always say yes, and then we do what we can.”
Mattern says, especially with the current climate and rhetoric surrounding immigration, showing support for immigrants and refugees is a large part of the Catholic faith.
“Immigrants, they’re all around us, they’re our neighbors. and if we could all at the local level, welcome the stranger as Jesus says, we’d be doing a good job here in Northeastern Wisconsin,” he says.
Both organizations are calling on local immigrant communities to come together.
"We can solve things together," Subulwa says. "Hence the word you see called 'ubuntu,' that is an African word that says you are who you are because of all of us. And basically what I'm trying to teach these kids is that they're never alone. They're all here with a community behind them."
