I BELONG VOICES

Welcome to our second season's first episode “Promotes Economic Growth Through Immigrant Integration”.

In this episode, we want to express our gratitude to Anuj Gupta - President and CEO of The Welcoming Center.

Anuj will share with us important information about the growth and impact of immigrants in greater Philadelphia as well as his impressive journey throughout his career working with the greater Philadelphia community.

We invite you to listen to us...❤️

In this episode participated:

• Monica Molina - Host  (Colombia)

• Leidy Ochoa - Co-host (Colombia)

• Silvia Roldán - Editor (Ecuador)

• Maru Gonzalez - Producer (Venezuela) 

Welcome to our eighth and last season episode “Building meaningful organizational culture” In this episode, we want to express our gratitude to Daniel Aguirre. He is helping us thoroughly with our team structure. This is a very interesting conversation about how he does this wonderful job, learning from his experience about Why do some cultures thrive while others don't? And what role do leaders play in helping cultures thrive? Organizational cultures are living systems that can be intentionally influenced and developed.

We invite you to listen to us...❤️

_____

In this episode participated:

• Margarita Perez (Colombia)
• Monica Molina  (Colombia)
• Leidy Ochoa (Colombia)
• Silvia Roldán (Ecuador)
• Amel Kherbachene (Algeria)
• Maru Gonzalez (Venezuela) - Edition

Welcome to our sixth episode “Embracing our cultural differences”, in this episode we had a very pleasant conversation about the new traditions or cultural festivals that we as immigrants adopt when we arrive in this beautiful country,  and how we recognize, respect, and embrace such differences, we can take advantage of its benefits and avoid disharmony.

Did you Know? There is a lot we can experience and learn from cultural diversity.  The people and the experiences can enrich us as individuals and our society as a whole.  Here are some benefits of cultural diversity.

• Better productivity.  Different cultures have different perspectives on various things and situations.  These varying viewpoints can lead to increased creativity, innovation, and productivity.  Imagine more probable solutions to problems, more enriching discussions on different issues, and coming up with better decisions.
• Increased understanding of others.  The awareness and acceptance that cultural diversity exists can promote increased understanding of other people.  This understanding can lead to lesser conflict and more unity in our groups and communities.
• A new level of knowledge and experience.  The more we encounter and embrace people of different cultures, the more we expand our knowledge and experience.  We learn about the people themselves and the place they are originally from, including their tourist spots, historical sites, popular dishes, and even weather.  We also learn about the reasons behind their beliefs, traditions, and principles.  We learn how different people cope with different situations and so much more.
• Personal and societal growth.  Cultural diversity can help us grow personally as we learn from other cultures.  On a larger scale, societies can grow with the introduction of other cultures as new ideas are introduced and accepted.  We learn to be more respectful, more polite, and more compassionate beings. 

Source: https://i-ville.com/understanding-and-embracing-cultural-diversity/

We invite you to listen to us...💜

_____

In this episode participated:

• Leidy Ochoa (Colombia)
• Amel Kherbachene  (Algeria)
• Silvia Roldán (Ecuador)
• Monica Molina  (Colombia)
• Cristina Zanoni (Brazil)
• Maru Gonzalez (Venezuela)

And as a special guest, Carlos José Pérez Samano  (Mexico) - Content Strategist + Author + Social Entrepreneur

Welcome to our fifth episode “Let's talk about immigrant laws”, with this episode we want to understand more the challenges that we as immigrants are still facing with the immigration laws and how to overcome them.

Did you Know? There are "Low Cost/Non-Profit Immigration Legal Assistance Referral" organizations that can help you with your legal problem, here we list some of them:

Philadelphia-

Hello, I Belong Friends! 

Welcome to listen to the fourth episode “Resilience in the immigrant community”.

In this episode, our special guest is Srorng Sorn (Rorng) - Director of Immigrant / Refugee Affairs and Language Access Services for the City of Philadelphia DBHIDS. We will talk about wellness and her work in the immigrant community.

Also, we will share relevant information and resources focused on self-care and well-being.

"By working together to increment and promote resilience and self-care in the immigrant community make a better world to live in." IBP.

Did you know how many immigrants reside in the United States?

The most recent data from migrationpolicy.org, more than 44.9 million immigrants lived in the United States in 2019. Immigrants’ share of the overall U.S. population has increased significantly from the record low of 4.7 percent in 1970. In 2019, immigrants comprised 13.7 percent of the total U.S. population, a figure that remains short of the high record of 14.8 percent in 1890.

We invite you to listen to us...

In this episode they participated:

• Cristina Zanoni (Brazil)
• Leidy Ochoa (Colombia)
• Silvia Roldán (Ecuador)
• Monica Molina (Colombia)
• Margarita (Colombia)
• Amel (Algeria)
• María Eugenia (Maru) Gonzalez (Venezuela) - Edition

Interviewee:  Sarorng Sorn, Director of Immigrant/Refugee Affairs and Language Access Services for the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services know as its acronym DBHIDS.

Welcome to our third episode “Let's celebrate immigrant businesses”

We are always looking to support our immigrant community, this time, we thought to support the immigrants' businesses we love in Philadelphia. Hand in hand with the @WelcomingCenter, we want to promote, recognize and most importantly say thank you to Philadelphia's immigrant businesses that have remained open despite this difficult time.

Did you Know?  The Welcoming Center has a program calls The Business Technical Assistance:

• They are supporting 25 businesses. All businesses are family-owned and operated with additional staff from the community.
• 19 immigrant business owners applied to 47 grant opportunities
• 19 accounts were opened to apply or renew permits and licenses
• 11 temporary out-door sitting permits were requested and 4 more are in progress)

We invite you to listen to us...❤️

_____

In this episode they participated:

Did you Know? Philadelphia has 54 free libraries and six free-standing public computer labs. Three much larger regional libraries—in West, Northwest, and Northeast Philadelphia—have additional reference materials, computers, and meeting space. That's amazing!

In this episode, you will learn about some of the important resources available for immigrants in Philadelphia, such as where to learn English for free or where to get an organization to help you create your resume? or understand the workforce in Philly? or you just want to know or learn about the organizations that embrace and show the folklore or art of other countries. ❤️

We invite you to listen to us...

_____

In this episode they participated:

• Cristina Zanoni (Brazil)
• María Eugenia (Maru) Gonzalez (Venezuela)
• Silvia Roldán (Ecuador)
• Georgia Consenca (Brazil)
• Monica Molina (Colombia)
• Ben Goebel (France)
• Waleska López (Puerto Rico)

Interviewee:  Lindsay Southworth - Senior Program Manager, Adult Education and Language Learning at Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation

One of the difficulties immigrants and refugees face upon arriving in the United States is the language barrier.

Did you know that the language barrier can cause enormous difficulties and make simple interactions seem inexistent? 

Employment, transportation, legal responsibilities, and receiving assistance in each of these areas are more difficult without the confidence to speak in English. You are in a new country, trying to adapt to a new lifestyle, probably far away from your family, and adapting to a new culture! 

Other difficulties range from dealing with legal complications to understanding complex transportation systems, securing housing, employment arrangements, and battling culture shock, psychological distress, depression, and isolation. 

In this podcast, you will have the opportunity to hear in a pleasant way the voices of some of the members of I Belong Philly sharing their stories, challenges, English barrier, how they overcame these barriers in Philadelphia, and how they are becoming, step by step, world citizens in the United States. ❤️

We invite you to listen to us... 

_____

In this episode they participated:

• Ben Goebel (France)
• Cristina Zanoni (Brazil)
• María Eugenia (Maru) Gonzalez (Venezuela)
• Silvia Rondan (Ecuador)
• Georgia Consenca (Brazil)
• Monica Molina (Colombia)