Falls Church Non-Profit Provides a World of Aid

On Friday, Nov. 19, employees of the Falls Church-based Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS) show off their countries’ traditional attire when the not-for-profit organization hosts its “We Are America Now” fundraiser fashion show in McLean. But for many of those on the catwalk and many more of the group’s clients, the most recent memories of their countries of origin are not full of colorful dress but rather, of turmoil and difficulty.

Alexise Chakagoum, a political refugee from Cameroon, is very familiar with the dangers in her country. Though not in a state of war, the political situation is highly charged and oppressive tactics have been used for years to keep control in the country. In 1987 while Chakagoum was still young, her father, who had been the secretary of the West Branch of the Unique Nationale Party (UNC), the ruling party in Cameroon, was accused of treason and killed after he joined the UPC party to promote democratic growth.

Her father had been the center of her family’s life and the death had a powerful impact on her. “It was like we lost our heart,” she said. The event motivated her to push herself to achieve status in the country and work to oppose the oppression that had taken her father’s life. Chakagoum went to school, getting an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Bandjoun and a B.A. from the University of Douala. Over 10 years she worked her way up in an international firm representing global chemical companies and in 2000 started her own business, a copy and print center in Buea, a city 45 minutes outside Douala.

During this time she was gaining prestige in the political world and making a name for herself with the SDF party, the strongest opposition party to the UNC.

But in 2002 her whole world imploded.

That fall she had taken a trip to Europe to arrange for some office machines for her business and decided that she would also journey to the U.S. to visit a friend and look at the possibilities of working with American businesses. Before she could return to Cameroon though, she received a call from her sister, who told her that her business had been closed, and her younger brother and her employees thrown into detention. With some phone calls to friends and associates Chakagoum learned that the ruling party had discovered her connections with the opposition party, the history of her father, and the fact that she had provided services to groups protesting the party.

Suddenly she found herself stranded in the U.S. without any knowledge of English and no support system. She made her way to Maryland where she met with the U.S. representative of the SDF who recommended she talk with Catholic Charities. Because she wasn’t a refugee from a country in conflict, Catholic Charities couldn’t help her but referred her to CMHS in Falls Church.

At that point, along with having little money and no knowledge of the country, she was dealing with deep depression. She couldn’t contact her three children in Cameroon and she didn’t even know whether she would be allowed to remain in the U.S. or would be forced to return home. “I talked to God. I said, ‘Help me, I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said.

The answer came in the form of Ronda Bresnick from CMHS. A therapist with the organization, Bresnick worked with Chakagoum to understand her problems. Since Chakagoum could only speak French, most of their communication took place in gestures. Eventually Bresnick was able to understand the problem and she referred her to Ali Mamy, chief counsel for immigration and human rights legal services. Over the next month Chakagoum told her story to Mamy. She described how she had been jailed on occasions by the ruling party, how they had killed her father, and how her very life was in danger if she went back to Cameroon.

It was a lengthy, excruciating process. At times she had to stop because the recollections were too painful. But eventually Mamy was able to compile her entire story and with the help of Elizabeth Krukuva, a lawyer arranged by CMHS who agreed to represent Chakagoum pro bono, she was granted asylum. The entire process took five months, but it was shorter than most.

As she was working to gain asylum, Chakagoum was also taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes with Susan Bollerer at CMHS. Along with teaching her English, Bollerer became close friends with Chakagoum. To Chakagoum she became a surrogate family member, helping her through her tough times. "I told her, 'I don't feel like a stranger in a strange land with you,'" Chakagoum said.

In December of 2003 she started taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College in computer and administration support. While she was at the top of her field in her own country, in the U.S. she had to deal with American computer systems, a different organizational structure, even a new keyboard.

Within a month she had found part-time work at an Office Depot and was able to start saving money. With the help of Bollerer, who was willing to co-sign, she was able to move out of transitional housing and into her own apartment in Falls Church.

Today the world looks entirely different to Chakagoum. After just two years she has learned to speak English fluently, she has a full-time job with Fairfax County, and she is earning money in the hopes of bringing her children to the U.S. “I want to find some way to express the gratefulness I feel and offer recognition for what CMHS did for me,” she said. “I’m not at the same level that I was in my country, but I’m close.”

Someday she would like to go back to her own country, but for now there is very little chance that she would be safe. “My country needs people like me to fight, to show them what democracy is,” she said.

The center’s executive director Dr. Dennis Hunt said that like Chakagoum, many of the people that arrive in the U.S. have come out of absolute necessity, some fleeing violence, others political oppression, others inhuman conditions.

He said that for many people coming to the U.S. the initial relief about getting to America and excitement about the possibility for their lives often turns to despair as they start to encounter the difficulties of incorporating themselves into American life without a command of the language, knowledge of the culture, and often with mental trauma resulting from violence in their home countries. CMHS opened in 1982, part of Catholic Charities, as a place to find foster care options for orphaned refugee children who had made it to the U.S. and began evolving in the late 1980s when it became clear that there weren’t enough therapeutic and social services for the growing foreign born population in the area, many of whom were arriving from war-torn countries.

In 1992 the group separated from the Catholic Church to become a secular non-profit organization and increased its services to encapsulate mental health and social services for refugees in need.

Today the center serves around 8,000 people a year with a staff of 80 people speaking over 30 languages, as well as hundreds of multicultural volunteers. The organization also serves as a training site for around 25 graduate-level interns each year. For CMHS, bringing aid to refugees and immigrants struggling to make it in the U.S. requires a holistic approach. Hunt said that the problem with many of the traditional social service organizations is that they only deal with one problem at a time.

But while CMHS focuses on mental health services they also have programs to assist with everything from ESL classes, to anti-domestic violence education, to citizenship training. Along with being a one-stop organization for people seeking a variety of services, the focus on services also helps draw people who would not normally come for psychiatric therapy.

In many cultures there is a stigma about mental health services as being strictly for people who are severely disabled with serious mental illnesses. The idea of psychological therapy as being a way to deal with personal turmoil is not understood and is considered a weakness to many new Americans.

To avoid this aversion CMHS often brings up therapy as a part of a program that will also include more practical assistance, such as it did with Chakagoum.

Along with its present work with adult education and psychiatric services, the group continues its focus on younger refugees with its International CHILD (Child Healing to Improve Learning Development) program. The group is a part of a national network of treatment providers that works to develop services for young victims of trauma.

CMHS is also part of a network of organizations funded by the United Nations Voluntary Fund to help victims of politically motivated torture.

Through creative thinking, CMHS finds ways to use the abilities of a variety of volunteers, everything from lawyers to photographers. “We find a way to use anybody’s talent,” said Ricarda Dowling director of development for the Center. “There’s such a high level of education and experience.”

But even as the group has increased its services and worked to help the rapidly growing population of new refugees coming into the area from countries around the world, they are finding a shortage in their resources and a growing inability to help everyone who needs them. While they have been recognized as extremely efficient in using the resources they have (Washingtonian Magazine named the organization as one of the “best buys” for charitable donations in the Metro area), they continue to struggle with a lack of money and manpower.

The need for more support led them to work on new ways to raise both money and awareness of the organization. While known nationwide, the organization often stays below the radar of many in Falls Church and surrounding area. “We could serve a lot more if the resources allowed,” she said. “But we’re not getting nearly what we’d hoped we’d get from this area as far as private donations go.”

Still, for those like Chakagoum the center continues to provide both hope and help as they work towards making the promise of America a reality.

The Nov. 19 fashion show fundraiser begins at 6:30 p.m. and the suggested minimum for tickets is $50. Call (703) 533-3302 Ext. 210 for tickets or more information.