By Cynthia Flash

Rasha Ibrahim came to the United States from Iraq as a refugee in 2008. Despite earning her BA in teaching and Arabic language, she and her family faced persecution in Iraq and later in Syria. They hoped for a fresh start. But even in the United States, life wasn’t easy at first. Ibrahim didn’t speak English well, she didn’t have a community to turn to, and she was raising two children, ages 3 and 4.

Ultimately Ibrahim learned about a program run by Child Care Resources, a Seattle non-profit that helps families find quality child care and helps train child care providers. Child Care Resources trained her to become an early childhood educator so she could find a job and become a contributing member of society. Now in her fourth year at Angle Lake Child Development Center in SeaTac, Ibrahim not only teaches the young children how to eat, play and use the bathroom, but also gives them a taste of her native language and culture.

“I have to go with their age, sit down with them, eat with them, play with them,” said Ibrahim, who covers her head and wears the long robe customary for many Muslim women. Angle Lake is a diverse environment, so she fits in well.

Ibrahim is one of four teachers at the childcare center who have gone through the Careers training program, which since 1998 has prepared about 500 individuals to work in high-quality childcare centers throughout the Puget Sound Area. Most are low-income, refugees and/or immigrants. Angle Lake's three other teachers are Madina Said, who came from Ethiopia in 2000, Radia Kabatoa, who came from Ethiopia last year, and Zeytuna Surur, who came from Ethiopia in 2012.

Like Ibrahim, Said was also trained as a teacher in her native land. Employed at Angle Lake since 2008, she not only enjoys playing with the children, but also speaking to them in Oromo and Amharic, languages she spoke in Ethiopia.

"Madina and Rasha are talented and skilled teachers that have grown tremendously over the last several years," said Angle Lake Child Development Center director Jeannie Kelly.

"They’re nurturing, compassionate, patient, dedicated and enthusiastic,” said Kelly, who also appreciates the fact that these immigrants can speak to the parents of many of the children in their native languages. “They’ve been amazing, really improving the quality of our program."
The program, which in many instances helps its graduates get off public assistance, not only teaches skills needed to work in a child care setting, but also places students in internships and ultimately helps them find jobs. Each year 60 students go through the 12-week program and more than 50 percent of graduates are now employed in the early learning field. The Careers program has been so successful that it added a second location this year with the hope of doubling the number of students served.

"When they get hired, they try to get off the system because they want to make it on their own," said Stacy Morrison, resource specialist and program lead of Child Care Resources' Careers Program.

Laura Midgley, a former Child Care Resources board member and board chair who has championed the Careers program, notes that in many cultures - particularly Somali, Eritrean, and other African cultures - child care is a very clear, appropriate career for women. "There are many careers that aren't. Knowing there's a place where they can learn and grow as a professional without causing any friction in their culture allows these women to gain respect as a professional and to earn money," she said.

The program not only benefits the individual women, Midgley said, but the whole immigrant ecosystem. "The benefit is to women who are seeking culturally appropriate employment for the long-term benefit of children in their communities. In addition, early childhood investments pay long-term benefits in terms of social/emotional development and education preparedness," she said.

On Oct. 7, Child Care Resources will hold its annual fundraising luncheon in Seattle. Money raised will go toward the bottom line of what early child care education is about: "We don't babysit kids," Morrison said. "We teach them to learn."

For more information about Child Care Resources' Careers Program, contact Stacy Morrison at Morrison@childcare.org. For more information about Child Care Resources' fundraiser, go to http://childcare.org/stories/story.aspx?id=1

Cynthia Flash owns Flash Media Services, a media relations firm. Child Care Resources is one of her clients.