Four members of a newly-formed group of refugee women who speak Swahili were nearing time to give birth, and they needed all the common things new mother's need — cribs and strollers, diapers and clothes, stuffed animals and noise-making brightly-colored toys.
The group, launched this summer through Mid County Health Center, met regularly for three months to talk about adjusting to life in the United States. The Multnomah County Health Department worked in partnership with the Oregon Community Health Worker Association (ORCHWA) and the African Family Holistic Health Organization.
The women spent one morning a week in the garden, then shared a meal together. They sang, prayed and talked candidly about their old lives back home and their new lives in the United States.
Multnomah County Health Department staff organized the baby shower to ensure the new mothers had the supplies they needed. But it was also an opportunity to celebrate a new generation of Americans.
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