Thank you for the beautiful series “Long Way Home” (May 22-27), highlighting the complexity and humanity behind the headlines of the immigration crisis.

I want to underscore how fortunate we are to have a robust and dynamic ecosystem of immigrant-led and immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations here in Maine serving on the frontlines of this crisis.

Leaders like Mufalo Chitam of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, Claude Rwaganje of Prosperity Maine and so many others are organizing and mobilizing resources to respond quickly and effectively – through culturally appropriate frameworks – to meet the complex needs of immigrants seeking to make Maine their home.

These leaders and these organizations step into the breach every single day: filling gaps, making sure that the most vulnerable in our communities have access to food, housing, medical care, a friendly face and a familiar tongue. Much of this work is done through volunteer labor and effort. But that doesn’t mean it is free. It requires a tremendous amount of professional leadership, planning, coordination and logistics.

The story of “Maine’s Capacity to Help” is incomplete without a call to action to support these leaders and their organizations.

They are showing us every day what is possible. They are working ably in the face of a humanitarian crisis, doing essential work that benefits all of us. Let us meet their effort with the same level of commitment, conviction and support.

Shima Kabirigi
director, Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund at Maine Initiatives
Portland

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