The road to El Paso Shortly before she graduated from college, Keisha Branch, High School Coordinator and Border Fellows Assistant for Ciudad Nueva, made a decision that would have a lasting effect on her faith and her career: She chose to complete her internship at a refugee center. “I fell in love with the work and wanted to continue working with refugees, asylum-seekers, and other people who are marginalized,” Keisha says. “I grew up in poverty and as a person of color, so I have been marginalized myself.” After graduation, Keisha decided to apply to the Border Fellows program at Ciudad … [Read more...]
New Initiative to Increase Homeownership in the Rio Grande Neighborhood
An idea that’s been 15 years in the making When Sami DiPasquale became the executive director of Ciudad Nueva 15 years ago, he was eager to explore community development initiatives focused on housing and asset development. At the time, however, Sami was the only staff person at Ciudad Nueva, and he was only working part time. “I knew we had to focus on what we had right then,” Sami says. “We only had Launch Pad, the after-school program for elementary kids. Our initial energies had to be on expanding to middle school as the kids grew, then to high school.” Even more important, Sami knew that … [Read more...]
Youth Program Graduate Returns Home to Give Back
From El Paso to Rhode Island ... When Karina Hernandez was in high school, she went from wanting to be a pastry chef when she grew up wanting to be a doctor. At that time, Karina was a participant in Ciudad Nueva’s Catalyst Job Training and College Preparatory Program, which exposes high school students to different career options by introducing them to professionals from various career paths. “A lot of doctors came in,” Karina says, “and that sparked my interest in medicine.” After graduating from high school and from the youth programs at Ciudad Nueva, Karina moved to Providence, Rhode … [Read more...]
“Don’t Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young”
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12, NIV) If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: We simply could not do the work we do here at Ciudad Nueva without our amazing network of volunteers and community members. They share their gifts and build relationships with one another each and every day. In fact, at its core, Ciudad Nueva is this network of people. And what a diverse network it is! We especially love the fact that Ciudad Nueva is an … [Read more...]
How Alma Martinez Helped Turn a Food Co-op Into a Community
When Alma Martinez first joined our food co-op a year and a half ago, she had no idea she’d be running it someday. “I was always there helping,” Alma says. “I got more involved and was going more often, then one day they offered me a job as the manager.” The staff recognized Alma’s unique abilities to organize and connect with people and knew they would benefit the co-op. “I’m fair,” Alma says. “I don’t let people just come in and take their food and leave. This is their co-op. They’re the ones running it. I’m just there to make sure everything runs smoothly.” A commitment to inclusion and … [Read more...]
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