cuny – Refugee Translation Project

Our three extraordinary CUNY Career Launch interns, Jolie Camara, Stephanie Cruz-Lopez, and Moheeb Kaied completed their Social Services Access Team internship at Cafewal, a resource center for asylum seekers located in NYC’s East Village. During their 6-week internship Stephanie, Moheeb, and Jolie each worked more than 114 hours, helping over 160 community members navigate immigration issues, apply for work authorization, create resumes, find employment, and obtain social services and benefits.

Interns Jolie Camara, Stephanie Cruz-Lopez, and Moheeb Kaied on the last day of their internship (Photo by Diamy Bah).

Our interns became familiar with the immigration system, New York’s social services, and the various application processes necessary to access these systems. They also learn how to work with interpreters and other volunteers.

Moheeb Kaied is an urban studies major at Hunter College. Born in Yemen and raised in Brooklyn, he is deeply committed to helping refugees and immigrants in underserved communities. “One of the most rewarding parts of my time here was assisting our Arabic-speaking clients with translation… I worked directly on two translation cases, it was an incredibly meaningful experience.” In addition to helping community members access resources, Moheeb also tracked the type of assistance he and his colleagues are providing in order to assess the internship’s impact. Moheeb is interested in working with community-based organizations to gain the skills necessary to build a better future for refugees and New York City as a whole.

Jolie Camara studies political science at Hunter College with a minor in international relations. She is also earning a certificate in human rights. Jolie’s personal experience of coming to New York seven years ago led her to RTP and Cafewal. She understands the struggle that new arrivals go through and wants to help people feel welcome in New York. Jolie applied her Bambara, Mandingo, and French fluency to help people feel seen and understood.

Stephanie Cruz-Lopez double majors in English and Spanish at Baruch College. As a first generation Mexican American, she understands the fear and hardships her family experienced when making a new life here and is driven to help others who are undergoing the same process. Stephanie used her language skills to make the space more inclusive to Spanish-speakers, while also working with volunteer interpreters to assist speakers of other languages. “I especially enjoyed helping clients create resumes and apply for jobs. I felt proud to be able to help them take that next step toward finding work. My time at RTP and Cafewal has further solidified my desire to work with and advocate for immigrant and refugee communities.”

Impact report created by intern Moheeb Kaied.

Our two CUNY Career Launch interns, Izzy Taveras and Alesia Martinez, began their Social Services Access Team positions the week of July 14 at Cafewal, a space run by our partners EV Loves NYC and East Village Neighbors Who Care. Izzy and Alesia have each worked over 75 hours helping community members navigate immigration issues, apply for work authorization, resumes, find employment, and obtain social services and benefits.

Izzy and Alesia use their Spanish language skills to make the space more inclusive to Spanish-speaking community members while working with volunteer interpreters to assist French, Pulaar, and Wolof speaking community members who make up the majority of Cafewal’s community base.

Izzy Taveras majors in Criminal Justice at John Jay where she is working towards her certificate in legal translation and interpretation and volunteers as a researcher for language access policies in the United States. Izzy plans to apply for the BS/MA program at John Jay to earn her JD and PhD and possibly go into immigration law.

Alesia Martinez is a rising senior at Kingsborough Community College where she expects to graduate with an Associated in Science degree in Mental Health and Human Services, ultimately earning her master’s degree to become a licensed social worker. Growing up as a daughter of immigrants, she has translated documents and helped family members navigate different application processes.