CERI’s February Newsletter

CERI’s February Newsletter, 2024

Introducing CERI’s Wellness in Action Grantees!

This month, we’d like to introduce CERI’s Wellness in Action grantees (Keep reading to see introductions below, or click here to read the full bios)

Wellness in Action is our 10-month workforce development program, where refugees and immigrants come together to practice Community Advocacy and Leadership skills. Participants join the program with a wide range of professional skills and backgrounds but share a common passion for serving their communities. Each person receives a mini-grant to create a community project where they can put their vision for community wellness into action.

Our current group has met once a week since September with energy and excitement. Grantees have received training in facilitating groups, meeting with legislators, and planning community events. We hold a strong focus on preventing burnout among BIPOC providers. The Wellness in Action program honors those people most impacted by systems of oppression as leaders of their communities, and we have been thrilled to offer trainees special workshops like “Decolonizing Mental Health.” Throughout the training, we learn and unlearn together what “healing” is - weaving together what we value from Western models of mental health, along with the ancestral healing ways we want to uplift.

Every year, our program graduates host “Re-Ground,” an experiential healing symposium dedicated to supporting the health and wellness of BIPOC folks and mental health providers. Our grantees facilitate impactful ancestral healing workshops, marking the end of the Wellness in Action program - it’s a big celebration! It’s on for June 7th this year.

Interested in becoming a grantee? Applications will open in July, with the program starting in September.

Meet the Wellness in Action Grantees

Cam-Mi La was born in Vietnam and left the country as a refugee, spending 12 years in Taiwan and France. She has dedicated her career to helping individuals and families - from newborns to the elderly.

Chanda Loeun came to the United States at the age of 9 years old as a child genocide survivor under refugee status. He gives back to his community as an active member of the San Jose Cambodian Buddhist Temple and as a CERI Outreach Worker.

Elleni Messay is a college student majoring in neuroscience in Berkeley, originally from Ethiopia. Her roots have instilled a deep appreciation for the resilience and diversity of her community, motivating her to make a positive impact.

Originally from Mexico where she got a bachelors in psychology, Icela Aguilar has been an advocate for years due to the fact that her family has been directly impacted by immigration policies and ICE. She hopes to continue to help her community, focusing on healing.

Kanley Souet-Pich is a Cambodian American and a proud daughter of refugees who survived the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. She is Project Manager of CERI’s New Light Program and a Care Coordinator, serving unjustly deported Cambodian Americans and people at risk of deportation.

Lov Thapa Magar is from Nepal and has worked at UCSF for the last 5 years. He serves as the President of the Magar Society of Northern California (MSNC), and is involved in community service in his home village.

Marmar Hakim’s dream is to become a doctor. She speaks five languages (English, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Hindi) and is originally from Afghanistan, where she pursued a college degree but it was interrupted when the Taliban took over the country.

Originally from Afghanistan, Maryam Rahimi has a background in German literature and speaks Dari, German, and English. She has currently taken on the roles of medical assistant student and barista, and has a strong desire to contribute to her community.

Masouma Mohammadi is from Bamiyan, Afghanistan, where she received her degree in clinical psychology and was the principal of a middle school for girls for ten years. She is committed to supporting vulnerable members of society, especially children.

Mohini Tamrakar grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, and has a diploma in Architecture Engineering. She is currently involved in several Nepali organizations where she helps her community members navigate resources. She joined CERI as an Outreach Worker in January 2023.

Ngawang Lama is a Tibetan and was born in Nepal. She studied English Honors and Hotel Management in India and speaks four languages. She would like to use her skills with Tibetan seniors, giving them space to share their feelings. She is currently Office Coordinator at CERI.

Senem Eminel, originally from Turkey, has a master's degree in Interior Architecture and Design. She is interested in human psychology and has established a wellness group for Turkish women at the Bay Area Turkish Community Center.

Sreyneang Lim was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and raised in the Bay Area. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at UC Berkeley, and is currently collaborating with Asian Health Services to advocate for Cambodian elders. She is currently a Care Coordinator at CERI.

Thank you so much to our wonderful funder partners for making this transformative program possible:

Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)

Alameda County Behavioral Health Services: Workforce Development Education and Training program

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Email us at development@cerieastbay.org