Taste the international food and celebrate with Knoxville newcomers this Saturday
After two years of less-than-satisfying-but-completely-understandable Zoom celebrations, World Refugee Day is back — live and in-person, though with limited hours — this Saturday.
Refugees in East Tennessee have arrived from countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Burundi, Iraq, Venezuela, Colombia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine and many others.
The community-wide event, presented by Bridge Refugee Services in partnership with Village Church, will feature international foods, vendors and information from assisting organizations.
Among the celebrants will be Bridge’s outgoing executive director, Drocella Mugorewera, whose last day was Thursday, June 9.
“Celebrating refugees is something I will always do because it’s part of my identity and I cannot separate myself from them,” she says. “I will continue to be an ambassador and advocate for them.”
A former Cabinet minister for natural resources and mining in the Rwandan Parliament, she was able to rebuild her life in the U.S. after fleeing the horrors of genocide in 2008. After arriving in Knoxville in 2009, she was able to find a connection to her church and employment as a Goodwill Industries production sales associate with the help of the very organization she has helmed for the last 6½ years.
Now, with her own tale of hardship, resiliency and ultimately triumph to tell, and international interests knocking at her door, she’s stepping out in a new way.
“I plan to be a public speaker, a coach and a trainer. I want especially to use my experience and my resilience to help African American women, skilled refugees and immigrants. I see people heal from a lot of wounds and poverty, and I think I can help them to overcome the situation.”
She’s already started, with a new website and a book — “From Exile to Executive” — in the works.
“When I suffered and came here it was hard to go back to my professional career. Investing in myself was the biggest investment I made. So I learned from successful people, and I started even to develop my own quotes. One of them is ‘If you don’t invest, you don’t harvest.’ Another: ‘The problem is not to start from the bottom; the problem is staying at the bottom.’ And the third is ‘You can lose your material position and possessions, but you never lose yourself.’”
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Her family’s story is a happy one: her three nieces, son, daughter and husband Jen were eventually able to reunite with her in America, and they have all earned college degrees and gone on to successful lives. And Mugorewera’s path just keeps widening.
“People have been calling me to talk about migration and environment. They are calling me to be on a panel to talk about the environmental crisis.” She is, after all, known all over the world for her former Cabinet position. “There are many things I can do. I still have 10, 15 years of active life and I want to benefit the maximum amount of people. Thinking bigger locally, nationally, globally — it’s exciting.”
World Refugee Day happens this Saturday, June 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Village Church, 1705 Merchant Drive. All are welcome. Visit bridgerefugees.org. Find Drocella Mugorewera at drocella.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: World Refugee Day: International food and celebrate June 18 Knoxville
