This week, we’re talking to Rajaa Shindi, an assistant professor at New Mexico State University. Shindi received a $150,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to continue an effort to improve the lives of Afghan refugees in southern New Mexico through education and job training.
She has partnered with Angela Owens, college assistant professor and director of the Glass Family Research Institute for Early Childhood Studies at NMSU, to provide free child care for Afghan refugees who participate in free English and computer literacy classes.
Shindi received the one-year grant in June of this year — less than a year after she and her daughter started the NMSU Afghan Refugee Response Project, an initiative that gained widespread attention for its efforts to aid refugees who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021.
We talk about Shindi's background as an Iraqi immigrant, how she ended up in Las Cruces — which she now considers a second home — why this project was important to her and what she hopes it will accomplish. We also talk about how multi-denominational religious groups in the community have come together to achieve these goals using governmental funds.
This week, I’m thankful to have Rajaa joining us.