Aanish Shamim is a first-generation immigrant from Pakistan who has called Idaho home since he was 3.

Aanish has a degree in international political economy from The College of Idaho and is the City of Boise’s Community Engagement Coordinator. He previously worked closely with students at the College of Western Idaho and helped empower marginalized communities through his role at Jannus Economic Opportunity.

In our conversation, Aanish shares about navigating life as a ‘Third Culture Kid,’ and how his Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca helped shape his perspective on religion and identity.

Aanish highlights the importance of amplifying individual voices and celebrating the richness of cultural diversity within society. Outside of his professional pursuits, he enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, playing cricket, laughing with his family, and doting on his cherished cat, Taara, meaning ‘Star’ in his primary language of Urdu.

Klaudia Saric is a Business Development Specialist at Jannus Economic Opportunity in Boise, Idaho. She works with aspiring entrepreneurs from many backgrounds, including former refugees like herself. Klaudia and her husband are from Bosnia & Herzegovina, which they fled in the 1990s due to war and ethnic cleansing. Klaudia saw firsthand the damage that is done when people are manipulated into seeing each other as less than human based on religion or nationality. Throughout her career, Klaudia has helped many people become successful business owners. As a former business owner and holder of a bachelor's in business administration, she values the entrepreneurial spirit. Becoming a refugee is like having your wings clipped, she said, and that drives her to help others regain their sense of choice and empowerment.

Reach MOSAICS with questions and story suggestions: mosaics@idahorefugees.org

Mosaics is recorded and produced by SB Studios

Welcome Corps Allows Private Americans to Help Resettle Refugees

Joe & Kim Mitchell are part of a private sponsor group in Idaho Falls that welcomed refugees to the city for the first time in decades.

In April 2022, through the Operation Allies Welcome program, their Sponsor Circle welcomed three Afghan Air Force pilots, allies of the U.S. military operation.

The community response was so overwhelmingly positive that the group formed a nonprofit, Idaho Falls Bridge Builders, which in 2023 welcomed another refugee family, from Ukraine.

Joe & Kim were inspired to be involved in a private sponsor group because they know what it’s like to be newcomers in a foreign country. Their family spent a total of seven years living in rural China, and the way they were welcomed into the community with open arms inspired them to provide a similar welcome to others in their home state of Idaho.

Connect with Idaho Falls Bridge Builders: https://sites.google.com/view/idaho-falls-bridge-builders/home

Learn more about Welcome Corps: https://welcomecorps.org/

Reach MOSAICS with questions and story suggestions: mosaics@idahorefugees.org

Mosaics is recorded and produced by SB Studios