Cham Refugees Community
About
Cham Refugees Community of Seattle is a nonprofit organization to provide Islamic educational, social and cultural relevant services to Cham and other ethnic minorities in South Seattle and South King County.
Website: chamrefugeescommunity.org
CREST Representative: Sarya Sos (she/her)
Why did you join CREST?
To meet new people and learn community development
If you are working on a project, what is the project, where is it located, and who is it for? What is the vision and purpose of your project?
We are working on a community center project and building within current land that we own. We hope to accommodate the growing community members. We are currently awaiting our MUP.
What are you proud to have accomplished so far related to your project or related to your community stewardship of land efforts?
We are happy to have own our current property. Having the MUP sign up was amazing.
What are the next steps for your organization in realizing your project vision?
We didn’t include senior housing and being a part of CREST we learned that it’s possible to include.
What support and expertise are you looking for?
Fundraising support
TraeAnna Holiday, CREST cohort member from Africatown Seattle:
"I am so honored to be a part of what Puget Sound Sage is doing in this city. They brought together 20 organizations who may not have known each other, and together we are taking progressive models that are happening across the nation to reform and develop our spaces, have ownership in our spaces, create and rebuild our communities, and reclaim what has been taken from us. I represent Africatown Seattle, and if you know of what the Central District has gone through - it has suffered a great deal of gentrification, inequity and displacement. Africatown is working hard on the ground to develop buildings that are bringing our communities back.
For me, this is very personal. My family was displaced in 2003 and my parents had to buy a home in Federal Way. I have never known of Federal Way before. I grew up in the Central area, and it was all I knew for my whole life. It was so heartbreaking to my mother for us to have to move. We are one family, but displacement has affected so many more. This is why I’m so excited to be a part of this cohort. With the work of Puget Sound Sage, I am learning more on how to do this in a progressive way, ensure that we keep affordability for our communities and for our people, and to come back to spaces that we grew up in that we know and love.”