Refugee girls gain a new voice

Teenagers learn confidence as they produce radio shows

By Jason Vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Aug 20, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

L.E. BASKOW / TRIBUNE PHOTO

KBOO (90.7 FM) radio worked with refugee girls, including (left to right) Liuba (last name not used), Uluf Hassan, Iryna Prymak and Dina Mohamed, to learn the business. But the program’s funding has been cut.

It can be pretty daunting for a teenage refugee girl from a different country to talk with a stranger on the street.

But it has become second nature to five girls working with the Immigration and Refugee Community Organization and KBOO (90.7 FM) radio during the past six months.

As part of IRCO’s Young Women’s Equity Project, the five girls have learned the ins and outs of the radio business – story development, interviewing, writing, producing, editing and completing programs on various topics. While IRCO helps thousands of people each year simply acclimate to life in the United States, the girls want not only to survive, but also to thrive through college years and adulthood.

The five girls – Uluf Hassan, from Somalia; Liuba (who asked that her last name not to be used), Ukraine; Iryna Prymak, Ukraine; Dina Mohamed, Somalia; and Victoria Khartenenko, Kazakhstan – wrapped up their schooling with IRCO and KBOO recently by producing their sixth radio program, this one about their experiences at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.

It’ll air 6-7 p.m. on Aug. 26, and all six, 10-minute programs can be heard on KBOO’s Web site, www.kboo.fm. In addition to the aquarium show, the girls did programs about: Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut; sleep deprivation; food and emergencies; child birth and medical technology; child abuse and cultural differences.

‘I became smarter’

None of the girls seemed unnerved producing the shows, and knowing that thousands of listeners would be hearing their voices and judging their work.

The biggest obstacle was simply talking with strangers.

“Before I wouldn’t go up to a random person on the street,” says Prymak, a David Douglas High senior.

“I used to be shy when talking with people,” adds Hassan, a Wilson High School graduate who now attends Portland Community College. “My teacher (in school) was surprised (that) I’m talking with people now. I became smarter. The more you speak, the more you learn.”

Mohamed, from a Somali family but born in Kenya and raised in Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia, moved to the U.S. with her parents in 2000. She’s the most culturally adjusted of the group. Even still, the project has helped bring the Madison High grad out of her shell.

She now wants a career in journalism, and she’ll attend Portland State University.

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