by Dennis Dalman
“Cultural Bridges,” a St. Joseph organization, is aptly named because it encourages connections (bridges) among all people, especially between long-time city residents and the city’s more recently arrived Somali immigrants.
All people are welcome to attend its monthly meeting, which takes place from 6:30-8 p.m. the second Monday of every month at Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Joseph. The next meeting is set for Jan. 8. Enter the church through the door on the right.
Established in 2016, Cultural Bridges is a group of people dedicated to promoting tolerance and diversity in St. Joseph and beyond. Its volunteers help the immigrant community with learning opportunities and other projects funded by grants and implemented by Cultural Bridges. The goal is to make all people feel welcome.
One of the group’s major tasks is teaching English as a Second Language at Resurrection Lutheran Church from 9-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Mary Quinlivan, who lives between St. Joseph and Cold Spring, helps teach ESL classes and is one of the seven board members of Cultural Bridges. For the last two summers she has also taught sewing classes. The other board members are Bisharo Dadow, Ayan Danan, Sitarah Gjerme, Dan Hudson, Sandy Spiczka and Jeff Velline.
Quinlivan was interviewed recently by the Newsleaders.
One of Cultural Bridges’ programs, she said, is to host luncheons at which six to eight people sit around large tables, and during the meal each person shares a light or fun story from childhood. That event is known as a “Community of Understanding.”
Another activity is an annual picnic at Millstream Park where participants play games and listen to drumming by board member Jeff Velline. Drumming at social gatherings is an integral activity of Somali culture.
There are about 70 Somali families who live in St. Joseph, Quinlivan noted.
“We have all made some good friends, and we have lots of fun, too,” she said. “One time we went to the Somali museum-and-restaurant in Minneapolis. We also started a soccer program. We bought the equipment and ran it for one year. Then a couple of dads took it over. We get things started, then we make connections.”
During the Covid epidemic, the volunteers helped students with homework and assisted with translation, such as for summer recreation programs.
Quinlivan is also on the board of the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, and Cultural Bridges is in some ways a branch of that. Both work with immigrants to help them adjust and feel welcome.
Dadow
Bisharo Dadow, a 22-year-old Somali woman who immigrated to America in 2011 from Ethiopia, is a master at making interpersonal connections.
She, too, is one of the board members of Cultural Bridges.
Now a full-fledged American citizen and a St. Joseph resident, she will soon earn her master’s degree in counseling from St. Cloud State University. She works at the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center.
For years, Dadow was acutely aware of how cultural differences and unfounded fears were keeping people apart. She knew from experience and from observation that people, especially long-time Americans and newcomers like Somalis and other immigrants had communication problems. She would often bridge those gaps through translation and good old-fashioned caring and kindness.
Dadow then and now facilitates communication and connections among varying cultures, religions, backgrounds and often translates for people who do not speak Somali or English.
And very importantly, she helps bridge the big divide between Somali adults and their children. In a new country, parents are often bewildered, nervous and concerned about how their children are absorbing American ways that are so alien to them, the parents.
She would often hear the following laments from Somali children: “My parents don’t understand me.” And from parents she would hear, “I do not understand what is happening to my children.”
She helps constantly to bridge that generational gap in those people’s “new world,” and she loves her job of constantly making human connections – parents to children, children to parents as she helps Somalis and White Americans reach a level of mutual understanding, respect and welcoming acceptance.
Years ago, Dadow became painfully aware of the fact Somalis in St. Joseph were moving back to St. Cloud. They told her they did not feel welcome in St. Joseph. That is when she decided to make a change to that sad dilemma by bridging the gap by promoting mutual understanding and acceptance. It worked.
“Now they feel as if they belong here,” she said. “They feel they are welcome here.”
And that is what Cultural Bridges is all about – the mutual, respectful, loving community bonds that bridge the needless gap among all human beings and that encourage all people to work and live together in harmony.
Bisharo Dadow
