We support refugees in their journey to become fully participating members of the West Michigan community. We envision a thriving, multicultural West Michigan community where all have an opportunity to pursue a better future!
The Refugee Education Center is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Grand Rapids, MI. The organization was founded in 2006 by a passionate group of Somali Bantu refugees who, as an ethnic group in their native country, were persecuted and prohibited to receive formal education. Upon arrival to the United States, community leaders recognized the incredible new opportunity to receive education and participate in the community as equals. They organized and created the The Somali Bantu Community of West Michigan to support their children as they began their new education in a foreign land. The organization grew to support all refugees in 2008 as the West Michigan Refugee Education and Cultural Center - and changed once again to the Refugee Education Center in 2016. While our name has changed, our vision has not. It has been, and is, central to the organization to share the knowledge learned from a first-person perspective of navigating the education system and refugee services and ultimately supporting the estimated 25,000 refugees in West Michigan to become fully participating members of the community (via these program services.)
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