SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Children are loved at ABC Daycare and Preschool in Sacramento. Sahar Abdulwahab opened the daycare in her home in 2009 after her life came with many challenges.
"It is very hard to start again," said Abdulwahab. "I'm from Iraq. I left my country because of the war in 2007. I came to the United States in 2009 to find a better life for my family."
Abdulwahab quickly became an entrepreneur. Now, she's helping other Arab women in Sacramento become business owners, too.
"I'm proud of myself because I believed in myself," she said. "I have always had a passion for working with children and teaching. I started my business one month after coming to the United States. I want to help other ladies too. Some ladies want to start to work, but they don't know how."
Abdulwahab created a Women Empowerment Program. Immigrant and refugee women in the program get training to become licensed child care providers and open their own in-home daycare.
Nonprofit Arab Community Center for Integration Services, also called ACCIS, offers the program. So far, the program has helped more than 100 immigrant and refugee women with training not only in child care services, but food businesses as well.
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"I want to focus on resilience," said Lamia Ayyad with ACCIS. "These women try their best to overcome language barriers, culture shock and even cultural issues"
April is National Arab American Heritage Month. The theme this year is "Celebrating Arab American Resilience and Diversity." With more than 3 million Arab Americans across the country, it's a time to honor their rich heritage, culture and contributions to society. Since it's Arab American Heritage Month, ACCIS is encouraging people to support Arab women-owned businesses.
"It's an opportunity to raise awareness about the contributions of Arab Americans in the community," said Ayyad.
Abdulwahab agrees, saying Arab American Heritage Month is also a time to learn more about Arab people, history and culture.
"There are many communities in the United States that don't know about us," she said. "We need to celebrate for other communities to know about us."
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