Burmese American Community Institute

MISSION TO BUILD A THRIVING SELF-SUFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED BURMESE COMMUNITY THROUGH ADVOCACY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT. SINCE ITS INCEPTION BACI HAS ASSISTED MORE THAN 13,000 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH ITS VARIOUS PROGRAMS THE UPWARD COLLEGE PROGRAM UCP FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT HELPS THE STUDENTS WITH COLLEGE PREPAREDNESS LINGUISTICALLY AND ACADEMICALLY AS WELL AS FOR THEIR FUTURE SUCCESS THE CIVIC AND CULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAM CCEP THAT EMPOWERS NEW AMERICANS WITH SECURITY IN THEIR RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES AND EMPLOYMENT AND MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT EMED WHICH ASSISTS NEWCOMERS TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT ECONOMICALLY AND ALLOWS THEM TO GIVE BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITIES AND CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMIC GROWTH.

2021 MARKS 10 YEARS OF ADVOCACY EDUCATION AND SERVICE - FACED A MIX OF THE UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES. WHILE OUR COMMUNITY LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY WERE STILL IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC THE CRISIS IN MYANMAR BURMA AND AFGHANISTAN BROUGHT ANOTHER LEVEL OF CHALLENGES. BACI RESPONDED TO BOTH CRISES WITH THE CONVICTION OF THE NEED AND THE RECOGNITION OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY WHILE STRONGLY SUSTAINING A COVID-19 RESPONSE INITIATIVE ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE VACCINE CAMPAIGN. DESPITE SUCH CHALLENGES WE WERE ABLE TO ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY IN SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR AND PARTICIPATE IN ASSISTING BURMESE HUMANITARIAN PAROLEES AS WELL AS JOINING OUR PARTNERS TO RESETTLE AFGHAN EVACUEES WHILE SUSTAINING AND EXPANDING THE EXISTING PROGRAMS AND VITAL SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. AS SUCH THE PAST YEAR HAS BEEN ONE OF GROWTH AND STRENGTHENING OF OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICE PROVISIONS WITH SIGNIFICANTLY INTENSIFIED ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR SHARED COMMUNITIES LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY. HIGHLIGHTED IN THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS WE CONTINUE BRINGING UPON OUR SHARED COMMUNITY. IN 2021 ALONE WE ASSISTED 3447 THAT IS 139% OF LAST YEARS NUMBER AT 2473 INDIVIDUALS WITH CITIZENSHIP AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING NATURALIZATION APPLICATIONS AND OTHER IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS PROVIDED SUPPORT IN GAINING EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS AND COLLEGE UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS. THIS MADE A TOTAL OF OVER 16,000 INDIVIDUALS SERVED SINCE 2011. SIMILARLY WE PROVIDED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO A NUMBER OF START-UP ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING THOSE THAT ARE FAITH-BASED WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE OVERALL SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF THE COMMUNITY. DESPITE DISRUPTION BY COVID-19 THE UPWARD COLLEGE PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN 100% ADMISSIONS IN POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS FOR THE STUDENTS WHO COMPLETED THE BACI PROGRAM. FURTHERMORE WE HELPED OVER 50% OF CURRENT COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY ENROLLED IN THE UCP RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS. THE PAST YEAR ALSO SAW THE COLLEGE GOING RATE AMONG THE BURMESE RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES INCREASE TO 95% FROM 43% IN 2014.