Ahdaf Shamkhi
Ahdaf Shamkhi is the owner and manager of a home care agency, called Maine Connect Care. Previously, she worked as an ED Tech at Portland Public Schools and Biddeford Public Schools. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from ThiQar University in Iraq. She is excited to join the 2022 cohort of Natural Helpers and looks forward to gaining new skills and better knowledge of resources to better support her community.
Birindwa Ruhamia
Birindwa is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and works as a Peer Navigator at Workforce Solutions. He works with new Mainers to help them access resources, such as food, clothing, housing, and other services. He is currently studying English at the University of Southern Maine. He hopes to gain more knowledge of the resources available, as well as work with others to find creative solutions.
Gatien Katumba
Gatien is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has lived in Maine for 5 years. He is committed to serving the French-speaking community and is the proud owner of Rejoice Cleaning Services. He is also the president of the Nyembue Foundation in Democratic Republic of Congo. He has previous experience working for the Red Cross and as a Social Worker.
Isabella Borrero
Isabella is an enthusiastic educator and medical microbiologist with two master’s degrees. Since 2014, she has been working and volunteering in Community Health Outreach (CHW) for the Latinx Community in Cumberland County on multiple projects including dental, health evaluations, and Covid-19 vaccinations.
Suad mohamed
Suad is first and foremost a proud mom of two girls. She is originally from Lybia and came to the United States with her family at the end of 2014. She works as an interpreter, where she often gains greater insight into community needs and concerns. She is enthusiastic about learning how to better serve her community, help with challenges, and offer resources.
Theary Ryder
Theary was born and raised in Cambodia. She and her family moved to the United States in 2016. She is currently working as a Medical Interpreter at Maine Medical Center. She is also a community leader for Khmer Maine (Cambodian Community). In her free time, she loves cooking, singing, and exploring the outdoors. Theary looks forward to building friendships and connections with folks from different cultures, learning from one another, and collaborating to make the greater Portland community stronger.
Yannick Bizimana
Yannick is the Manager of Development and Communications at Cultivating Community. He is originally from Burundi, but has lived in the greater Portland area for about 10 years. Over the years, he has learned a lot about this new community he now calls home. He understands how difficult it can be to navigate the systems, especially when someone encounters multiple barriers, including linguistic, financial, and cultural challenges. He looks forward to connecting more with his neighbors and learning more about how he can be a resource to them, as others were for him.
Yuma Bulafi Marcel Selemani
Marcel has his origin in both Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. He currently works as a Social Worker at the City of Portland Maine Family Shelter. He enjoys assisting new Mainers in fully integrating into their new community. He hopes that the Natural Helper’s program will help him better serve newly arrived families. He wants to help new arrivals know that help is available and that they can take action to create a better life.