The BRCW is a 501c3 non-profit, formed to serve the resettled Burmese and Rohingya community in Wisconsin with cultural competence and representation by helping facilitate the transition to life here in the United States. We aim to empower these families by providing critical services such as interpretation/translation and other new arrival transitioning services such as workforce development, Education programs and ESL instruction, donation and culturally appropriate food distribution.
We created this organization on behalf of the Rohingya community in Wisconsin and invite participation in as many ways as we are able to facilitate. This community has faced a great deal of adversity, we would serve these families to reduce their struggle in their new home.
Biographies
Anuwar Kasim
AnuwarKasim serves as the President of the Board and Managing Director of the BRCW. Anuwar received his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from Yezin Agricultural University near the Burmese capital, Nay Pyi Taw. During his adult years, Anuwar has developed fluency in 6 languages, including; Rohingya, Burmese, Urdu, Malay, Bengali, and English. He has extensive experience interpreting and has held various positions for the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations both in Burma and Malaysia. In Burma, the work Anuwar performed was geared towards education, development, general aid, and rehabilitation. Later, and after he fled to Malaysia, he spent most of the next decade working as an interpreter for UNHCR departments of health, registration, outreach/intervention, education, and resettlement.
Anuwar has been in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 2015. In addition to his work as a medical interpreter at Aurora Healthcare, Anuwar promotes the cause of the Rohingya and Burmese community in Milwaukee through this recently established non-profit. Anuwar is himself a refugee, witnessing two decades of sordid events in his homeland in Burma and in the refugee community in Malaysia. Anuwar aspires to aid and strengthen the growing Rohingya and Burmese community here in Wisconsin.
Andrew Trumbull
Andrew Trumbull serves as the Secretary of the Board and as the Administrative Director of the organization. He performs several roles within the organization; focusing on developing the BRCW Home Healthcare Services, ESL programs and computer deployment, and heads outside communication efforts (social media and English language correspondence). Andrew has been working alongside Anuwar since his arrival in Milwaukee in the summer of 2015. Andrew brings valuable experience from his time in the non-profit sector as well as in the implementation and administration of community based programs. Andrew has a background in ESL teaching experience and utilizes technology as a tool to solve language barriers.
Andrew received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in International Studies; program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security (ACDIS). In 2017, Andrew completed an AmeriCorps service term in Milwaukee’s Near West Side where he focused on programs in community outreach, image, safety/security, and property ownership. He is motivated by his family and their history of service in this country and chooses to continue doing work where his brand of service can assist others in their lives.