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Photo: Julia Broach/IRC

Planting New Roots

By Julia Broach

Jaya Maya came to the U.S. five years ago with her husband, mother-in-law, and son. Due to persecution she faced in her home country of Bhutan, Jaya Maya was forced to flee to Nepal where she lived in a refugee camp for 22 years until resettling in Baltimore. The International Rescue Committee in Baltimore (IRC) helped Jaya Maya and her family find a home in the Frankford neighborhood in northeast Baltimore, connected her son to employment opportunities, and provided her with a garden plot that is a 5-minute walk from her house.

From 2012-2018, the IRC’s New Roots program developed and managed a community garden in collaboration with the Goodnow Community Center in Frankford. This garden enabled Jaya Maya and 26 other refugee families continue valuable cultural traditions around farming while nourishing themselves and their families with fresh grown produce. The IRC also partnered with local farmers markets to provide discount incentives to low-income families, so they can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables with their SNAP benefits. Other program initiatives help address mental health concerns and foster community integration through music therapy, cooking demonstrations, yoga, and discussions on holistic health and wellness.

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Photo: Julia Broach/ IRC

In Bhutan, Jaya Maya used to go to her fields daily where she grew corn, beans, and other crops. In the refugee camp in Nepal, however, she rarely had access to land where she could farm. After receiving her garden plot in the U.S., Jaya Maya has been able to continue her farming practices. She grows chilies, bitter melon, Egyptian spinach, bottle gourd, okra, long beans, mustard greens, and other vegetables that she used to grow and eat in Bhutan-- and that are often hard to find or relatively costly in the grocery stores here.

In the fall 2018, Jaya Maya and eight other New Roots program participants took photos to evaluate how the garden and other program activities affected their lives. Jaya Maya took a photo of her husband caring for his sick mother in the family’s living room. She explained to IRC staff, “My husband and mother-in-law are very important people in my life. I always cook for them using fresh vegetables I picked from the garden. They help my mother-in-law’s health because they are very fresh and filled with nutrients. If I did not have the garden, I would not be able to provide her with such healthy food.”