Coralville group supports immigrants as they settle in Iowa

CORALVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – Ko Ko Lwin knows firsthand that support is crucial when settling in a new country.

Lwin has lived in Iowa for about two years now. He fled his home country of Myanmar (Burma) following a military coup in 2021. Once in the U.S., he said help navigating bureaucracy was vital.

“The United States’ policy, laws, regulations—they’re like, kind of very complicated,” said Lwin. “So as an immigrant, you can’t really understand a lot of it as well. So I think that’s the support that we really need.”

Lwin said he found support from the Unitarian Universalist Society in Coralville. Sunday, that’s where about 70 people gathered to celebrate the creation of the new Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County.

“We’ll have interpreters, we’ll have people that know how to get support. I think there’s things for rental, there’s things for food,” said Sally Hartman, a board member of the new network.

One project that is still in the works: renting a house to provide immigrants a place to stay upon arrival in Iowa. Hartman said the plan is to have a space where two families can stay for about 45 days.

“We said this is a real need in our community to have a house where immigrants can come…so they won’t be disoriented and spend money needlessly,” said Hartman.

Hartman said the network is about supporting people who make the community stronger.

“People should be more aware of the contributions by immigrants…that integrity and caring of the immigrant community is very inspiring,” said Hartman.

Lwin said the upheaval that comes with moving to a new country can be scary, but his advice to future immigrants: “Don’t be scared because there are a lot of people that are willing to help you.”

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