[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   GRATITUDE FOR THE WORK OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 8, 2017

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day and I 
am proud to be a strong advocate for equity, opportunity, and full 
rights for women and girls both in the United States and around the 
world. Over my tenure in Congress, I have fought to improve women's 
healthcare, advance pay equity, and make sure girls have access to 
every educational opportunity that is available to boys.
  With the Trump administration now in the White House, I am very 
concerned that the significant progress made to improve women's lives 
are under threat of being diminished, rolled back or extinguished. I 
remain fully committed to standing up, speaking out and championing the 
rights of women and girls.
  This past weekend I attended an event hosted by the International 
Institute of Minnesota (IIM) to celebrate International Women's Day. It 
was a tremendous honor to receive IIM's 2017 Olga Zoltai Award for 
Service to New Americans. Special thanks to Jane Graupman, IIM's 
amazing executive director, and Kitty Gogins, IIM's board chair and 
daughter of Olga Zoltai. IIM's staff works hard doing the important 
work of resettling refugees. Their work builds a strong foundation for 
new American families that helps them achieve success and self-
sufficiency.
  Unfortunately, the anti-immigrant executive orders issued by the 
Trump administration, especially the refugee ban, can only be called a 
betrayal of our values as Americans and the core beliefs that make this 
a great country.
  As I said in my remarks upon receiving this special award, ``There is 
amazing strength and perseverance in each and every refugee story. The 
millions of women, men and children who have found their way to America 
have made this country better. Their courage must now be our courage as 
we resist isolationism, bigotry, and the scapegoating of good people 
seeking freedom and a new life in America.''
  I include in the Record my full remarks and a brief biography of Olga 
Zoltai who was truly an amazing woman.
  Throughout my career in Congress I have made the rights of women and 
girls a priority.
  We want a more peaceful, prosperous world, a world where children are 
healthy and families are strong, then let us invest in women and girls.
  The United States is the wealthiest nation on Earth. We must be 
investing in women and girls, not cutting funding and assistance that 
saves lives, protects the vulnerable and builds better futures.
  Empowering women and girls is not controversial, it is essential. It 
means giving every girl the opportunity she deserves--the right--to go 
to school and receive an education. It means eliminating 
discrimination, exploitation and violence against women and girls--
whether it be trafficking, forced marriage of girls, or pay 
discrimination right here in the United States.
  Empowering women means access to employment, healthcare, and safe 
childcare. And, empowering women means asking a room full of women to 
think about standing up and be leaders--maybe running for elected 
office one day--for school board, city council, mayor, the state 
legislature, or the even the U.S. Congress.
  I am sure that each of us here today is very concerned about new 
policies that are coming out of this White House that impact refugees. 
In my view, these policies are a betrayal of America's values and the 
core beliefs that make this a great country.
  We must resist these close minded and harmful policies. We must 
resist in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities. But it is 
also critical to continue to be welcoming, caring and embracing of all 
New Americans. It is more important than ever.
  There is amazing strength and perseverance in each and every refugee 
story. The millions of women, men and children who have found their way 
to America have made this country better. Their courage must now be our 
courage as we resist isolationism, bigotry, and the scapegoating of 
good people seeking freedom and a new life in America.
  Olga Zoltai was a refugee who dedicated her life to welcoming 
refugees. Olga's work is now our work and must continue this important 
work the same passion and commitment.
  Thank you for this very special award--I will treasure it. And, I 
will carry Olga in my heart as we fight to keep America a country that 
welcomes refugees and strives to offer hope, opportunity and freedom to 
all people.
  Thank you, Kitty. Thank you, Jane. And, thank you to everyone here 
today.

                Olga Zoltai, Patron Saint of Immigrants

       On Thursday, June 9, 2016, former Institute staff member 
     Olga Zoltai passed away. Olga was a tireless advocate for 
     refugees and immigrants. Her tenacity and dedication improved 
     the lives of thousands of New Americans in our community. A 
     refugee herself--at the age of 13, Olga and her family fled 
     her hometown of Sopron, Hungary as Soviet forces invaded--
     Olga worked at the International Institute of Minnesota from 
     1971 to 1993. During her years at the Institute, Olga 
     designed innovative programs that responded to the needs of 
     New Americans, transforming and strengthening our community.
       When Olga heard that a new federal program to resettle 
     refugees was beginning in 1974, she knew the Institute had to 
     do this work. The Institute's Executive Director was on his 
     honeymoon in Thailand when Olga heard about this opportunity. 
     No one knew exactly where in Thailand he was honeymooning, 
     but they did know he would not be back until after the 
     application deadline had passed. Not to be deterred, Olga 
     began calling hotels to see if a guest matching his 
     description was staying there. She eventually found him, 
     received his approval, and applied. Thanks to Olga, the 
     Institute has welcomed more than 25,000 refugees to our 
     community.
       Olga was the caseworker who welcomed the first Hmong 
     refugees to Minnesota in February 1976. She got the call of 
     their arrival the night before the family's 6 a.m. arrival. 
     The youngest child arrived wearing just a t-shirt, but Olga 
     and the church sponsoring the family brought blankets to the 
     airport.
       Olga Zoltai with her three children Kitty, Lili, and Peter 
     (left to right).
       It is now common for refugee resettlement agencies to have 
     caseworkers who are from the communities they serve, and it 
     was Olga who hired the first bi-lingual case manager in 
     Minnesota.
       Olga founded the Nursing Assistant Training Program in 1991 
     to provide New Americans access to entry-level jobs in 
     healthcare. In the program's 25 years, more than 1,900 
     nursing assistants have been employed. At a recent Nursing 
     Assistant graduation, the class speaker declared: ``Today is 
     the greatest accomplishment of our lives. Today, we begin our 
     lives as caregivers. You are changing not just our lives, but 
     our family's lives as well.''
       Additionally, Olga worked on hundreds of political asylum 
     cases and was known to be a unwavering advocate for those the 
     most complex cases.
       ``I was so lucky, you know?'' Olga said when she reflected 
     on her life's story. When her chance came, ``I was able to 
     help.''
       Olga was awarded the eponymous ``Olga Zoltai Award for 
     Outstanding Service to New Americans'' at the Institute's 
     International Women's Day Tea in March 2016.

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