Today we’d like to introduce you to Munatsi Manyande.
Hi Munatsi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have had the privilege of serving as the Executive Director of DFW Asylum Seeker Housing (DASH) Network. I get to lead an incredible team of staff and volunteers in DASH – one of just a handful of organizations in the entire United States providing long-term housing to asylum seekers.
I have served in this capacity for almost four years and it’s truly been an honor. To be allowed the opportunity to directly meet urgent human needs while calling it ‘work’ is something I never realized would impact me and my family so profoundly. I get to live my faith out daily.
I also get to serve with an incredible group of Christians who are choosing to sacrifice their time and resources to make sure asylum seeker needs are met and that has taught me so much.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The main obstacles we face as a nonprofit are around human and financial resources. What limits our ability to increase our capacity to serve well is lack of staff and volunteer capacity and inadequate funding. To overcome these obstacles, we are constantly praying for and recruiting high-impact volunteers and funding from individuals, families, and organizations.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
DASH Network is a 501(c)(3) in Fort Worth, TX, formed in response to the increasing prevalence of homelessness, food insecurity, and exploitation facing asylum seekers in the United States. US Immigration law requires that asylum-seekers wait over one and a half years after entering the US and filing for asylum prior to applying for work authorization. This results in a 1–2-year period in which this population cannot legally work and is ineligible for government services.
DASH Network steps into this gap to provide housing, food, friendship, social services, and equipping to people who are seeking asylum during this period. DASH services are designed to meet basic physical needs for shelter and food while providing holistic support throughout the lengthy asylum process. Participants in our program enroll in career prep courses and ESL classes, receive individualized case management services from their social worker, as well as assistance securing legal counsel. Asylum seekers are eligible for programming through DASH for the duration of their work permit wait as well as an additional five months to establish a financial runway and prepare to successfully graduate.
Upon graduation, each resident or family is prepared to begin renting their own apartment which DASH community partners come together to fully furnish. The DASH Network has served the DFW area as the only intermediate/long-term housing solution for asylum seekers since 2013. Our residents typically spend 1-2 years in our program and since DASH Network’s inception, over 200 residents have been provided a path to launch into stable independence.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Serving asylum seekers has taught me so much about the human spirit. We meet individuals and families who have survived brutal encounters and arrive in the US with so much hope for the future.
I have personally been amazed at the American spirit of generosity and philanthropy. The number of individuals and families that -are willing to open their homes to complete strangers or open their hearts to befriend and love people from countries they have never heard of or open their wallets to ensure asylum seeker family needs are met entirely – will never cease to amaze me.
I’ve been blessed to be a part of an organization that is growing every day and making real impact in addressing what is truly a humanitarian crisis in our backyard.
Contact Info:
- Email: munatsi@dashnetwork.net
- Website: https://www.dashnetwork.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dashnetwork/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDashNetwork
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DashNetworkDFW
