Somali center offers help

There is a new Somali Community Service Center offering assistance to refugees who have moved to Lexington.

The center is located in the Plum Creek Mall at 513 N. Grant St., Suite 14, in Lexington, and offers English lessons, a computer laboratory, and youth programs to Somalis who have arrived in Lexington.

Naji Abdi, 24, is the director of the Somali Community Service Center. He migrated from Somalia to Kenya when he was a child, and before he came to the United States he received a computer science degree from Kenya University.

He moved first to Minneapolis, Minn., and then to Lexington in search of employment in July 2006. He works at Tyson Fresh Foods, Inc., and, with his wife, is raising three children.

Because of his English skills, many new arrivals from the Somali community come to him for answers.

“They need help. They need translation,” he said. “They come to us for help and I try to commit myself to the community.”

Every Saturday and Sunday the center is open for English lessons and computer use. Somalis can visit to search for information or advice.

The service offers help finding housing, groceries, and medical attention, as well as translation.

Naji and the center try to provide some cultural education to fellow refugees, to help them adjust to the American way of life. He said he enjoys the differences in U.S. and Somali cultures, and is even recognizing some similarities.

He invites English-speaking individuals to come in and volunteer to help teach English as a second language.

In a recent class, Somalis learned how to ask a doctor questions about prescription medicines, and learned what a diuretic is.

Such situations and scenarios are of interest to Somalis, and they encourage anyone willing to help them learn more about American life to come visit.

“To be very sincere,” Naji said, “Lexington is a very receptive community, very receptive. They are very human and very generous.”

To contact Naji, the founding director of the Somali Community Service Center, call 308-324-7497 or 612-735-7546.