By Tahera Azizi and Paul Mwingwa
For Paul Mwingwa, refugee leadership begins with having a voice where decisions are made.
As a Refugee Congress Delegate for Montana, Paul has spent years helping New Americans become more engaged in their communities through civic education, leadership development, and community organizing. His work reaches beyond traditional services, creating opportunities for refugees to contribute their knowledge, build relationships, and participate in the communities where they live.
“One of the things that attracted me a lot was to have the refugee sit at the table where decisions are made,” Paul said. “Because that's the thing that was missing.”
Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Paul spent 18 years as a refugee in Rwanda, where he served as a refugee representative with UNHCR. His experience serving as a refugee representative with UNHCR shaped his belief that refugees should have opportunities to contribute their ideas and advocate for themselves. When he came to Montana and saw a need for more direct refugee involvement, that belief was reinforced and became central to his approach to refugee leadership.
When Paul came to Montana, he saw organizations working to support refugees, but he also saw a need for refugees themselves to be more directly involved. To address this need, he worked to build relationships with organizations, community leaders, and decision-makers. With support and training through Refugee Congress, he was able to strengthen these connections and create more opportunities for refugees to share their experiences and ideas.
Language and scheduling remain barriers to participation. Some refugees face challenges learning English when classes are conducted only in English, while others must balance work with classes and community services. These experiences helped shape Paul’s approach to creating more flexible and community-based opportunities for support.
As Executive Director of the Montana Organization of New Americans (MONA), Paul works to build on the skills already present within refugee communities. “Among us we have teachers, doctors, lawyers, and people with every kind of skill,” he explained. “We want to put together all those skills and serve our community with them.”
MONA's work includes helping New Americans with language learning, driving, financial education, and navigating systems in the United States. The organization also focuses on helping people recognize their own skills and capacity to support others.
That work extends into schools. Paul helps refugee and immigrant families understand systems affecting their children and works with educators and community partners serving New American families. MONA builds relationships with schools and educators while helping New American parents develop the confidence and knowledge to participate more actively in their children's education and the broader school community. Paul also shares families' educational histories with teachers so educators can better understand where families are coming from.
Faith communities are another important part of this work. Paul engages with faith leaders and participates in conversations about how faith communities can welcome and support New Americans. He also connects refugee and immigrant community members with local faith communities, Rotary Clubs, Toastmasters Clubs, and other community networks where they can build relationships and participate in community activities.
Civic education is central to Paul's vision. He helps New Americans understand how local government works, the roles of elected officials, how decisions are made, how to participate in public meetings, and how to communicate with elected officials. MONA is also developing a more structured civic-engagement program that includes local government, advocacy, community organizing, public speaking, and communicating community needs.
For Paul, leadership development means helping people see themselves as contributors. His own experience became an example of what is possible through community involvement and service. A team of Associate Delegates from Afghanistan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen, have followed Paul’s lead and are now leaders in their communities too.
“That’s something I’m proud of because all of them can stand even when I’m not there,” Paul said.
Building leaders who can continue the work is especially important as Paul approaches the end of his second term as a Delegate. For him, sustainable leadership means that refugee communities have the relationships, knowledge, and confidence to continue participating even when individual leaders move on.
“My main goal is to see refugees sit at the table where the issue of refugees is discussed,” Paul said.
For Paul, being at the table is more than attending a meeting. It means having a voice, being heard, sharing lived experience, and helping shape the communities where New Americans live. His work in Montana reflects a broader vision of refugee leadership: not simply supporting refugees, but creating opportunities for refugees to lead, organize, advocate, and contribute.
