We were honored to have Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi bless the newly established South Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African (SAMENA) Collective. AccessCal is a proud member of SAMENA, which had its official kick-off launch and press conference yesterday. Our 17 member organizations came together to ensure our communities receive the recognition, resources, and representation they rightfully deserve. United, SAMENA will work to advance equity, representation, and enhance the quality of life for the SAMENA community in Orange County. 
Laughter, music, cultural dancing, storytelling, awards, a petting zoo, a fresh barbecue meal, and so much more were present at AccessCal’s Community Center during the World Refugee Day Orange County celebration, which was hosted by the Refugee Forum of Orange County (RFOC). World Refugee Day is an international day organized every year on June 20th by the United Nations. It is designed to celebrate and honor refugees from around the world. Each year, RFOC organizes this event to recognize refugees for their courage, bravery, and contributions. AccessCal is a leading member of the RFOC, and Executive Director and Founder Nahla Kayali also serves as RFOC’s Chairperson.
AccessCal was thrilled to see over a hundred families gather on this special day to enjoy and celebrate the resilience of refugees. RFOC presented awards to Maryna Dovhulia, Erfan Nebiiev, Mesbah Hadi, Sunbul Siddiqi, Husnia Azizi, and Sayed Sadat, who represented the nations of Ukraine and Afghanistan and shared their challenges and joys with all attendees. Together, they were awarded for their accomplishments in education, careers, and their successful resettlement efforts. We are very proud of our refugee clients and the contributions they are making every day! The program also had a special honorary speech by City of Anaheim Council Member Jose Dias, who shared his own refugee story of arriving from Cuba and his journey to becoming a public official, which generated a sense of hope and motivation with our attendees. We also had AccessCal’s very own Sh. Yassir Fazaga, who shared his journey of refugee migration and resettlement to becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist and now the Mental Health Advisor at AccessCal.
Many thanks to CalOptima Health and Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Orange County Board of Supervisors 2nd District, for sponsoring this event. We were overjoyed to have CEO Michael Hunn stop by for a visit and have Policy Advisor Vasila Ahmad from Supervisor Sarmiento’s Office attend and present certificates of accomplishment to all refugee awardees. Thank you to our Mental Health Advisor, Sh. Yassir Fazaga, LMFT, for being behind the barbecue alongside many volunteers, and thanks to our Master of Ceremonies Noor Abdelaaty and our Event Coordinator for the day, Adnan Osta!
Also, a special thank you shout-out to the Salam organization for donating meat packages to distribute to attendees. We thank all the staff, volunteers, and RFOC members for making this day a memorable one, as always!
Now you can take the Citizenship Prep classes in the evenings, here at AccessCal.
Just show up here in person at 5:30.
Classes are 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm Mondays and Wednesdays.
Malek will sign you up.
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Belief – Amplify Success Stories
We actively foster a belief that anyone can create a business that creates positive change, builds wealth, and ultimately shapes communities for the better.
Our amazing successful open house and ribbon cutting event was more than just a celebration; it was a heartfelt expression of gratitude and a testament to what can be achieved through dedication and collaboration. The memories we made will forever remind us of the journey leading up to this moment and inspire us to reach for even greater heights.
Thank you for sharing in our joy, and we look forward to many more milestones together!
Jumping with joy, Sandra Hernandez celebrates the moment her green card finally arrives in the mail. Her story has been 6 years in the making, beginning in 2016 when she and her husband filed their I-130 Petition with a different organization who in the end, made a small but crucial oversight which resulted in Sandra’s petition being denied.
Fortunately, Sandra was redirected to AccessCal by word of mouth and connected with our amazing Rania, a U.S. Department of Justice Accredited Representative who is a cornerstone of our Immigration Department.
From this point forward, Rania was with Sandra every step of the way during the challenging process of securing one’s green card. Rania even offered hope to Sandra’s husband who was finding it difficult to secure a reliable person to sponsor his wife’s green card application. After taking a look at the numbers, Rania found that Sandra’s husband only had a small financial gap to cover in order to sponsor his wife himself.
Finally, in 2020, the highly anticipated moment came when Sandra opened her mail. After 6 years of fighting for her citizenship, to her delight, she found her green card awaiting, along with a future of security and ease for Sandra and her family.
We are so happy for Sandra’s family and excited for the bright future ahead of them.
Transportation is available for non-emergency appointments and activities.
To book a ride, please contact us between 8am-3pm Monday to Friday at ride@accesscal.org or by phone at 714-917-0440
*Rides are at no-cost
We are happy to celebrate World Refugee Day to cheer on the accomplishments that refugees have weaved into the tapestry of Orange County. 
We are proud to have resilient neighbors who have gone to great lengths to protect their families and successfully rebuild their homes here in America.
World Refugee Day is an international day organized every year on 20 June by the United Nations. It is designed to celebrate and honor refugees from around the world. The day was first established on 20 June 2001, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Learn how to prepare for a disaster through our comprehensive workshops.
Training Topics:
– Learn how to prepare your family and home for disasters and evacuations
– Learn how to create an emergency preparation plan
– Learn how to build an emergency kit
Emergency Preparedness Starts With You!
To learn more & book a workshop contact:
Mercy Osir 714-917-0440 | mercy@accesscal.org
We are thrilled to share that AccessCal recently partnered with the amazing Samar Abdelfattah and her family to host our annual Eid Wish List event. With her incredible generosity and dedication to our community, Samar was able to bring smiles to hundreds of children in need.
We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all of our community donors for their generous toy donations especially Mart Basel, which helped make this year’s event a tremendous success. Thanks to your kindness, children throughout our community were able to enjoy a wonderful Eid celebration.
Tax season is here! Get your tax return started for FREE!
Count MENA IN for Civil Rights!
The National Network for Arab American Communities needs you to take action NOW!
Join us in pushing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to add a Middle Eastern and North African category (MENA). For years, NNAAC and its allies have been advocating for the OMB to include Middle East and North African as a racial and ethnic category in its data collection standards.