Building Home, Far From Home: The Power of Education, Family and Refugee Voices with Nabin Dhimal

Today Nabin Dhimal joins Suzanne for the final episode of season one of Not Really Strangers Suzanne originally met Nabin in Geneva at the Global Refugee Forum, where he helped her feel at home and confident in her then-new position as the executive director and CEO of USA for UNHCR. Nabin was born in a refugee camp in Nepal after his family was displaced from Bhutan, and he later resettled in Portland, Oregon. Today, he’s a master’s student at Georgetown University, an advocate for refugees, and a community builder. In this conversation, he and Suzanne explore what it means to call a place “home,” how food and education shape identity and why being a “stranger” is so often just a matter of being misunderstood. Nabin’s story invites us to see how deeply intertwined our lives really are and how, by listening more closely, we start to realize we’re not really strangers after all.






Topics Discussed:

• Nabin’s journey from Bhutan to a refugee camp in Nepal, and eventually to Portland, Oregon
• The emotional toll and hope embedded in the refugee resettlement process
• The meaning of home, belonging and identity as a Bhutanese-Nepali refugee
• How education, vulnerability and storytelling helped Nabin build community in the U.S.
• The role of food and tradition in maintaining cultural roots across continents





Episode Resources:

• Read: Inspired by a love of education, a former refugee is making a difference in Portland, Oregon (https://www.unrefugees.org/news/inspi...)

Resources:


• Podcast show notes (https://www.unrefugees.org/not-really...)

• Donate now (https://give.unrefugees.org/180117cor...)

• Follow USA for UNHCR on Instagram (  / usaforunhcr  )

• Connect with Suzanne on LinkedIn (  / suzanne-ehlers  )