IT’S GRADUATION SEASON, BUT IT’S NOT EVERY DAY YOU GET TO SEE THE INAUGURAL CLASS GRADUATE, THE MY CITY GO PROGRAM CONNECTS IMMIGRANTS WITH OMAHA LEADERS AND TEACHES THEM SKILLS TO HELP THEM SUCCEED. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S IZZY FONFARA WAS THERE AS THE FIRST COHORT CROSSED THE STAGE. THESE 24 GRADUATES MAKE UP THE FIRST COHORT OF THE MY CITY GO PROGRAM. IT ALSO MAKES YOU LIKE A BIG BROTHER OR A BIG SISTER TO ALSO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE COMING TO HELP THEM SHOW THEM THE WAY. AMONG THEM CAM BONNIE, A SOUTH SUDAN REFUGEE WHO’S LIVED IN OMAHA FOR TEN YEARS. HE SAYS THIS PROGRAM TAUGHT HIM ABOUT HIS CIVIC DUTIES. YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE LEFT OUT OF THE GOVERNMENT, BUT WHEN WE COME TO THIS CLASS, WE CAME TO REALIZE THAT EVEN THE GOVERNMENT IS OURS, THAT WE HAVE A VOICE ALSO IN THIS GOVERNMENT AND HOW THE CITY IS RUN. AND WITH HIM, MANGER BOR, A THAI IMMIGRANT WHO’S CALLED OMAHA HOME FOR 14 YEARS. OMAHA IS NOT JUST FOR THE NATIVE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE DREAMERS, THE IMMIGRANTS, THE REFUGEE, ALL TYPE OF PEOPLE. EACH OF THEM ARE DEVELOPING THEIR OWN COMPANIES, BOTH WITH THE GOAL OF HELPING PEOPLE NEW TO THE UNITED STATES. HERE, YOU KIND OF CAN GET TO BE CREATIVE AND BE YOUR OWN BOSS. I THINK THIS WAS MY HIGHLIGHT OF THE WHOLE TRAINING. WHEN YOU FIRST COME TO THE UNITED STATES AS A REFUGEE, YOU ONLY HAVE A FEW WEEKS OR FEW DAYS TO KIND OF LIKE BE TOLD, HEY, THIS IS HOW YOU NEED TO, TO, TO RUN YOUR HOUSE. AND THIS IS ALSO HOW YOU GET TO JOB. THE PROGRAM COMBINES LEADERSHIP AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT WITH RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, HELPING STUDENTS DEVELOP SKILLS TO FLOURISH WHILE GIVING THEM A NETWORK TO RELY ON. ANYTIME WE CAN BRING TOGETHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO WANT TO NOT ONLY ADVANCE THEIR OWN CAREERS, BUT TO GET BACK TO THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH THEY LIVE, IS A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY AND A TREMENDOUS ASSET. MY CITY GO PLANS TO START THEIR SECOND COHORT IN THE FALL, WITH ANOTHER TO FOLLOW I
‘Omaha is not just for the native’: Immigrants and refugees graduate from city’s MyCity Go program
Updated: 6:46 PM CDT May 23, 2026
Twenty-four graduates, including immigrants and refugees, completed the first cohort of Omaha’s MyCity Go program, which combines leadership, civic engagement, and relationship building to help participants develop skills and build networks. Among the graduates was Kam Bany, a South Sudan refugee who has lived in Omaha for 10 years. Bany said the program taught him about his civic duties. “You feel like you were left out of the government, but when we come to this class, we came to realize that even the government is ours, that we have a voice also in this government and how this city is run,” Bany said. Next to him was Manger Baw, a Thai immigrant who has called Omaha home for 14 years. “Omaha is not just for the native, we have the dreamers, the immigrants, the refugee, all type of people,” Baw said. Both Bany and Baw are developing their own companies, each with the goal of helping people new to the United States. “Here, you kind of can get to be creative and be your own boss. I think that’s what my highlight of the whole training is,” Baw said. Reflecting on his own experience as a refugee, Bany said, “When you first come to the United States as a refugee, you only have a few weeks or a few days to kind of be told, ‘Hey, this is how you need to run your house, and this is how you get a job.'” The program representative, Heath Mello, highlighted the importance of the initiative. “Anytime we can bring together people in the community who want to not only advance their own careers, but to give back to the community in which they live is a tremendous opportunity,” Mello said. MyCity Go plans to start its second cohort in the fall, with another scheduled for spring 2027.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
OMAHA, Neb. —
Twenty-four graduates, including immigrants and refugees, completed the first cohort of Omaha’s MyCity Go program, which combines leadership, civic engagement, and relationship building to help participants develop skills and build networks.
Among the graduates was Kam Bany, a South Sudan refugee who has lived in Omaha for 10 years. Bany said the program taught him about his civic duties.
“You feel like you were left out of the government, but when we come to this class, we came to realize that even the government is ours, that we have a voice also in this government and how this city is run,” Bany said.
Next to him was Manger Baw, a Thai immigrant who has called Omaha home for 14 years.
“Omaha is not just for the native, we have the dreamers, the immigrants, the refugee, all type of people,” Baw said.
Both Bany and Baw are developing their own companies, each with the goal of helping people new to the United States.
“Here, you kind of can get to be creative and be your own boss. I think that’s what my highlight of the whole training is,” Baw said.
Reflecting on his own experience as a refugee, Bany said, “When you first come to the United States as a refugee, you only have a few weeks or a few days to kind of be told, ‘Hey, this is how you need to run your house, and this is how you get a job.'”
The program representative, Heath Mello, highlighted the importance of the initiative.
“Anytime we can bring together people in the community who want to not only advance their own careers, but to give back to the community in which they live is a tremendous opportunity,” Mello said.
MyCity Go plans to start its second cohort in the fall, with another scheduled for spring 2027.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |