Two Moorhead women who work with immigrants, refugees and Moorhead’s diverse communities are among seven Minnesotans to receive the Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor for 2024.
They are Eman Yassin, an advocate for immigrants, refugees and others living on the margins, and Yoke-Sim Gunaratne, who has headed Cultural Diversity Resources since its inception in 1994.
The statewide awards, offered in collaboration with the Minnesota Council of Foundations, were established 40 years ago to “honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the state of Minnesota and its communities but who have not been widely recognized for their work in the past,” according to the McKnight Foundation’s website. Binger was the first board chair of the foundation.
According to Mayor Shelly Carlson, who introduces the two, Yassin came to the area as an Iraqi immigrant with few possessions. Recognizing that education was the path to success, she earned associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in social work after her arrival. “She has applied her knowledge to assist other newly arriving people,” Carlson said, “walking alongside people to deliver what they need, whether it be support to complete paperwork or help in obtaining housing, food, clothing or mental health services.”
Gunaratne, a native of Malaysia, came to Moorhead by way of Australia when her late husband accepted a teaching position at Minnesota State University Moorhead. When Cultural Diversity Resources was formed in 1994, she was tapped as its first – and, to date, only – director. She has helped develop programs to support employment, provide bilingual interpreters, and support financial literacy, diversity education, nonprofit management and entrepreneurship.