Have you ever had the delicious falafel or beef shawarma at the farmer’s market? Well, here is a little more information about Arabian Cuisines and the man behind it, Ammar Omar: 

Ammar started Arabian Cuisines in the Spring of 2018. Originally from Iraq, he and his family settled in Missoula, MT in May 2017. He hopes to share some of the culture and taste of Arabian food with Missoula. Ammar is an experienced and talented chef who ran a restaurant in the United Arban Emirates before coming to Missoula. 

Last year Ammar sold falafel at the Soft Landing Missoula farmer’s market booth. Since then, he has worked hard to study food safety and go through the process of starting his own business. He now owns Arabian Cuisines. 

You can find Ammar at every Clark Fork Market over the summer and a variety of other Missoula events. He also caters and does private events. Arabian Cuisines is a great option for a catered lunch or a family event at an affordable price! 

To get more information about how you can get Ammar to cook at one of your events contact Soft Landing Missoula at info@softlandingmissoula.org. 

Some of Ammar’s specialties are:

• Falafel: A vegetarian fried mix of vegetables including chickpeas flavored with cilantro, cumin, and other Middle Eastern spices.

• Shawarma: Juicy chicken or beef slow cooked on a rotisserie and thinly sliced as ordered.

The University of Montana’s English Language Institute (ELI) is providing two exciting opportunities to become a host family! Information from the ELI is below:

·         ELI is seeking 3 five-month hosts for English language teachers from the Okinawa Board of Education in Japan.  Their program is an intensive teacher-training program aimed at developing English language instruction skills.  Hosts for this program will receive an orientation to the homestay program, including intercultural communication tips and a stipend of up to $620/month.  The teachers will be arriving July 21 and staying through December 15.  Five months too long?  Can you host an English teacher for fall semester?  Or two months?

·         20+ hosts are needed for a Saturday, August 4, afternoon exchange (2 – 7 pm ) with students from Kumamoto High School.  These students are here for 16 days to study English and learn about American culture.  This is a low-commitment chance to share your lifestyle and Missoula with a visiting youth from Montana’s Japanese sister state.  Plan an activity or excursion and share dinner.

 If you are interested in either (or both!) of these host opportunities, please contact Sarah Bortis at 406.243.5885 or sarah.bortis@mso.umt.edu.  If you can’t do these times, but are interested for the future, let Sarah know and she will add to the contact list.

Soft Landing Missoula will be marching tonight along side Montanans for Immigrant Justice and others from a coalition that put together an outward show of our community’s horror at families being ripped apart at our southern border.  Please consider joining us.

Where: Missoula Co Detention Facility- 2340 Mullan Rd.

When: Wednesday, June 20th, at 5p

More information available in this Facebook Event.

We are so proud of the Montana voices that are speaking out against the forced separation of children from their parents by the United States of America at our southern border. This letter from Tester came about with pressure from our own communities across Montana being vocal and passionate about needing this to stop- now.  I know that, although with much less strong statements, Daines and Gianforte have also disagreed with the process taking place.  We need to continue to press our elected leaders in Washington to make BOLD strokes against family separation at the border, AND thank Tester for his leadership in this.

As you’ve probably heard, there will be a Futpong tournament at this year’s World Refugee Day soccer tournament and community celebration! Below is a little information from one of the creators of Futpong about this wildly fun game that can be played anywhere! 

Futpong is tennis with your feet and or other parts of your body excluding of course your hands and arms. Played on a 12’ by 6’ court with a net, recommended footwear is sneakers.  The tournament will begin with pool play where everyone can have a chance to dial in their touch.  The pool play will be followed by an elimination round.  Prizes will be awarded to the winner and finalists.  Recommended for ages 12 and up. 

Please email dave@futpong.net if you think you are interested in the tournament at the World Refugee Day celebration- so that we have an idea on the number of participants.    

Whether you’re playing or watching you won’t want to miss this exciting Futpong tournament! 

• Learn more about Futpong by checking out the Futpong website   
• See a Futpong tournament in action by checking out the video page
• Get connected and see more Futpong photos and videos on the Futpong Facebook page

Late last year, we were contacted by Jessie and her wonderful organization, Animal Wonders, with the news that Soft Landing Missoula had been named as the recipient of a presentation through a donation by a local company called SciShow.  We are thrilled to announce that we get to share this incredible gift with you all and Animal Wonders will be bringing some adorable and incredible animals to this year’s World Refugee Day soccer tournament and community celebration! 

Animal Wonders is a non-profit that both rescues animals providing them with a life-long home, and promotes knowledge and appreciation of animals and conservation by offering live presentations and online videos. Find out more about Animal Wonders by checking out their website!    

Animal Wonders will be presenting at the community celebration between 5:00 and 7:00 pm. Below are some of the animals you might meet! 

Blueberry the Northern Blue Tongue Skink

Kemosabe the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine

Yucca the Red-Footed Tortoise

Thank you to all of our World Refugee Day soccer tournament sponsors! The following people and businesses have not only helped to make the World Refugee Day soccer tournament and community celebration a success, but also have helped to enable SLM to continue to support the families arriving in Missoula and the Missoula community through our programming and services. These businesses work to make Missoula a wonderful and welcoming place to live! Thank you!

 

World Cup Final Match Sponsors:

• Klaus von Stutterheim
• Missoula Federal Credit Union

• Adventure Life

 

 

Community Celebration Sponsors:

• Justin and Katie Metcalf
• Good Food Store

• Jeremy Roberts and Conservation Media

• The Maureen & Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana

• Masala

• Smith & Stephens P.C.

• St. Patricks Hospital

 

 

Refugee Player Sponsors:

• Big Sky Public Relations

• Futpong

• Interim Healthcare of Western Montana

• Garlington, Lohn & Robinson PLLP

• Sushi Hana Downtown

• A&E Architects

 

Friend of the Tournament Sponsors:

• Mike Stark and SG Long

• Montana Legal Justice

• Eastgate Veterinary Clinic

• Ink Realty Group

• Mountain Line Bus

• The Green Light Apparel & Home Decor

 

 

In-Kind Sponsors:

• Eric and Blair Sprunk

• Coca-Cola High Country

• Missoula Events

• Clyde Coffee

• Garage Tees

• Gecko Designs

• Mary’s Mountain Cookies

• Starbucks

• Animal Wonders

Soft Landing Missoula needs your help! The second annual World Refugee Day Cup is an all day soccer tournament followed by a community celebration taking place on Saturday, June 16th at Fort Missoula Regional Park. We need help with everything from set up and break down to selling t-shirts, so any way that you can pitch in would be deeply appreciated. It’s going to be a fun, fantastic summer event – we hope to see you there to make this day a success! 

Click here to see the Sign Up Genius and sign up for a shift. Thank you!

After a further look at our needs as an organization and our deepening commitment to refugee families and our community, we have updated the position we are seeking to fill.  If you want to work in a fun, dynamic, energizing office AND do amazing things to change people’s lives, come work for Soft Landing Missoula!

Check out our updated post for a full-time Development and Communications Director position with SLM.