KHRW Health Educator
Laila Issa at Health Education Class San Diego

KHRW Health Administrator

Kurdish Human Rights Watch (KHRW) has been providing services to refugees and immigrants in east San Diego County since 1997.   KHRW case managers assist and empower clients in understanding how to make appropriate health care decisions, how to perform mainstream activities to achieve their family health goals and how to support their community in promoting healthy families.  A common thread shared by refugees and newcomer community entails difficulty in overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers following resettlement and in understanding preventative health measures and accessing health services.

KHRW offers a participatory and sustainable approach that involves the refugee and immigrant community both in adapting and implementing a preventative health project as well as in educating individual families in preventative health best practices.  KHRW-San Diego will work with the area’s Community Advisory Board and community leaders in facilitating and developing the project vision, reviewing plans and providing input for various programmatic components. Community leaders will participate in training and orientation programs and KHRW will conduct orientations for community members on both preventative health practices and processes for accessing basic health services

The two primary objectives of our program are:  increase refugee and immigrant access to basic, mainstream healthcare services and augment the general health and well-being of the refugee and immigrant community in East County.  At the end of the three-year grant period, families will have accessed preventative health care programs, attended orientations on basic health care practices and developed a sustainable health care plan for their families. In addition, 50 healthcare professionals in the East County area will demonstrate an increased cultural and linguistic awareness while treating and consulting with refugee and immigrant clients.  The project will also significantly increase the overall general health and well-being of the refugee and immigrant community through targeted female and male preventative health measures and through classes and workshops geared towards promoting healthy lifestyles among the refugee and immigrant community.   

The proposed project is built around KHRW’s three core values of participation, sustainability, empowerment and equity in addressing the basic healthcare and community needs of the East County refugee and immigrant population. KHRW’s program is designed to improve health care access, reduce health risks and achieve overall health equity among our refugee and immigrant clientele. Our program addresses the core values of improving quality and healthcare access, promoting general health and well-being and facilitating culturally specific approaches to reduce disparities in health among the refugee and immigrant community of East County.

The Medical Director for this program is Dr. Pary Karadaghi for questions in regards to the preventive health program or to inquire about other health related issues please call in San Diego 619-447-9933 and ask for Ms. Sura Blejani or Ms. Zozan Saleh Berwari.   In Fairfax please call 703-385-3806.

KHRW - San Diego Office
1109 E. Washington Avenue
El Cajon, CA 92019
Phone: (619) 447-9933
Fax: (619) 447-9932

KHRW Headquarters
10560 Main Street, #205
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Phone: (703) 385-3806
Fax: (703) 385-3643

www.khrw.com