Kyaw Thay Sue, 21, a Burmese refugee, works for Global Painting as his co-workers look on. From left: supervisor Biak Tling, Saw Dai, Jack Niyonkuru, owner Patrick Braford and Eugene Habimana.
It’s just after 8 a.m. on a clear May morning, and nine employees of Global Painting are preparing for their day in the Ginter Park driveway of company founder Patrick Braford. The cellphone of one painter starts ringing, but he ignores it as he jumps in and out of the back of a pick-up, loading it with cans of paint and ladders.
“Someone really wants to talk to you, Kyaw,” Braford says, as the phone continues to ring. Kyaw Thay Sue peeks at the phone to see who’s calling. “It’s from Burma,” he says as he turns it off and stuffs it back into his pocket. “I’m busy working.”
Kyaw, 21, fled Burma as a young child with his mother and siblings and then lived in a refugee camp in Thailand. Seven years ago, they came to the United States, eventually moving to Richmond from Indianapolis to join an aunt and cousin. Kyaw’s cousin helped him get a job with Global Painting after he graduated from Henrico High School in 2013. Today, Kyaw beams when he talks about how Braford has increased his responsibilities and pay, and how he has gained enough experience to lead a crew.
It’s hard not to be in awe of Kyaw as he shares his story — how he entered a Henrico County middle school without knowing English, how he supports his family, or how badly he probably wanted to answer that phone call from his homeland.
Kyaw’s story of sacrificing everything for a chance to start over is one he shares with his nine coworkers at Global Painting, all refugees who fled their countries in search of a better life. Four of the men are from Burma, three are from Burundi, one is from Iraq, and the most recent addition to the crew, Abdulwahed Ladaa, arrived from Syria just a few months ago with his wife and three daughters. His fourth daughter, just 2 months old, was born in Richmond.
This crew is what Braford imagined when he started Global Painting in 2013 to provide jobs to refugees. Though his circumstances are vastly different from the men he employs, Braford’s story of providing refugees a path to self-sufficiency is equally compelling.
Way Thaw Htoo, 25, (center) and his family were among the first Burmese refugee families to attend Tabernacle Baptist Church. Today, he works for Global Painting. From left: Way Ku, Lay Htoo, Way Soe and Way Do.
Servant Heart
Braford, 37, was introduced to Richmond’s refugee community in 2009 when he began attending Tabernacle Baptist Church in The Fan. “We were a small congregation on the decline,” recalls Pastor Sterling Severns. “One day, the two back pews were full with two very large families from Burma. It was a big deal for us. They spoke zero English.”
Baptists first sent missionaries to Burma about 200 years ago and though they are a persecuted religious minority, they still have a strong presence there today. Tabernacle welcomed the families and discovered that there were many others who were looking for a place to worship — all Baptist refugees from Burma (now officially called Myanmar) who were members of oppressed ethnic groups. Tabernacle welcomed them, though “there was not a single interpreter available in Richmond who spoke their language,” Severns says. With the influx of refugees, Tabernacle doubled in size from about 100 families to 200. Then a second wave of Richmonders started showing up. These were local doctors, social workers and “young professionals with servant hearts,” Severns says. “They were attracted by the story of the church that was willing to give itself away.”
Braford and his fiancée (now wife), Erin, started attending Tabernacle around this time. They had recently moved to Richmond to start a new life after meeting in Northern Virginia. Braford, who worked for Enterprise Rent-a-Car for three years after graduating from James Madison University, had just finished a one-year stint as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member working for Habitat for Humanity in Dover, Delaware, where he established a ReStore.
In Richmond, Braford was working as a construction manager for Clayton Homes, while Erin worked as a marketing and branding strategist. The young, eager couple embraced the opportunity to help Tabernacle’s refugee members. Erin had taught ESL classes as a volunteer in Northern Virginia, and she and Patrick coordinated with another church, and some drivers, to offer ESL classes near Azalea Avenue, where the refugees had been resettled. “Patrick was serving behind the scenes,” Severns says. “He was quiet. We didn’t [yet] know what he was capable of.”
Braford and his brother grew up in Farmville. Their father worked for the state’s department of forestry, and their mom taught elementary school. Though Braford did not have much contact with other cultures in Farmville, he did attend Prince Edward County High School, which was predominantly black. Both his French teacher and the school principal had taught there before the school was closed for five years to avoid desegregation, and it made an impression on him. His family also did some volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and Farmville Baptist Church. Braford says his grandfathers, both farmers, “were always giving people opportunities and always thinking the best of people,” he recalls.
Through visiting Richmond-area apartment complexes that housed a lot of refugees and welcoming new arrivals, “I was getting to slowly understand what it took to resettle refugees,” Braford says. By law, resettlement agencies can provide services to refugees for 90 days after they arrive in the United States. The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program funds the arrival and assimilation of refugees through programs managed by individual states. The Virginia Department of Social Services’ Office of Newcomer Services distributes money to three local agencies: Commonwealth Catholic Charities, Church World Service and the International Rescue Committee, whose caseworkers help refugees find jobs, enroll in school, get medical screenings and begin to pay rent, bills and taxes.
After 90 days, it’s up to church groups, other refugees and volunteers to continue to orient the newcomers. “I saw burnout from volunteers, and I saw that we were always trying to solve problems and put out fires,” Braford says. “I knew that it was not sustainable. Working with refugees can be an amazing experience … but it can also be heartbreaking.”
Refugees have to depend on landlords who are willing to rent to newcomers with no credit history, limited language skills, few job prospects and other challenges. “Apartment complexes will take refugees without someone co-signing, will fill up and burn out and then they never take refugees again,” Severns says. “People get up and move in the middle of the night; there is a great need for stability and filling in the cracks. Clearly there was a need. Patrick was the first to articulate it and say, ‘What can we do to fill it?’ ”
Patrick and Erin Braford with their children, Emma, 4, James, 6, and Luke, 2
Reestablish Richmond
Braford’s solution was to start a nonprofit, Reestablish Richmond, in 2011 and, through it, create a housing center for newly arrived refugees. With his background at Habitat and as a construction manager for Clayton Homes, housing was a natural fit for him. The organization, which pulled together churches and other groups that worked with refugees, wanted to turn the Adams Camera Building on Broad Street in Scott’s Addition (now the Hofheimer Building) into apartments, classroom space, a thrift store for on-site job training and a rooftop garden. “Refugees need a place to live that is more understanding of their situation,” Braford says. “It was a big dream, but it cost a lot of money.”
Ultimately, however, the young organization was not able to secure grants to realize the housing center.
By this time, the Brafords had just had their second child, and they were living on Erin’s income. “I put a lot of eggs in one basket for a building that never worked out,” he says. “It was difficult for me to say that it wasn’t going to work out, because I really felt like if enough energy and connections were made, it would.”
Rather than give up, Braford — a pragmatic problem-solver — decided to focus on creating programs that could help refugees with transportation and jobs. “My whole goal with the organization was not to put out fires but to create more long-term solutions,” he says.
Solving the transportation problem for new refugees is a focus for Reestablish Richmond. Resettlement agencies tend to cluster refugees, often in areas with no access to public transportation. In the Richmond region, for the past five years, most refugees have been resettled in western Henrico County. Kate Ayers, Reestablish Richmond’s executive director, says 70 percent of refugees in Richmond live within a 5-mile radius of the Tuckahoe YMCA on Patterson Avenue. Without reliable transportation, it’s difficult for refugees to get to work — if they can find jobs.
Last year, Reestablish Richmond helped about 200 adults, providing transitional services that federal resettlement funds don’t cover — public transportation training, learner’s permit and driver’s education classes in native languages, ESL and GED tutoring, job readiness support and social events to help refugees meet community members.
Braford is still involved with Reestablish Richmond, but in 2013, he handed the reins over to Ayers. “People usually hang on for a long time — founder’s syndrome is real,” Erin says. “But Patrick is most passionate about people. … That’s the bottom line for Patrick. He sees a need and he wants to use his gifts to help people. ”
Wet Paint
Though Braford stepped away from leadership of Reestablish Richmond (he supports and consults with the group), he remains committed to helping refugees. He started Global Painting to solve yet another problem in that community — access to job training and to jobs that pay sustainable wages.
Braford had run a painting crew during the summers while he was in college, and he enlisted Biak Tling, a Burmese refugee he knew through Tabernacle Baptist Church, to help get the business off the ground. With Tling, an experienced carpenter and a natural-born leader, Braford assembled a crew of three painters, whom they trained, and placed an ad on a Ginter Park neighborhood web page.
“We decided we were just going to try to see if it worked,” Braford recalls. The men stayed busy with referrals through most of that first year. By 2014, Global Painting was up to a crew of four painters. Today, it employs nine. Braford expects to do about $500,000 in business this year. Erin recently left a full-time marketing job to join the business.
Global Painting’s crew members start at $9 to $10 an hour and “as soon they prove they are a good fit,” Braford increases their pay to $12 an hour. “My focus is to show a way upward, to get guys up to $15 an hour,” Braford says. “I don’t see how you can pay the bills making less than $15. All of the guys are supporting a family or are an important contributor.”
Though its website explains the refugee aspect of the business, Braford says it is not something he advertises heavily. Since the inauguration, though, potential clients have been interested in the refugee aspect. “We still have to be competitive,” he says. “If I am $1,000 more than another bid, we probably won’t get the job; if I am $200 more, I will probably get it [because people want to help refugees].”
Braford allows his painters to take time off when they need it. “In the first couple of years, I was surprised at how many days people had to take off to help with their family,” he says. “They may be the only one in the family who speaks English and they have to go to all of the doctor and school appointments.”
Braford stresses that Global Painting is a team effort. “If a job requires only four painters, but five are working that day, I will send all five, and everybody will make a little bit less money,” he says. “The guys wanted me to get a new truck. They want me to succeed, too. They are not jealous. They see that we all earned it together.”
Miriam George, an associate professor at VCU’s School of Social Work and an expert in global community mental health and refugee trauma, consulted with Braford when he was starting Reestablish Richmond and has been impressed with what’s he done with Global Painting. “I don’t think many people understood the power of what he was planning to do,” she says. “Confidence building is so important. People tend to want to see [a refugee] as a problem, not as a person.”
Starting From Zero
Laura Jones, refugee and outreach coordinator for Reestablish Richmond, says newly arrived refugees frequently will take whatever job they can get. Most of the work available is second-shift, unskilled factory labor where English is not necessary, and there’s no opportunity for growth. Refugees often fall into one of two groups, she says: Either they have not had much formal education because they have lived for many years in refugee camps, or they are highly skilled, but cannot find equivalent employment in the United States because their licensure and accreditations do not transfer. Painter Eugene Habimana, 35, came to the United States in 2009 after spending 12 years in a refugee camp in Tanzania. The father of three girls, Habimana previously worked for Tyson Chicken before joining Global Painting. His job was to hang chickens on hooks before they were slaughtered. “I had to do 32 chickens a minute,” he remembers. “I had to clock out to go to the bathroom. This is better. We get to work with different people, and they taught me how to paint. As long as we do the job and do our best, Patrick is happy.”
A good job is critical to a refugee’s chances of success. “We see some people who are maybe willing to be a dishwasher for the rest of their lives, but others have a lot of drive and they persevere through some pretty rough stuff,” Severns says. “On Patrick’s crew, some will be lifers and some are just passing through [on their way to other opportunities].”
“People tend to want to see [a refugee] as a problem, not as a person.” —Miriam George, VCU associate professor
Way Thaw Htoo, a member of one of the first refugee families to attend Tabernacle Baptist Church, is an example. Htoo, 25, will spend a few weeks in Thailand visiting family this summer before starting school at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, where he’ll realize his dream of becoming a diesel mechanic. “Patrick is a stepping stone for him, and Patrick knows that,” Severns says.
In 2013, just as Global Painting was getting off the ground, Braford traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for two weeks with a small group from Tabernacle Baptist Church. “For me, it was a chance to see … where people were coming from.” At first, he says, he was overwhelmed by the need. “It initially made it seem like what we were doing in Richmond, Virginia, was a piddly drop in the bucket compared to everything going on in the resettlement community.” But after a week or so, he came to realize the true power of what he was trying to do. When people are refugees, without a country to call home, they are stuck in a permanent state of uncertainty. “When they finally get to Richmond, they feel like they have reached a conclusion on that journey, a feeling like ‘I’m home now,’ ” Braford says. “Being a part of what provides that feeling — provides hope, meaning and a sense of safety and well being — is important, especially when parents know their kids have a better place to grow.”
Since getting involved with the refugee community, Braford says he’s seen many positive changes. He especially enjoys watching his diverse crew interact. “They are melded together into one team,” he says. “It is neat to see them get together outside of work.” They help each other paint apartments for relatives, fish and play soccer together.
“We’re like one family,” says Tling, looking around at his co-workers. “For me, I am really happy and enjoy being with other races. We are African, and Middle Eastern and South Asian and all mixing, and don’t see each other as different races.” When Tling is asked what it’s like to work with Braford, he smiles. “He handles everything for refugees,” he says. “Sometimes, he’s a boss, sometimes he’s a friend.”
The Crew
Way Thaw Htoo, 25, is from Burma and fled with his family to a refugee camp in Thailand when he was 4 years old, living there for 13 years. He has been in Richmond since 2008 and joined Global Painting about a year ago after working as a cook at a Thai restaurant. He had some experience painting — his family helped build their house with Habitat for Humanity in Ashland. He plans to visit family in Thailand this summer, then will begin school at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in the fall to realize his dream of becoming a mechanic. His family was one of the first two Burmese families to attend Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Abdulwahed Ladaa arrived in Richmond from Syria in January with his wife and three daughters. Their fourth child, also a girl, was born after they arrived and is an American citizen. Ladaa is Global Painting’s newest employee. In Syria, he worked in a café. He does not own a car and takes the bus to Global Painting’s office on Broad Street, where the crew picks him up on the way to the day’s job site.
Toyi August, 24, is from Burundi and lived in a refugee camp in Tanzania for 12 years before coming to Richmond in 2008 with his family. He has been working for Global Painting for two years. Last year, he became an American citizen and voted in his first presidential election. He plans to stay with Global Painting for a while. “It is pretty nice to work with friends from different countries,” he says. He hopes one day to return to school to study business.
