Why Do Somalis Come to Minnesota?
Due to word of mouth, Minnesota was proclaimed as the place of good employment, good schools, excellent refugee services, and most importantly the hope of peace and being reunited with loved ones.
Due to word of mouth, Minnesota was proclaimed as the place of good employment, good schools, excellent refugee services, and most importantly the hope of peace and being reunited with loved ones.
Minnesota Immigrant Statistics:
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Owatonna Public School District Immigrant Statistics:
- There are 13 public schools managed by Owatonna Public School District School serving 4,862 students in Owatonna, MN.
- Minority enrollment is 20% of the student body (majority Hispanic), which is less than the Minnesota state average of 28%.
- Willow Creek Intermediate Elementary School mirrors minority averages of the district.
Rural Poverty in Somalia
- Somalia is among the five least developed of 170 countries listed in the 2012 Human Development Index.
- The average life expectancy is just 51 years.
- One in every 14 women to go into labor dies.
- A third of all children under five years old are malnourished.
- Almost 20% of children do not survive past their fifth birthday.
- About 40% of the population lives in extreme poverty; in rural areas this figure exceeds 50%.
- Famine is still a huge concern with 2.1 million people remaining food-insecure and 236,000 children malnourished, with 70% of them living in southern Somalia.
Somali Poverty in Minnesota
- Minnesota is the home to the largest population of Somali-Americans in the country
- About 69% of Minnesotans of Somali decent are under the age of 30.
- About 82% of Somalis are near or below the poverty line compared to 13% statewide.
- The Somali have the highest poverty rates for MN immigrants with 2 in 3 Somali living below the poverty line.
- Somalis are also isolated from other Muslim Americans, who tend to be better educated and more financially stable.
- About 68% of Somalis in Minnesota 25 and older do not have a high school diploma, compared to 8.4% of non-Somali Minnesotans which also contributes to poverty.