A glimpse of Burmese camp life

So many of you are working with Burmese refugees, I continue to look for good resources that will help you as you help your student.

Reporter Paula Bock, of the Seattle Times, was haunted by her experiences in the camps on the Thai-Burmese border. She later went on to publish an article detailing her time with Burmese refugees. Photographer Tom Reese put together a stunning photo essay to accompany the story, as well.

For the photo essay, click here.

For a basic audio guide for pronunciation of Burmese words used in the story, click here.

For the article, click here. Click on "Begin the journey" and you'll see several introductory slides and then the text of the article. It is beautifully written and well worth the time it takes to read it.

SM

Want more training??

FREE ADULT EDUCATION
MINI-CONFERENCE

Sponsored by Literacy Coalition of Colorado and
The Colorado Department of Education
at Focus Points Family Resource Center
3532 Franklin St, Denver, CO 80205

February 8th and 9th, 2008

Friday and Saturday

8:00 - 8:30 am Registration

8:45 am - 1:15 pm Workshop Sessions/Lunch Provided

NOTE: Concurrent sessions will be offered on both days. Participants may attend Friday OR Saturday OR both days.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION-February 6th

Please fax or email the information below to:
Focus Points/Open Book
ATTN: Brooke Wagenseller

Contact Brooke for a schedule ofconference sessions
Email: OpenBookLiteracy@gmail.com
Fax: 303-293-9386

Name:
Title/Program Affiliation:
Mailing Address:
Phone:
Email:

Better living through vocabulary!

Just in time to appease the spirit of holiday giving, FreeRice.org makes donating almost effortless. In fact, it won't cost a thing to make your donation to the World Food Program except for some free time and a bit of brain power.

Free Rice is a vocabulary quiz game that is just plain addictive. Remember studying all of those words for the SAT or ACT before college? Well, it's time to dust off that knowledge and put it to good use feeding hungry people around the world.

The Website, www.freerice.org, challenges you to match definitions with some pretty lofty vocabulary words. For each word you match correctly, Free Rice will donate 20 grains of rice to the World Food Program. Go ahead, give it a whirl!

Learn all about it: The Website and game were recently featured on National Public Radio. You can read the brief article (or listen) on the NPR Website by clicking here.

Have fun!

Christmas fun!

If you're looking for some very easy Christmas activities to use this week, check out the sites listed here. Many have accompanying worksheets, puzzles, and activities that are free of charge.

• A simple explanation--with pictures--of common holiday themes. Click here.


• Bingo! Print out these Christmas Bingo cards to use with intermediate-level students.


• I printed out the slides of this Christmas vocabulary Power Point and shared them with my students. High-beginning and up.


• ESL Christmas flashcards are here and they're free!


• The History Channel has lots of information both in text form and video! My intermediate-level students understood a lot of the video information. Click here for the Christmas Home Page, and be sure to check out the links on the left side of the screen, especially "Fast Facts."


• One of my favorite Websites, HowStuffWorks, has the most in-depth Christmas section on the Internet (so far). Start by clicking here, and look around. You'll be overwhelmed, I promise!


• BogglesWorld always has something for just about any holiday or social situation you wish to discuss with your student. Click and check out the New Year's stuff.

If your student is Muslim, you should know that the biggest holiday of the Islamic year, Eid-al-Adha, starts on Wednesday, December 20.

What is `Eid Al-Adha ? The `Eid Al-Adha is a major religious event in the lives of Muslims. Usually, communities celebrate this occasion over a period of several days. Although only the pilgrims in Makkah can participate in the Hajj fully, all the other Muslims in the world join with them by celebrating the `Eid Al-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice. On the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah, Muslims around the world wear their nicest clothing and attend a special prayer gathering in the morning. This is followed by a short sermon, after which everyone stands up to hug and greet one another. The traditional `Eid greeting is "`Eid Mubarak," which means "Holiday Blessings." Next, people visit each other's homes and partake in festive meals with special dishes, beverages, and desserts. Children receive gifts and sweets on this joyous occasion.

In addition, like the pilgrims in Makkah, those Muslims who can afford to do so offer domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Abraham's sacrifice. The meat is distributed for consumption to family, friends, and to the poor and needy. (information courtesy: http://www.islamonline.net/)

To find out more about this holiday--as well as why sheep and/or goats are so important to this festival-- visit Wikipedia's excellent Webpage on the subject.

Your student's food stamps

For the last year or so, I've fielded a lot of calls about refugee families having problems with their food stamps. Yes, this is a legitimate problem, but it is not the fault of the resettlement agencies in any way. Case managers throughout the resettlement network are struggling to help their clients with an unforgiving and complicated system.

The Rocky Mountain News recently ran several articles about this, including an editorial that explains the situation quite well. Click here for a link to the story.

Time to report your hours!

I woke up this weekend and it was December. Is that possible? Please don't forget to report your tutoring hours for November. I need your information no later than Friday, December 7.

You can send the information via email. Please include the following in your message:

• Your name
• The name of your student
• The number of hours you spent together in November
• Do not include planning time or driving time.

Please don't foget to send me this important information each month. Last month, no more than a handful of volunteers--out of dozens in the program--bothered to report their hours. Thank you to those who remembered and took the time to tend to this piece of business.

Remember, our program's funding and very existence depend on our ability to show that the refugees enrolled are receiving in-home instruction. Without your information coming in, I have nothing to report. It only takes a minute, and you can do it via email or phone. There will always be a reminder posted here on this blog, but you have to check in here from time to time.

CHECK THE BLOG! Once a week is probably enough. This is where I post teaching ideas, resources you might find helpful, and all kinds of ideas, including your monthly reminder to report your tutoring hours. Stay in touch--check the blog!

Looking forward to receiving your report of tutoring hours before Friday! Try to stay sane in the holiday rush.

Really Helpful Resources

Hands-on English
This information-packed newsletter brings ready-to-use activities, exercises, ideas and inspiration right to your mailbox. The newsletter is written by teachers for teachers, and covers practical topics about life skills and language for everyday life. Hands-on English also includes suggestions for adapting lessons so they can be used by students at different levels. The annual subscription price is $29, and it would be money well spent for any tutor who craves new teaching ideas. for more information, visit the HOE Website: www.handsonenglish.com

TechBeat
Courtesy of Leecy Wise in the Four Corners Adult Education program, one of the most user-friendly guides you'll find regarding technology in adult literacy and language education. Leecy does an outstanding job of making technology accessible and fun. Past topics have included blogs, Google Earth, links for ESL teachers, Life Skills, and math projects. TechBeat is published monthly and It's free! http://www.coloradoadulted.org/techbeat/techbeat.htm

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday wishes to Lisa Voelz, our co-trainer for the In-Home Tutoring Program. Best wishes for many more in good health and with many delightful days. Happy, happy birthday!

Just in time for the holidays!!

Emily Griffith Opportunity School Presents:

World Boutique
An International Holiday Craft Sale

Wednesday, December 5

10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Shop for very special, one-of-a-kind gifts just in time for the holidays!

Choose from handmade jewelry, weaving, needlework, crochet, paper crafts, and more, all crafted by international students. 100% of the sale’s proceeds go directly to the artists.

Visit the World Boutique for unique handcrafted gifts.

Support Fair Trade and our talented student artisans.
Think globally—shop locally.

1250 Welton St. • Room 238
Denver • 80204
Next to the Colorado Convention Center

Don't leave me hanging!!

Are you ready to leave our program? When the time comes to say goodbye, please let us know. Please. If you vanish without a word, we have no way to know what's going on or when or why you stopped tutoring. All it takes is a simple phone call or quick email to say you won't be continuing with your student.

When volunteers leave without the courtesy of letting us know, it makes us conclude that the program was so insignifcant and of so little value that it wan't worth your time to let us know you were moving on. It also implies that you didn't take into account your student's chance to get a new teacher. When you leave without any notice, it can take months before we can rectify the situation for the student.

Please be considerate and give a heads up when your time has come to leave the program. It's the right thing to do.

The African Community Center
A refugee resettlement agency

Presents

Voices of Refugees

A Community Discussion

Thursday, Nov. 15th 7:00pm
Auraria Campus, North Classroom (Room #1130)

Hear refugees, from two of the world’s most intense “hot-spots,” speak about their experiences in fleeing armed militias, braving hunger and eventually finding safety in the U.S.

Aung Kyaw Toe, a Burmese refugee from Rangoon, arrived in the U.S. just this past August. Toe will speak of the current situation in his homeland and his experiences in fleeing from the military junta after the bloody 1988 protests.

Lado Jurkin, a Sudanese refugee, and one of the “Lost Boys,” arrived in the U.S. in 2001 after living in refugee camps for 15 years. Jurkin will speak about his extraordinary experiences while walking from Southern Sudan to Ethiopia and then to Kenya.

Space is limited, so please RSVP to: kmohatt@africancommunitycenter.net

We need a lawyer

Our sister project, A Little Someting (www.refugeecrafts.com) is in need of some pro bono legal help. We need to set up our organization as a business, but we have neither the experience nor the knowledge we need to get that done correctly. We might be a business. Or charity. Or 501(c)3. Or LLC. or...whatever. If you know of anyone who would be willing to donate legal services for this project, please contact Sharon at sharon_mccreary@dpsk12.org. Thanks.

Farming, food, and drums!

Join us for a celebration ceremony!

The Somali Bantu Farming Council of Colorado
Parkside Apartments Community Room
23rd Ave. and Syracuse St.
Saturday, November 17
2:00-4:00 p.m.

Join the celebration honoring the Somali Bantu's immense accomplishments over the 2007 growing season. Presentation begins at 2:30 followed by drumming and East African cuisine.

Please RSVP by November 12 to Heather at heather@dug.org, or call 720-404-0615 .

Have you reported your October hours??

Please don't forget to report your tutoring time for October. I really need this information no later than this Friday, November 9. Send your information to sharon_mccreary@dpsk12.org .

Remember, our continued funding depends on our being able to show participation.

Thanks very much for your timely cooperation!!

Dear Abby has some advice for you!

This is from the 10-29-2007 Dear Abby column. Some of you have asked me about this very thing, so here's advice from a pro:

DEAR ABBY: How do you stop someone from serving food you don't like? A woman I tutor was nice enough to make me a dish native to her country, and when she asked me if I liked it, I gave her a rave review (to spare her feelings). I really hated it, but now she thinks I love it, and she keeps making it for me.
How can I refuse without hurting her feelings? I don't want to continue to just accept it and have to throw it away. -- WASTING FOOD IN VIRGINIA

DEAR WASTING FOOD: Try this: "You were so kind to make it, and I thank you. But as much as I like it, it doesn't like ME -- so I cannot accept it."
It's as close to the truth as you can get without being offensive, and should successfully discourage her from making it in the future.

Click here to read this on the Dear Abby Website.

Newspaper coverage galore!

The Burmese Karen have been in the news a lot this week. There's a lot to learn and a lot to know about this population. Click on these links to read articles from the Associated Press, Rocky Mountain News, and more.

Photo by Javier Manzano, RMN

This article is from Rochester, NY, but could easily be about any community that is currently accepting refugees for resettlement. Very nice read. Click here.

It's time for the COTESOL conference!

The Colorado chapter of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages hosts a conference every fall. You don't need to be a professional ESL teacher to attend. In fact, you can get a reduced rate on the cost of registration if you're a volunteer or student!

This year's conference will be on Friday and Saturday, November 2 & 3, at the Rennaissance Denver Hotel and Conference Center, 3801 Quebec St., in the Stapleton area of Denver.

Click here for conference information, schedules, and registration forms.

Earlybird registration ends on October 14, but if you call Larry Fisher and ask nicely, you can probably get an extension.

See you there!

Sad news from the ESL Department

Some of you knew and had a chance to work with my colleague, Marlene Dallas. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Marlene, who passed away on September 29. Marlene died peacefully, in her sleep.

In 2000, Marlene took over my job as the volunteer coordinator for the classroom side of our program. She worked hard to provide support to both the teachers and the volunteers. She kept us staffed with the extra help we always needed in our classrooms. Marlene also coordinated the translated workshops for our refugee students, and she hired the guest speakers and translators for these sessions. She always took time out from her limited work hours to say hello to anyone who stopped by her desk.

She will be missed.

Refugee Admissions Numbers Announced

For the 2008 fiscal year (October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008), the President has allotted 80,000 potential refugee admissions. The allocations have been divided this way:

• Africa . . . . . . . . . . .16,000
• East Asia . . . . . . . . . 20,000
• Europe and Central Asia . . 3,000
• Latin America/Caribbean . . 3,000
• Near East/South Asia . . . .28,000
• Unallocated Reserve . . . . 10,000

To read the entire Presidential Determination and see information about some specific countries affected by the determination, click on the link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071002-2.html

Refugees on screen

UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has a new feature on the UNHCR Website.

There is an ever-growing collection of short videos about current refugee issues. You can also watch the videos on YouTube. To see a list and descriptions of the videos, go to http://www.unhcr.org/static/home/webvideos_pre.htm and http://www.unhcr.org/static/home/webvideos.htm