Going on right now!

GEAR SALE (and food drive)
Friday April 30th

Your support helps to send refugee kids to camp! Big City Mountaineers is supporting 10 Refugee Youth Program participants for a weeklong trip to the mountains this summer !

Great deals on new and used outdoor gear!

Tents, sleeping bags and pads, headlamps, hats, beanies, water filters, water bladders, shoes, hiking boots, winter gloves, fuel, misc. camp gear, clothing, backpacks, daypacks & more.

EVERYTHING MUST GO! SPREAD THE WORD!

When: Fri. April 30th
Time: 3pm 'til dark

Where:
BCM office
1667 Vine St
Denver, CO 80206
303-271-9200

HELP SUPPORT OUR FOOD DRIVE, TOO!
Bring with you: Cans of tuna, plastic jars of peanut butter, or summer sausage to help feed the hungry backpackers on our summer expeditions!

Training date set!

The next training session for new in-home tutors will be:

Saturday, June 5, 2010

8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Your application serves as your registration for training. If you already submitted your application, additional details about the training will be sent to you.

If you wish to become an in-home tutor but haven't applied yet, please go to our Website, http://www.refugee-esl.org/ to print out an application. The form is not electronic! Please do not try to modify the form or send it via email--our email system is very "attachment-hostile," and there is a strong chance that your message will be blocked from the system. Please send in your form via fax or regular U.S. mail. All of the contact information you need is on the form itself.

Please note that currently, the overwhelming majority of refugee students live in Aurora, east of I-225 and north of 6th Ave., although several are also housed near S. Parker Rd. and the I-225 park-and-ride facility (at Peoria).

Thanks!

Sisters around the World

March 8 is International Women's Day!

This day is commemorated worldwide, and although it started in the United States, it is no longer acknowledged here. The rest of the world, however, celebrates this day of sisterhood, empowerment, and recognition of the critical roles of women socially and economically.

Worldwide, women face oppression and social injustice in ways that men do not. On March 8, we take the time to remember how far women have come and far there is yet to go.

Photo UNHCRThis year's United Nations theme for International Women's Day is "Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All." This follows what a large body of research has already shown: When women are empowered, when they have more opportunities and choices related to their future and well being, entire communities benefit. Previous posts on this blog visited on this topic when we wrote about Nicholas Kristof's project, Half the Sky, and work of the Girl Effect project at http://www.girleffect.org/.

Many organizations have events scheduled for International Women's Day, including UNHCR. According to the UNHCR's Website:

In any refugee population, approximately 50 percent of the uprooted people are women and girls. Stripped of the protection of their homes, their government and often their family structure, females are often particularly vulnerable. They face the rigours of long journeys into exile, official harassment or indifference and frequent sexual abuse - even after reaching an apparent place of safety. Internally displaced women often suffer similar experiences.

In the last few years, UNHCR has developed a series of special programmes to ensure women have equal access to protection, basic goods and services as they attempt to rebuild their lives. Special attention is given to forcibly displaced women who may face risks because of their specific circumstances, such as pregnant and lactating women, older women, and female heads of households

Women are active and positive change agents - when given the proper resources - and are capable of improving their lives and the lives of their children, families and communities.

Here is an excerpt from the A Little Something blog that details interesting projects focusing on women's empowerment:

Weaving together a community of hope

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Website currently features a story about a weavers' co-op in Bangladesh. Ethnic Chin refugee women from Burma are using their traditional weaving skills to earn their own money instead of depending on handouts from UNHCR or local Bangladeshis. the goal of the program is to empower the refugee women in the co-op as well as to help them become self-sufficient in a country where it isn't easy to do so. When women have their own money and they have the leeway to make choices for themselves, their families benefit, as well. This project rings a familiar note for us at A Little Something since our goals and beliefs are very much the same. Click here to read the entire story.

The Blue Sweater
The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World is author Jacqueline Novogratz's memoir of a life spent trying to understand and document global poverty. From her Website, thebluesweater.com,

It all started back home in Alexandria, Virginia, with the blue sweater, a special gift that quickly became her prized possession—until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing the sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That her garment had made it all the way to Kigali, Rwanda, where she was helping a group of African women start a micro-finance bank, was ample evidence of the way we are all connected, and how our actions—and inaction—touch people every day
across the globe, people we may never know or meet. This awareness continues to
drive her efforts to fight poverty, and to bridge the gap between rich and poor.

Novogratz has managed to tie together her experience as a venture capitalist in developing nations with her idealism and optimism into a story that will inspire readers to look for ways to effect real change.

Women Leading for Livelihoods
Imagine our surprise at coming across this project on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Website. It was like reading a page from our own book, another telling of the A Little Something philosophy:

This UNHCR initiative is aimed at promoting the economic independence and
empowerment of refugee and displaced women and girls around the world. For WLL, women are not victims or passive recipients of aid; with access to the proper
resources, they are capable of changing their lives and those of their children,
families and communities.

Refugee and displaced women face a series of barriers to work: legal restrictions, physical and psychological trauma, lack of financial resources, child care issues, the wrong skills for their environment, and much more. WLL aims to break down these barriers through the funding of a full range of programmes aimed at empowering refugee and displaced women. Projects range from language and vocational training to classes on farming , marketing and computer literacy as well as basic courses in finance and how to get access to business centres and savings and loan schemes.

Read more about Women Leading for Livelihoods here.

Photo: UNIFEM

The Women’s Crusade

The liberation of women could help solve many of the world’s problems, from poverty to child mortality to terrorism.

In August of this year, New York Times journalist Nicholas D. Kristof and and investment banker Sheryl WuDunn wrote an extensive article about the plight of women struggling to survive and get a foothold on basic human rights throughout the developing world. Thanks to the availability of micro-finance business and development programs, women are making progress toward a better life, one at a time. The article points out the powerful effects of micro-finance projects and specifically addresses the benefits to women in parts of the world where they often suffer the most and have the fewest rights. With structured programs, small loans, and the opportunity to begin entrepreneurial ventures, women are changing lives far beyond their own.

To access the entire article, click here.

The article includes an audio slide show and a short video about women who are newly empowered and whose lives are being transformed by their participation in the micro-finance movement. Additional information about the Kristoff and WuDunn's Half the Sky Movement (get involved!) can be found here.

Finally, the UNHCR Website has some details about how this organization works to protect and help women. Please look on lower-right side of the screen for the slideshow about International Women's Day. (It's running very slowly today, but should lighten up later in the day.)

A recent article on the site struck a chord for those of us who work on the A Little Something empowerment program here in Denver. Here is an excerpt. Read the entire (brief) article by clicking here.

Urban refugee women teach themselves knitting - and self-confidence

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, December 7 (UNHCR) – A beehive of activity surrounds Kyu Manda as seven of her fellow Myanmar refugees bend over worktables in a small room in Kuala Lumpur, sewing Christmas wall-hangings and knitting Christmas tree ornaments.

"Right now we are learning how to knit Christmas decorations," says Kyu Manda, like the other women a member of the Chin ethnic group. "The women will take home these materials and finish the items at home," she adds.

Kyu Manda is coordinator of a self-help project for refugee women in Malaysia called Mang Tha, meaning "Sweet Dreams" in the Lai dialect spoken by some of the Myanmar Chin community. "We will be selling these items at Christmas bazaars, and 90 percent of the sales go back to the women," she adds.

All photos copyright UNHCR

Serbia

Kenya (Somali girls)

Iraq

Eritrea/Ethiopia

Bhutanese in Nepal

Afghanistan

Refugee case managers

On Tuesday, January 12, NBC Nightly News featured a refugee-related story in its "Making a Difference" segment. The story is about an Iraqi woman--a single mom--who became a case manager once she felt comfortable in her own resettlement. This is a very nicely-produced piece that gives a good snapshot of why so many case managers were once refugees themselves. the next time your student tells you there is no case manager helping her, take a moment to think about what you see in this news story.

The story is about two minutes long, but there is a mandatory 15-second commercial at the beginning. You can watch from this screen, or click here to see the full-screen version on the NBC Website.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rain Memories from Burma

As I've been preparing today's blog post, the temperature has been steadily dropping outside. My office is chilly, but I'm prepared for the trip home later today--I have my gloves, heavy coat, and extra-long wool scarf. As much as I dislike the cold and snow, I take it in stride because I know what to expect and how to prepare. Still, memories of the 2006 and 2007 Christmas blizzards have left me with Post-Traumatic Snow Disorder; that is, it doesn't take much to raise my snow-related anxiety level.

Our weather-related memories are part of us on an almost cellular level. At least when you understand what is or isn't normal, you tend to feel more in control of your own world. How we interpret what we see when we travel to a new climate is based almost entirely on the experiences we've had elsewhere. It is important to keep this in mind as we attempt to help newly arrived refugees adjust to their new environment. We all assume wrong at some point. Read on for some insight about how and why this happens. --SM

A snow shower or storm evokes reactions of glee from sledders, moans from drivers and shovelers, but terror from those unfamiliar with snow but familiar with cyclones. Please be aware of the fears and terror invoked during snow showers and storms where winds blow snow flakes and clusters laterally, sometimes almost to the horizontal. People unfamiliar with snow may equate winds that blow snow laterally with cyclones and other storms that have caused massive death and destruction in their tropical homelands. Snow and rain are both precipitation, but snowflakes are much lighter and are more easily (and dramatically) blown by wind.

I visited a Karen family during such a laterally falling snow shower. I was struck by the terror on their faces, blankets over windows, and their self-induced seclusion in their bedrooms. The daughter finally told me that trees were being uprooted by the snow storm. Upon further questioning I realized she was assuming that must be happening if the snowfall was lateral. They equated the winds that blew snow laterally with that of a cyclone.

Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in May 2008. The death and destruction affected the whole country and its memory still terrorizes people from Burma. Stories have emerged about Nargis survivors, especially children, who become paralyzed with fear whenever it rains. Many people in other areas lost family and friends. Others who were untouched were still affected by the terror, suffering and destruction and the inhumanity connected with Burma's ruling military's actions toward survivors in the cyclone's aftermath. This affected everyone from Burma whether or not they were or knew any victims.

During Burma's rainy season, June through October, it can rain for days and travel is very difficult. Malaria and other mosquito and water born illnesses flourish. Despite the heat and high humidity, upper respiratory infections (URI's) are very common during the rainy season. Chronic malnourishment contributes to these URI's and the many secondary pneumonia, skin infections and other sequelae we see as the exception in the United States.

The rainy season is also the time of year that large-scale and lengthy attacks by Burma's military repeatedly occur upon ethnic minorities. Civilians are not just driven off their land; they are also hunted down and raped, tortured and/or killed if caught. So, their escape into the jungle is fraught with multiple barriers to reaching safety, including rain, muddy terrain, constantly wet clothes, inadequate clothing and gear due to a hasty escape, the chill that accompanies constant wetness, forbidden warming or cooking fires that will send a signal of their location with the smoke, and forbidden crying, coughing or talking that may alert the hunting military.

Think of the emotions during the escape: Memories of the attack, seeing loved ones attacked or finding their body parts amongst ashes, not knowing who survived, having been attacked and/or raped, running while injured and suffering, being a child thrust into this world of constant fear and discomfort, having to run while in labor, miscarrying, or with a dying child.

These memories and fears may contribute, in addition to the extreme discomfort from the cold, to the reluctance of refugees from Burma to leave their homes during snowy or rainy weather. When I have taught English to refugees from Burma, I have been confused and frustrated at the lack of class attendance during the smallest of rain fall. Rain is a part of life in Burma, but memories of the Cyclone and lack of rain gear in a new environment contribute to their self-induced seclusion.

Our refugee clients don't want to be pitied. They felt weak and helpless during the hard times. Many don't want to revisit what they have been through to talk about it. Encouragement and acknowledgement of the strength that they had to possess to survive is essential.

Our awareness, patience, and information about snow and winter weather apparel may help ease the transition from fear or moans to glee.

Dr. Nora R. Rowley is a physician who practiced Emergency Room Medicine for 15 years, mainly in the Midwest. After leaving her hospital career to pursue humanitarian work, she volunteered with Doctors Without Borders inside Burma where she worked as a field medical doctor for six months.

Since returning to the U.S. in early 2007, she has dedicated a great deal of time to learning about the human rights crisis in Burma. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Campaign for Burma(USCB) www.uscampaignforburma.org.

Next training date

The first new-tutor training session

of 2010 will be

Saturday, February 20.

Potential in-home tutors who wish to volunteer should visit our Website, http://www.refugee-esl.org/ and print out an application. The application serves as your registration for the training.

Please note that the application is not an electronic form! Do not try to fill it out electronically. Do not send it via email.

New for 2010: We need to have 10 volunteers in attendance for a training session. If fewer than 10 people confirm their attendance, the session will be postponed. Our training activities and group dynamics just don't work when there are only a few people in attendance.

If you have questions about the program, please visit our Website, send an email to sharon_mccreary@dpsk12.org, or call 720-423-4843.

My movie is missing!

At the fall inservice, someone borrowed one of my

copies of Rain in a Dry Land.

I don't remember who has it.

I really need it back ASAP.

If you have it, please return it.

Thanks.

A job posting

Catholic Charities is hiring an English as a Second Language teacher for adults during the evening hours. This position is thirteen hours a week in Southwest Denver. The curriculum is based on life skills acquisition using the Step Forward curriculum.

The ideal candidate will have a fun, welcoming and creative classroom atmosphere with experience teaching lower and advanced level students. Must have a High School Diploma/GED and six months to one year related experience. Submit resume and cover letter to:

CATHOLIC CHARITIES HUMAN RESOURCES
4045 Pecos St. Denver, CO 80211

Or Email: hr@ccdenver.org

In the news lately

Denver's refugee community continues to be in the news lately. In addition to the article in the previous post (scroll down), Here are some other stories you may have missed.

From the Denver Post, columnist Tina Griego wrote about Deg Adhikari, one of many Bhutanese refugees trying to make a new life in Denver. Click here to read the column. A couple of columns later, she wrote a followup piece with more information about refugee resettlement in Denver.
Colorado Public Radio,NPR, and NBC Nightly News all covered the death of Haiffaa Ali, an Iraqi refugee attending Emily Griffith Opportunity School. Haiffaa's story really clarified the issue of why being safely resettled is not the same thing as finding a home.

Click here to watch the NBC story (about two minutes).
Click here for the Colorado Public Radio story (about five minutes).
Click here for NPR's "All things Considered" version of the CPR story (about three or four minutes).

Do you know a journalist? Share the refugee story. Share the story of your experience in this program. The more we keep these stories in the news, the more we can raise awareness about an often-overlooked subject that could use a lot more exposure.

From UNHCR.org: Telling the Human Story

Earlier this month, I was looking for a video on the UNHCR Website, when a picture on the home page caught my eye. The story I saw was about Hodan, someone who is currently going through the resettlement process--and someone I know personally. Her story is compelling and heart-breaking, yet ultimately one of hope and a better future. The story follows in its entirety. --SM

Young Somali refugee born in exile looks forward to
resettlement after a hard life

Hodan gets ready to board a bus that will take her to Addis Ababa from Kebribeyah Refugee Camp.

KEBRIBEYAH REFUGEE CAMP, Ethiopia, October 1 (UNHCR) – Hodan Mawlid has spent almost all of her life in a baking, dusty refugee camp in Ethiopia, yet the 18-year-old remains remarkably optimistic despite suffering the loss of her parents at an early age and the hardship that followed.

"I have led a very painful life," she told a UNHCR visitor here recently. "But I always find solace in my belief that the best way to prevail over the cruelties and ills of the past is to forget them altogether and start all over again."

Now, things are changing for Hodan: last month she flew to the United States after being accepted for resettlement and her positive attitude should help her face the challenges that will arise in an alien land and culture. "Just how smooth the new beginning is depends so much on the individual and the situation," said UNHCR Senior Resettlement Officer Larry Yungk. "I think there tend to be opportunities out there, but there is no guarantee of success," he adds.

Hodan was among a group of 23 vulnerable Somali refugees, including her uncle and his family, who were accepted by the US under a UNHCR-organized resettlement programme and flown to Denver, Colorado. They cannot return home because they originate from volatile southern or central areas of Somalia, where people continue to flee their homes to escape conflict.

I've known suffering all my life. Compared to what I've endured, language and cultural barriers will be nothing to worry about. -– Somali refugee Hodan Mawlid

Before leaving Addis Ababa, she said she knew there were tough times ahead, especially to begin with as she struggles to learn English. But she's had a lifetime of preparation. "I've known suffering all my life. Compared to what I've endured, language and cultural barriers will be nothing to worry about."

Hodan was born and brought up in eastern Ethiopia's Kebribeyah Refugee Camp after her parents crossed from neighbouring Somalia in 1991, fleeing the chaos that followed the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. They were among more than 600,000 people who fled to Ethiopia and found safety in eight refugee camps.

"When I grew old enough to enquire about my parents, I learnt from my uncle, who took care of me while in the camp, that my mother had died as a refugee when I was four years old and that my father returned to Somalia some months later," she recalled.

The news was a devastating blow, especially as Hodan had no siblings who could comfort her. Her uncle and aunt and their children became her surrogate parents and siblings, but she had to drop out of school after Grade Four to supplement the family's monthly food ration by working as a housemaid in a nearby town.

Meanwhile, relative stability in Somaliland and northern Somalia's Puntland led to the repatriation of well over half-a-million Somali refugees from Ethiopia between 1997 and 2005. But Hodan's kin were from southern Somalia where continuing insecurity has prevented their return. Resettlement became an option.

The Somalis still living in camps in eastern Ethiopia, including Hodan and her relatives, were caught in a protracted refugee situation with no end in sight. As part of the efforts to resolve the problem, the US government agreed in 2007 to accept thousands of these Somalis for resettlement. To date, UNHCR has referred the names of some 5,600 for possible resettlement.

"While UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, our ultimate goal is to help find durable solutions that will allow them to rebuild their lives in dignity and peace," explained Moses Okello, UNHCR's representative in Ethiopia.

The Somali community in the United States is closely-knit, UNHCR's Yungk noted, adding that this could help the young Hodan settle in well. Her biggest hurdle could be education.

"Unfortunately, if one is over 18 and arrives in the US, one is generally not eligible to finish public schooling," Yungk said, while adding that refugees like Hodan were usually steered towards General Equivalency Degree programmes, English-language courses and vocational training.

Hodan welcomed the opportunity for a new life with plenty of opportunity. There is no looking back for her. "I do not think I have any incentive to go to Somalia any time in the future," she concluded.

© UNHCR/K.G.Egziabher
By Kisut Gebre Egziabher in Kebribeyah Refugee Camp, Ethiopia

Taking my own advice

Photo © UNESCO/Nicolas Axelrod

Back in August, I started teaching a new class--a new level, to be specific. It has been a few years since I last taught the just-slightly-higher than level zero/level one, and for the first month back, it left me exhausted as each class session wrapped up.

There has been a lot to remember: Speak slower, repeat often, write larger, use less paper, interact more, be physical, and never, ever ask, "Do you understand?" At the end of each day, I thought, "Slower. Lower. Simpler. Tomorrow."

My students fall into two categories: Those who have had little or no formal education in their first language, and those who understand the skills required to learn but just don't speak English yet. (If the word I most want my students to know is "Try," then my word of encouragement is "Yet.")

For those who have been in school, activities we consider familiar tasks are often daunting and frustrating for those who have little formal education. Here are some things I've had to remember:

• Copying from the board and transferring that information to paper is very difficult. Start by coping single words that are on the paper. Put the lines underneath the word to be copied so the student can line up the letters (stacking). Later, have the student copy the letters or words to the right (linear, not stacked).

• Never assume my students are going to remember the material we covered days ago. There's a solution to this...stay tuned.

• Your student's job is to try. Your job is to facilitate learning. It is not your student's job to please you. Your student's inability to learn something new is just a reminder that you need to try another way.

• Remember--the more senses you involve in an activity, the more parts of the brain are engaged in the learning process. More brain = better chance of success and retention.

Last week, my class was studying how to read and write an American address. We had already covered all of the components, but the class was not together when it came to actually writing address information in order and in the correct format.

Suddenly, it was like a little me popped up in a thought balloon over my shoulder saying, "Manipulatives are less abstract than writing." Aha!

I quickly printed out some address information (size 16 type/Comic Sans font) and cut apart the address into a separate pieces. I put the pieces in front of each student who needed support. I asked the student to only identify the following:

• Where is the street?
• Where is the building number?
• Where is the apartment number?
• Where is the city?
• Where is the state?
• Where is the ZIP code?

And then I asked, Where is the building number? I pushed the student's finger to place the piece of paper. What's next? Is this the apartment number or the ZIP code? Once the address was in order, I mixed up the pieces and asked the student to do it again and again, but each time with less help from me. When the task was learned, the student copied the address onto paper. And then we started again with a new address.

Sometimes, low-tech is astoundingly effective.

Don't forget to spiral. Language and literacy are not learned in a straight line (learn item. Continue. Learn item. Continue...) or on a continuum. This is a spiral, so you introduce, add, revisit, introduce, add, revisit, incorporate, add, etc. If you have ever made bread, think about how, when you get to the kneading stage, you continue to incorporate more flour via the kneading surface. The dough can't absorb all the flour it requires right away, so you build on what's already there.

At any level of teaching--and learning--there is a certain amount of trial and error. The same thing doesn't work the same way for different students or even the same way for the same student every time.

Go forth and, well, hang in there. This is a two-way learning process.

--Sharon

A ten-day Hindu festival season

In the United States, the big national holidays last a single day or a weekend, at most. In the life of a practicing Hindu, however, celebrations may last a week or more.

This weekend marks the overlap of
three Hindu festivals and observances related to Mother Goddess. If your student is from Bhutan (ethnic Nepalese), her family is spending this weekend immersed in Hindu practice involving prayer, rituals, dance and food as part of “Dusshera” and “Vijayadashami,” or in Nepali, विजया दशमी

For more information on these Hindu holidays and their significance, visit Wikipedia and Hinduism at About.com.





The next major festival in 2009--and it's big--is the five-day celebration of Diwali on Saturday, October 17. According to Wikipedia, in Hinduism, across many parts of India and Nepal, it is the homecoming of Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over the Ravana. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (dĭpa), thus its name: dīpāwali. Over time, this word transformed into Diwali in Hindi and Dipawali in Nepali, but still retained its original form in South and East Indian Languages.

Like many major cultural observances, Diwali includes holiday-specific songs, special food, new clothes, sweets, and the exchange of gifts.


In India and Nepal, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians and Nepalese regardless of faith. For more helpful helpful background on this festival, visit Wikipedia and Diwali Festival.

From the New York Times

A recent article in the New York Times gives a glimpse into the lives of newly resettled Bhutanese refugees in the Bronx, New York. The article is accompanied by an excellent photo slide show by photojournalist Suzanne DeChillo.

An excerpt of the article follows. Click here to read the entire story, but do it soon--articles in the Times aren't available online indefinitely.

Bhutan Refugees Find a Toehold in the Bronx

By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: September 24, 2009

Nearly every immigrant group in New York City has a neighborhood, or at least a street, to call its own. But for refugees from the tiny South Asian nation of Bhutan, the closest thing to a home base is a single building in the Bronx — a red-brick five-story walk-up, with a weed-choked front courtyard and grimy staircases.

Eight families — more than 40 people — have taken up residence here in the past several months, part of a stream of thousands of Bhutanese refugees who have flowed into the United States in the past year and a half. With the help of resettlement agencies, many have found apartments in the Bronx, and the largest concentration has ended up here in the building on University Avenue.

This is their small toehold in a strange new world. The only life most have known was in the rural plains and Himalayan foothills of Bhutan and the dusty refugee camps of Nepal. Few have ever lived in homes with electricity or indoor plumbing, or between walls made of anything but bamboo. continued online

Mentioned in the article...


T.P. Mishra was a journalist in Nepal before being resettled in New York in 2009. He maintains a blog called Journalism in Exile, detailing his firsthand accounts of life as a refugee in the urban U.S. The current post is on top; to read previous and archived posts, scroll down or click on the months listed on the right side of the page.

Upcoming training sessions

There will be two more training sessions for new tutors in 2009.

Saturday, November 7

Saturday, December 12

Training sessions start at 8:00 a.m. and finish at 4:00 p.m.

If you would like to become an in-home tutor, or if you know of someone who would like to join our program, please visit our Website, http://www.refugee-esl.org/. Once you have explored the information there, click on the tab for "Application." The form you need is first on the list.

Please note! This is not an electronic form, nor is it intended to be! Complete the form by hand, and either fax it or mail it in. The application form serves as your training registration. You will be contacted with training session specifics once your application has been received.

We currently have more than 30 women waiting for a teacher!

Consider becoming a business partner

We are excited to announce that the ESL Department at Emily Griffith Opportunity School recently introduced the Pathways to Employment program for refugee students. It is a nine week job-readiness program focused on preparing students for clerical jobs in corporate and medical fields.

Students will attend classes six hours a day for eight weeks, studying basic computer skills, introduction to American business culture, customer service skills, clerical skills, business writing, introduction to medical occupations and how to find a job. In the ninth week of the program, students will job shadow or intern in a business for one week. The goal of this internship is to provide students an opportunity to have hands-on experience in the American business environment.

We are looking for organizations that would be interested in partnering with Emily Griffith to provide shadow opportunities for our students. If you, a friend, or a family member work in an organization that might be interested in having one of our students as an intern for a week, please contact Jaclyn Yelich at 720-423-4854 or email her at Jaclyn_Yelich@dpsk12.org.

No, I didn't get your fax

The fax machine in the ESL department is currently out of order. No faxes have been received since Friday, September 11. The machine is not expected to be repaired until at least Friday of this week.

If you are waiting for a response to a fax, or if you sent in your training application/registration, please be patient.

Thank you.

Because I always do the talking

Speak!

Your in-home tutoring coordinator has an opportunity for you to share your experience as a volunteer in the CRESL program. You don't need any special training for this assignment.


On Saturday, September 19, I will have a booth at Festival International in Aurora. I'll be there all day, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm.

Alas, I will be alone.




I am looking for two or three current or former volunteers to assist me in the booth.

• Greet visitors
• Explain a bit about refugees
• Explain the basics of the in-home tutoring program
• Talk about the volunteer program at Emily Griffith (if you're familiar)
• Hand out brochures
• Talk about your experience as an in-home tutor.

This is actually quite fun--especially if you enjoy talking to people. If you would like to help out (and I really do need help!), please call me 720-423-4843 or drop me a line at sharon_mccreary@dpsk12.org before Thursday, September 17.

I look forward to spending quality time with you! --SM

Inservice confirmed!

Here are the final details about the upcoming in-service training. This session is open to all program volunteers, including those who are "on hiatus" from tutoring and those who will be attending the new-tutor training on September 26.

Refugee Resettlement and
Stateside Case Management
Your questions answered until your brain is full

Presenter:
Susan Anderson, Case Management Administrator
Lutheran Family Services, Refugee & Asylee Programs

Thursday, September 24
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Emily Griffith Opportunity School
1250 Welton St. (Room TBD)
Denver
We are located downtown, next to the Colorado Convention Center,
and just one-half block north of Colfax.

Join us for an informative discussion of the many details involved in resettling refugees. Find out how the national program is structured, where the money comes from, and who oversees resettlement locally.

Susan will explain the benefits and financial assistance that refugees receive once they are in the United States. She will also talk about the responsibilities that refugees have upon entering the program, expectations on both sides, and what happens when the resettlement relationship breaks down. Susan will also share information regarding refugee education, housing, and why access to services changes after the first year of resettlement has finished.

Bring your questions! If possible, email your questions in advance so Susan can address your specific concerns. This is your opportunity to gain an understanding of why the refugees you meet appear to have different levels of support.

Susan Anderson oversees case management services to refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking for four federal programs throughout Colorado and the region. Ms. Anderson is a member of Colorado’s Network to End Human Trafficking, which works to prevent human trafficking in the state. Ms. Anderson has traveled throughout the country assessing the U.S. refugee program, providing training to Lutheran social ministry organizations and ensuring appropriate services are provided to refugees, asylees and others.

You must RSVP if you are planning to attend. We need an accurate headcount so we can book the appropriate room. Click here to confirm attendance via email no later than Monday, September 22. Persons responding after 9/22 will be accepted on a space-available basis.

Yes, there will be training!!!

If you have not yet attended a training session for incoming in-home tutors but you are ready to volunteer in the program, mark your calendar!

Training for new tutors

Saturday, September 26

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

To download an application (you have to print it out and use a pen!), please go to www.refugee-esl.org You cannot attend the session if you have not submitted an application.

Details will follow by regular U.S. mail--if you turned in your application.

Hope to see new tutors soon!

The blog lives (as does the blogger)

Updated blog posts coming soon! In the meantime, please note the following:

In-service Training

For all volunteers!

Saturday, September 12*

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Emily Griffith Opportunity School

Topic: To be determined!

Date is very, very tentative

We haven't yet chosen a topic or a speaker. What would you like to learn about? In the course of the year, we offer eight hours of in-service training.

• four hours of language teaching techniques or curriculum topics
• four hours of refugee resettlement topics, including updates on overseas developments, new populations, health, benefits, cultural information, etc.

This time around, we are due for a resettlement topic. What would you like to know? Is there something about refugees you've wanted to learn but didn't know how to find the information?

If you have a suggestion or request, click on the word "comment" below this post to share your ideas. You don't need to have an account--just select the "name" option. Others will be able to see your comment, and that might get a good conversation going.

Don't delay in making your suggestions--I need time to line up a speaker. Let those ideas flow!