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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
One of the most rewarding--and interesting--aspects of being an in-home tutor is learning about your student's life: past, present, and future aspirations. As Americans, we live in a culture where we hesitate to ask about personal sstories for fear of stirring up bad memories. The truth is, our students are adults and they wholly reserve the right to say they don't want to talk about it. Making the effort to get to know your student on a personal level, though, is a gift you give to both of you.
Our guest blogger today is Jean Clark, who has been tutoring a group of Burmese Karen women. Along the way, she has also become a close friend of the families and some of their friends. Jean encourages her students to speak so they are comfortable using what they learn. As a result, she has learned a few things, as well.
Recently, I had the opportunity to be alone with Htee Ku Paw as we drove to one of her (many) appointments. She is doing so well learning English. The joke is that Htee Ku Paw is everyone's English student because she goes to any class that is available. One thing that she does not like to do is speak extemporaneously. I thought that since we were alone, I'd push her to do just that. I explained what we were going to do but that I'd go first. Our rule is, if she doesn't understand a word, she must stop me. So, I talked to her about my childhood. Then I asked her to do the same. Quiet, quiet and I didn't interrupt the quiet. Finally, she started to talk. I did help her by asking questions. This is what I learned.
She was born in a small village, the oldest of five children, four girls and one boy. She told me that her father and mother were farmers—rice and vegetables. She also told me that her father was a tailor and her mother was a weaver. Htee Ku Paw learned to sew and weave from the age of 8. Her mother wanted her to carry on the Burmese Karen weaving tradition.
Her father had a sewing machine and people would come to their home to have clothes made. They would bring their own fabric. Htee Ku Paw's mother would weave things that people would buy.
Htee Ku Paw’s father started a school for tailoring. Students would sign up for six months, and he would give them a certificate when they finished the term. I don't know where he got the machines for the class, but I do know that he found a building that he could use for these classes.
When Htee Ku Paw was about 17, Burmese soldiers came to their village to capture all of the men. Her father and brother escaped into the jungle and returned when it was safe. At 18, she and a friend decided to go to the refugee camp in Thailand. She didn't tell me much about their journey other than the fact that it was dangerous.
Htee Ku Paw had an aunt and uncle at the camp, so she lived with them until she met Thaw and married him in 1997. Htee Ku Paw's youngest sister, Paw, moved to the United States before her. Paw married an American (Anglo) in Colorado. They have a 1-year-old daughter and they currently live in a Denver suburb.
I believe that Htee Ku Paw’s father is dead and that her mother and another sister left the camp recently to return to their village. The village is not a safe place to live. It is raided by government soldiers periodically, forcing everyone to flee into the jungle. Htee Ku Paw has no way to get in touch with them. I cannot stop thinking about how I might to go about finding them.
If you would like to try your hand at sharing your in-home tutoring experiences as a guest blogger, send your essay to sharon_mccreary@dpsk12.org
Although we work with adults in our program, some of the tutors also have experience tutoring children. A group in Minneapolis has asked us to join in their dialogue about working with kids. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions for them? If so, post your comments over at http://www.nayapaila.org/.
Do you know a young artist who has talent, awareness, and compassion? UNHCR will once again sponsor its World Refugee Day poster contest, under the continued patronage of UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie. Elementary, middle and high school students are invited to design a poster around the theme “Real People, Real Needs.”
“Refugees are real people, just like you and me; they have very real needs, such as shelter, food, water, medical care and education. Think about what you would need to survive as a refugee. How would you want people to treat you? Design a poster using your imagination and creativity to show how we can help refugees.” - Angelina JoliePosters should creatively illustrate what life is like for the millions of refugee children who flee their home countries due to war, persecution and human rights violations.
Prize: UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie will present an award to the winner in each category at the World Refugee Day ceremony on June 18, 2009, in Washington, DC. Winning posters will be exhibited at the National Geographic Museum.
Eligibility: Students in grades 4-12 in US public, private, parochial and home school programs are eligible to enter the contest. Each entry must be sponsored by a teacher or principal from the student’s school. All entries must include the entry form listing the student’s name, grade and age, educator’s name and email address, school name and address. Schools must be willing to sanction and coordinate this event. (This is probably just a matter of asking.)
Entry Categories: Entries will be judged in the three following age groups: Grades 4-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12.
Format: Posters should be no larger than 11 by 17 inches. Sculptures, clip art, and computer generated entries cannot be accepted.
Deadline: All entries must be postmarked by midnight, Friday, May 15, 2009.
For the full rules and entry form, click here. To see examples of previous winning posters, click here. Click on any of the small pictures to the left to see more examples.
UNHCR has an abundance of materials on its Website to help young people learn about refugees and human rights. The Refugee Stories page gives kids an oportunity to read what young refugees have written about their lives in exile. Some refugee children tell their stories with pictures, not words. you can see some their drawings on the Refugee Artwork page. Finally, UNHCR has some ideas about what any of us can do to help refugees living abroad and those who have resettled here. Click here find out how to help.
The weather reports sounded dire and it appeared that the inservice training would be postponed--again. In the end, there was no blizzard, almost no snow at all, and it was a good morning to get together and learn something new.
Only ten in-home volunteers joined us for the training. Although the turnout was lackluster, to say the least, enthusiasm was high among those in attendance. Having such small groups meant we had the luxury of lots of one-to-one instruction and an opportunity to tailor the training to the specific needs of the attendees.
Kim Hosp and Cayenna Johnson helped walk the tutors through the process of lesson planning, linking the four skill areas within a lesson and then carrying over the material from one week to the next, and effectively incorporating text books into a lesson. Each time I peeked into the room, the tutors were deeply engrossed in the presentation. As soon as I get the highlights of these presentations, I'll post them here.
The other two presentations came courtesy of Kate Goodspeed and Sharon McCreary (me). Kate's lively presentation addressed the needs of our most prevalent type of student in the home-tutoring program--the pre-literate, zero-level English learner. When I poked my head in and checked on Kate's session, the five volunteers were actively engaged in activities meant to elicit speaking from the absolute beginner language student. The use of puppets was particularly original, and Kate's lesson underlined the need to present material in ways that are interesting, effective, and fun.
The final presentation was truly hands-on. I demonstrated many different ways to use index cards as teaching tools, how to break away from keeping lessons on paper, and how to use a wide variety of manipulatives including pipe cleaners, picture cards, textured letters, and musical instruments.
Huge, huge thanks to Cayenna, Kate, and Kim for putting in the time to prepare excellent, targeted lessons (entirely based on your questions and requests for help), and for giving up part of their weekend to teach for free.
The next inservice training will be sometime this summer. If you would like to suggest a topic, be sure to let me know. I hope to see you then--many more of you!
Are you intrigued by this picture? Most things about our inservice trainings are intriguing--but only to those who attend!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Join Denver's Bhutanese refugee community for
Bhutanese & Nepalese
New Year Celebrations
Sunday, April 5th--4:00 pm
New Covenant Christian Church 825 Ivanhoe St. Denver, CO 80220
Chief Guest : Paul Stein, Director, Colorado Refugee Services Program
This event commemorates the Bhutanese new year with exciting cultural programs, folk dances and authentic Bhutanese food.
The dance dramas are common traditional features usually accompanied by traditional music. Energetic dancers, wearing colourful face masks and stylized costumes, depict heroes, demons, death heads, animals, gods, and caricatures of common people. The dance performances preserve ancient folk and religious customs.
If you are planning to join us for the inservice training on Saturday...
Currently, the National Weather Service is predicting light snow for Saturday morning, with snow and wind increasing later in the day.
If this forecast remains as it is, the inservice will take place as planned. I'll be sure to have tea and coffee on hand.
If it looks like the snow will be heavy or the conditions will be dangerous, I will postpone the session until a future date. In the event the training session is canceled, I will post something here and I will also try to personally reach everyone who told me they were planning to attend--if I have their phone numbers.
Saturday, April 4 10:00 a.m. to noon Emily Griffith Opportunity School Rooms 146-148
There are two more sessions for the volunteer inservice training... Open to all CRESL Tutors (even those on hiatus)
Linking it together! Do you need help creating a lesson that hits all four language skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, writing? This session will help tutors understand how to recycle lesson content to incorporate all skill areas while working within one lesson or topic. In addition, the instructor will show how to use a textbook as one tool in the teaching/learning process. Tutors will explore a variety of textbooks as part of a lesson planning exercise. Kim Hosp, CRESL Instructor
Index cards and manipulatives Learn fun and interesting ways to use simple index cards and everyday items to provide texture, touch, and movement in your lessons. Add a dash of fun and involve the senses in any lesson you plan! Sharon McCreary, CRESL Instructor
Don't forget the rest of what's being offered!
Lesson planning: Effective lesson planning suited to in-home tutoring will be explained, as well as how to incorporate and revisit lesson material throughout all activities in a session. Cayenna Johnson, CRESL instructor
Getting started speaking & Language lessons without literacy: How do you help someone learn to speak English now when she has no familiarity with the language and no experience with printed materials? Conversation strategies, vocabulary building, and person-to-person activities will be included. Information can be adapted for higher-level students. Kate Goodspeed, CRESL instructor
Two sessions will run concurrently each hour. Please choose your sessions and let us know ahead of time which you plan to attend so the presenters can prepare.
There is really no shortage of media coverage about good people doing extraordinary things. I make a point of watching the last five minutes of the national news every Friday night--any broadcast network will do--because those few minutes of the week highlight the contributions of normal people making a remarkable difference in the world.
CNN devotes a whole year of stories to this concept, culminating in distinguishing honors for a group of ten people every year. Not all are from the U.S., but most are. The reason I mention the geography comes from a bit of frustration I tend to harbor. In the course of the year, the volunteer coordinators in the Colorado Refugee Network attend nonprofit fairs throughout the metro area. When people approach our booth for information about our programs, we are frequently asked the same question: "Do you have volunteer positions overseas?" Or, with a measure of disappointment, "Oh. So, you only help people who are here?"
All three of us are quick to point out that a refugee arriving on American shores has just begun a whole new struggle. There are plenty of ways to contribute to world peace and international relations right here in the town where you live. Many people are surprised to find out refugees are here at all. If you aren't aware of their presence, it's because they're often all but invisible...Except to those of us who devote our waking hours to this particular cause.
Even those who are familiar with the refugee resettlement program are often unaware of just how truly grassroots most of the programs are. Our programs cannot exist without community support, church partnerships, devoted teachers, tutors for adults and kids, mentors, first friends, a small army of volunteers, plus all of the people who donate money, furniture, household goods, and time setting up apartments and taking refugees to their many appointments. Refugee resettlement works because it takes a community to welcome a new one to the mix, and communities have a way of knowing what to do.
One of CNN's 2009 Heroes is Carolyn Manning of Phoenix, Arizona. I'll say this for CNN: The network has consistently shown a commitment to telling the story of refugees and the resettlement process. That Ms. Manning was chosen to be honored by CNN this year is one more example of CNN's understanding that this work matters.
Carolyn Manning started an organization called The Welcome to America Project. Her program assists newly arrived refugees by furnishing apartments and providing support and guidance in the time immediately after arrival. To find out more about The Welcome to America Project and Carolyn Manning, click here to visit CNN's Website. This link takes you to an entire web page with videos dedicated to this topic.
Congratulations to Carolyn Manning and her team of volunteers. They do the same work as many other people assisting refugees throughout the U.S., so as a 2009 CNN Hero, Ms. Manning carries the torch for all of you who volunteer your time and open your hearts to refugee newcomers every day. To the volunteers in the CRESL program and others like it, congratulations to you, too, for your fine work! You are all my heroes every day.
So far, two presenters are confirmed and they will teach about:
Lesson planning: Effective lesson planning suited to in-home tutoring will be explained, as well as how to incorporate and revisit lesson material throughout all activities in a session. Cayenna Johnson, CRESL instructor
Getting started speaking & Language lessons without literacy: How do you help someone learn to speak English now when she has no familiarity with the language and no experience with printed materials? Conversation strategies, vocabulary building, and person-to-person activities will be included. Information can be adapted for higher-level students. Kate Goodspeed, CRESL instructor
We hope to add two more sessions, so watch this blog for updates! RSVP by March 31.
The African Community Center and the University of Denver present
African Extravaganza 2009
February 18th-20th University of Denver Driscoll Hall
Voices of Refugees Wednesday, February 18th, 6pm – 9pm Davis Auditorium in Sturm Hall, 2000 E. Asbury Ave. Hear the extraordinary and powerful stories of a diverse group of refugees who will share personal narratives of flight and refuge. Refugees from Iraq, Bhutan and Congo will give insights into the challenges and triumphs of living as a refugee and being resettled in the United States, and of joining a new community and finding new hope.
Kutaiba Abdulmahdi from Iraq will speak about his work with the US government during the war in Iraq and his subsequent resettlement in the United States.
MacGoddins Lushimba from Congo will talk about his advocacy efforts to bring awareness of refugee issues in Congo and throughout the world.
The Dhakal Family from Bhutan will paint an intergenerational picture of life between their two nations: Bhutan and Nepal, and 17 years in a refugee camp in Nepal. African Extravaganza Friday, February 20th, 6pm-9pm Driscoll Ballroom, 2055 East Evans Ave. Take part in a night of delicious food, an international marketplace, and extraordinary singing, dancing and drumming by African performers! Meals will be available, for purchase from Café Africana (Ethiopian food), Marrakesh (Moroccan food), and the Palava (Pan-African food). A Little Something will be there selling our handmade jewelry and weaving! Suggested Donation: $5 Photography Exhibit February 18th – 20th Peruse the photo exhibit in the Gallery at Driscoll Center.
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What's your story?
Guest bloggers are welcome here! If you are a CRESL in-home tutor and you have a story to share, please send it in for consideration. Volunteers have the best stories in this blog!
To submit a short essay for possible publication, email it to cresltutors@gmail.com.
We can't pay you anything, but you will get the satisfaction of having your words published on the Internet. Cool!
Join us!
Click the photo to visit our program's Website, download an application, or learn more about who we are and what we do!
Who's here?
The in-home tutoring program, our blog, and our website are managed and maintained by Sharon McCreary at Emily Griffith Technical College, Denver, Colorado.
The Colorado Refugee ESL In-Home Tutoring Program serves refugee women from around the world. We work in the Denver Metro area. Many women who resettle through the UN's refugee program are unable to attend classes for English and acculturation, so a dedicated team of volunteers goes into the community to take the English to the students--at home! We have been doing this work for over twenty years.
If you're unfamiliar with our program, let me welcome you to our blog. This is where you'll find the latest news and announcements about the Colorado Refugee ESL In-home Tutoring program, as well as teaching tips and cultural information for tutors.
If you think you would like to volunteer, please visit our regular Website for more information: http://www.refugee-esl.org/. That site has all of the details about our two volunteer programs, and you can find an application to print out, as well. We regret that we do not have any in-home tutoring positions for men at this time.
Typically, new-tutor trainings are offered once every quarter in the calendar year. Inservice training sessions take place throughout the year as needed.
At this time and for the foreseeable future, the overwhelming majority of our students live near Colafx and Yosemite Streets (just north of Lowry), or in central Aurora (near Colfax and I-225), with a few others interspersed in Glendale. Please keep this in mind if you are considering joining our program as an in-home volunteer tutor.
Our demand for tutors always far exceeds the number of people who are available, so if you think this is the program for you, please visit our Website and then send us an email or give us call. We hope to hear from you soon!
--Sharon McCreary, Volunteer Manager
Looking for language classes?
Emily Griffith Technical College is home to Colorado's oldest and largest ESL program. Our classes are affordable, with something for all levels. Click the logo for more information.
PLEASE-OH-PLEASE: DON'T FORGET!
REPORT YOUR TUTORING TIME!!!
All in-home tutors must report their tutoring hours at the end of every month. This information is eventually used to show effective use of the grant that funds refugee services in Colorado. We collect data for nearly 100 people every month, so show some mercy and don't wait until the last minute.
You can report your hours via email (preferred) or phone.
Your target, minimum contact hours should be 8 hours per month, or about two hours per week. You are always welcome and encouraged to spend more time than this with your student.
In 2014, your hours are due no later than:
Friday, April 4
Monday, May 5
Friday, June 6
Monday, July 7
Tuesday, August 4
Friday, September 5
Monday, October 6
Wednesday, November 5
Friday, December 5
Need some help with lesson planning?
In case you missed it, there was a helpful post on this blog on the topic of lesson planning. If you need some direction, check in with our friends in Washington State. Click herefor more information.
Share the love
Tell the world, especially in east Denver, we could use some help.
We have a Part 2
Did you know that we now have a sister project? It's all about empowering refugee women through the beauty of handmade crafts. Check us out on the web: www.refugeecrafts.org .
If you would like to make a monetary donation to the home tutoring program, your kindness will be gratefully received and deeply appreciated. Make checks payable to: Emily Griffith Technical College mail to: Emily Griffith Technical College ATTN: Treasurer 1860 Lincoln St. Denver, CO 80203
Please attach a note indicating that you would like your donation to go directly to the CRESL In-Home Tutoring Program.
How will your money be used? Glad you asked! Your donations buy textbooks and teaching materials for the program.
Put a little light on the subject!
Do you have a functioning lamp sitting somewhere in a forgotten corner of your home? Consider donating it to the refugee program. We could use some lightbulbs, too!
This weekend marks the overlap of
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.
