World Refugee Day is Coming!

World Refugee Day is June 20, but in Denver we'll be celebrating on Friday, June 17. Join us for a day-long conference about refugees, or come for cultural fun in the evening and enjoy music, food, and dance. See you then!

Click on the image to enlarge.


To register for the free conference, click here.

The illusion of peace and democracy

There is a compelling article about Burma and the Karen refugees in Thailand in today's edition of The Economist. Unsettling, indeed.

Here is an excerpt of the article :

Yet nobody who works in eastern Myanmar, where most of the refugees would have to go back to, believes that the conditions remotely exist for their safe return. Indeed, the region gives the lie to the notion that the country really is making ASEAN’s “steady progress” towards the sunny uplands of democracy and peace.

For a start, the low-level guerrilla war that has rumbled on between small groups of armed Karen and the Myanmar army has if anything got nastier since the election. The Thailand Burma Border Consortium, the main NGO looking after the refugees, estimates that conflict has made a further 70,000 people homeless in Kayin (formerly Karen) state in the past year, with 113 villages cleared. Often, the army orders villagers off their land to allow for mining, logging and other resource exploitation. In all, Burmese who have been internally displaced are reckoned to number over 500,000. In the past few weeks hundreds more have been fleeing over the border.

To read more, visit the Website.

photo: corbis, The Economist

Bhutan explained in 5 minutes

During the past 18 months, Colorado has received an increasing number of Bhutanese refugees who are coming from camps in Nepal. If you're unfamiliar with what led to the ethnic Nepalese being forced to leave Bhutan, the PBS News Hour has a concise yet thorough explanation of the situation on its Website. The story and slideshow are five minutes long.

Photo: Don Duncan, PBS

About 100,000 refugees from Bhutan have been living in U.N.-run refugee camps in eastern Nepal since the early 1990s. Many of these ethnic Nepalese are in the process of being resettled in other countries, but a few hard-liners are looking to return to Bhutan -- even through force. Click here for the story and slideshow.

Dear Abby

On Monday, May 2, 2011, Dear Abby featured a letter about how to be a helpful volunteer--especially young people and those looking for internships. It may have been written by someone you know. Just sayin'.

VOLUNTEERS, KEEP THIS IN MIND: SOMEONE IS COUNTING ON YOU


DEAR ABBY: I am a volunteer manager coordinating services between 200 students and tutors in an adult refugee English as a Second Language program. We benefit greatly from the skills and perspectives of young people, but the job requires volunteers to be self-directed and mature enough to handle the assignment. May I offer some advice to those who wish to volunteer for any program for class credit -- as an intern or during summer vacation?

Click here to read the entire column.

Women's programs build community, confidence

Kristen Damron understands the Chinese proverb that "women hold up half the sky." She also knows that refugee women have a particularly challenging situation ahead of them when they are resettled in the United States. Kristen is the Women's Programs Coordinator for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) in Denver.

In her work, Kristen sees that refugee women are expected--by their families and by their communities--to keep up with their roles as homemakers, mothers, and wives while also facing the often incredibly difficult challenges that resettlement brings. Kristen stated that, "Women are a marginalized population, regardless of which community they're in. They have a number of disadvantages. Within the refugee population, they're the backbone to a household and are tasked with raising the kids, running the household, as well as getting a job. They are the key to the family's success in the U.S., even if the family doesn't realize that. The greater the woman's success, the greater the chances of her family's success."

Women are less likely to take time for themselves and to take care of their own needs, even though they would benefit from support during the resettlement process. In many cultures, men don't share in child care or housekeeping responsibilities, and this means that women's adjustment and familiarity with a new culture may lag. Within the Colorado Refugee Network, the in-home ESL tutoring program is one program that strives to address some of the issues of isolation and language deficiency that refugee women may face. This program, however, addresses the issues one woman at a time, but can't build a support system within each ethnic community.

LIRS offers several programs specifically to support and empower refugee women. According to Kristen Damron, "The programs are designed to be supportive, holistic, and empowering for the women. They're supportive in that women are often somewhat excluded from integration into American society because of language, education, social barriers, and family responsibilities. Our programs give these women a way to come together and support each other. The programs include financial literacy, WorkStyles for women (a job readiness course), community support groups, a microenterprise program that also partners with A Little Something (the Denver Refugee Women's Crafts Initiative), and most recently, a health awareness and education program.

In the financial literacy program, a partnership with Emily Griffith Opportunity School, the group talks about the basics of household finances and money (in general) in the United States. The women's care groups bring together women from the same ethnic community for gatherings at the apartment complexes where the women live. They learn about their rights and responsibilities in the United States, they discuss topics related to domestic violence and personal safety, and they work on life skills, but also build supportive relationships with each other over the course of the sessions. To see a group in action, take a look at the video posted here.

Currently, the Women's Care Groups are in need of volunteers. Volunteers can provide transportation for the women who live at sites other than where the gatherings take place. Volunteers are also needed to work with the community leaders in helping to lead their groups. Two volunteers work with each group. Right now there are four groups, but Kristen hopes to expand that to at least eight in order to accommodate more participants.

Later this spring, Kristen will launch the first Women's Health Walk and Fair in Cheesman Park in Denver on Saturday, May 14. According to Kristen, "We wanted to create a special event to commemorate National Women's Health Week. We wanted our event to to be special and to celebrate these women, their health, and their importance in their families, and we wanted to do that in a way that would bring the rest of the community--what we call the "receiving community" together with these newcomers. We also wanted to create a way to help these women see that they're valued and their health and their bodies are valued. We also want the women themselves to be involved with and excited about the event and the concepts we're presenting.

The Women's Health Walk and Fair is free and will feature guest speakers, health education information, cultural offerings, nutrition information, and yoga in the park. Volunteers are needed to help with the event, especially those with a background in healthcare. Also, Kristen had hoped to provide event T-shirts for the participants, but there is no funding for that. A donation of event T-shirts would be gratefully accepted!

If you would like to volunteer at this event or with a Women's Care Group, please contact Kristen Damron at kristen.damron@lfsco.org.

Kristen said that volunteering isn't the only way to help refugees have a better resettlement experience. "Really, the first thing people can do for refugees is to be friendly. Smile, have enough guts to start a conversation--even if you're waiting in line, go ahead and strike up a conversation--and don't be afraid to have a welcoming demeanor. Just starting that conversation will make someone very happy because you've acknowledged that they are here and they are included."

--SM

It takes a village, but mostly, it takes a good mom...

In 2005, we started a class for Somali Bantu women living on the east side of Denver. The women in that class have shared a lot of their stories over the years. They've also told us about what they want from their new life in the United States. Above all else, they want their children to succeed here and to make the most of the opportunities around them.

Fatuma Ali is one of our orignal class members--and she still attends, every week. Fatuma hasn't had an easy time of it here, but despite that, she has always been diligent about making sure her children value education--something she, herself, has never had. She also has taught them the value of hard work--in school, at home, and working the land.

It seems so fitting then that Fatuma's eldest daughter, Amina Salat, was recently honored with a "9 Kids Who Care" award from KUSA, the NBC affiliate in Denver, for her dedication to helping others through community service.

In addition to receiving her award at a luncheon and ceremony last weekend, Amina was also profiled on the news yesterday. Amina spends time helping with A Little Something, the Denver Refugee Crafts Initiative, and she volunteers at SAME Cafe in Denver. She is also a leader in Growing Colorado Kids, a local urban farming initiative that shares its harvest with those in need. In addition to her school and volunteer work, Amina is indispensable helping her mom at home.

Fatuma is very, very proud of her daughter!

Click here to read the story on the 9News Website, or simply watch the video, below.

Book event!

Book reading and signing

Hadidja Nyiransekuye
The Lances Were Looking Down: One Woman’s Path through the Rwandan Genocide to Life in the States

Thursday, March 3, 2011
7:30 pm
Tattered Cover - Historic LoDo
1628 16th St.
Denver, CO

In 1994, Hadidja Nyiransekuye was witness to and a survivor of the Rwandan genocide that lasted 100 days and claimed the lives of nearly one million people. Hadidja immigrated to the United States in 1998 with her children, and from that time, experienced the refugee resettlement process both as a participant and as an observer. Her memoir not only recounts the details of surviving a life caught up in the currents of change, but also takes a frank look at the politics, intentions and outcomes of stateside resettlement efforts.

Hadidja went on to earn her MSW and Ph.D. from the University of Denver, and currently teaches at the Metropolitan State College of Denver.

She will discuss and sign her memoir, The Lances Were Looking Down: One Woman’s Path through the Rwandan Genocide to Life in the States at the Tattered Cover's LoDo location on Thursday, March 3. To request a signed copy of the book, email books@tatteredcover.com

To learn more about Hadidja Nyiransekuye, click here.

Link up!

More and more of our students have computers and Internet access at home. The boom of iPad sales, and now Verizon's new Xoom tablet, mean more of our tutors have access to the Web at almost any time.

Using ESL sites is a good way to add interactivity to your lessons, as well as easing your student into becoming familiar with the computer. Where to begin and how can you find good sites for your lessons?

Sally Bertoli, the head librarian at Emily Griffith Opportunity School, has figured out the answers to many of these questions for you. The EGOS library site has a page completely dedicated to ESL--including some sites for mouse tutorials, learning colors, and working on drag-and-drop activities.

You'll find that some sites are more helpful than others, depending on what you and your student are trying to achieve. Always preview a site first, before including it in a lesson, and think of ways to enhance a lesson or give an assessment with one of these tools. Sure, some look a little childish, but they cans till be effective when included among several approaches to the material.

To visit Sally's site, go to tiny.cc/esl123

The joy of...mail?

You probably don't give much thought to the mail--in general--or the mail that comes to your house. If you've come to the U.S. from a country where there is no structured mail system, though, this daily delivery can seem like both a miracle and a baffling mystery.

Imagine opening the mailbox and looking through the contents, not knowing what is important, what is advertising, and what is personal correspondence. You wonder: Why are these things coming at all? Also consider feeling so overwhelmed by the not knowing that you simply stop picking up the mail at all.

For our students who are not literate or who haven't yet learned to read using a different alphabet, sorting through the mail can be a frustrating challenge. Your student thinks, Maybe it's all important. Maybe none of it is important. It might not even be for me. What do I do with it now that I have it?

One of the first things you can do is teach your student to recognize her (or his) name in print. Look at it typed, handwritten, and printed in different typefaces. Try to get to a point where she can pick out her own name when there is other text on the same page (or envelope).

Next, consider sending mail to your student. Why not start with a Valentine? You can buy one or create one by hand or on your computer. An easy-to-read message using simple language will be most effective. Address the card by hand and print the student's name and address clearly. Think about how a kindergarten teacher would address a card for a student. Let there be no ambiguity!

This can be the start of a good culture lesson. When and why do we send cards? To whom do we send them? Where do you sign it? What is the proper way to sign? My mother recently sent me a box filled with papers, projects, and cards from when I was in the earliest years of elementary school. Birthday cards and Mother's Day cards bear the carefully printed endearment, "From, your daughter Sharon McCreary." At least there was no doubt about the origin of the warm wishes.

Think of a lesson about buying stamps, properly addressing a piece of mail and using a return address, or dealing with misdirected mail. I was surprised recently when I found out how many Americans don't know what you're supposed to do with misdirected/mis-delivered mail that arrives at your house (hint: You are not supposed to throw it in the trash!).

Are you going on vacation? Consider sending a picture post card to your student. Don't forget about your student's birthday! You can also send thank-you cards, "thinking of you," cards, notes or cards that celebrate a job well done, a short note if you miss a lesson, a photograph you took, or holiday cards.

In our busy, modern lives, mail can sometimes feel like just one more thing to deal with, but I'll bet that when you shuffle through the bills and junk mail, your curiosity is piqued by a hand-addressed piece of personal mail. It will likely be the first thing you open because it's special just by the nature of being part of a personal connection. This program is all about personal connections.

So, why not start now? Valentine's Day is less than a week away. Whether you buy a card or make one, this is great time to start incorporating the mail into your teaching--and to let your student know you think of her often.

Cultural resources that might be helpful

Is your student a Nepali speaker?

Here are two resources that may prove useful. Aksharica is a Nepali -language newsletter that aims to educate, inform, inspire, and empower the Nepali-speaking community (Bhutanese and Nepali) in America. The word Aksharica combines the Nepali word "letter" with the word "America," just as newcomers will blend cultures as they adapt to life in a new country.
Click here to access the newsletter online.

In addition, Aksharica has made arrangements with the Nepali Dictionary Project to provide Bhutanese/Nepali families with a Nepali–English Dictionary for free. To get a free dictionary, the request has to come directly from the end users. Please assist your student with this task!

The second page of the newsletter contains a Dictionary Request Form, for families to complete and mail to Aksharica’s address. Alternatively, the dictionaries can also be requested online. Agencies can purchase the book from the Nepali Dictionary Project for $16 each.

http://www.nepalidictionaryproject.org/

UPDATE: JUNE 6, 2011. Someone has contacted us and asked that you not request dictionaries. Apparently, they are no longer for sale at the $16 price--or at all, it seems. If we find new resources for your refugee students, we'll let you know!

For all home tutors

Catholic Community Services of Utah has posted their Life Skills Manual: Level One online. Click here for a copy. This 62-page manual takes a pictorial approach to nine topics, including hygiene, housekeeping, emergencies, and U.S. laws. Originally developed for use with Somali Bantu refugees, the manual may be of use for other groups that lack familiarity with these cultural aspects of life in the United States. It can also serve as lesson inspiration and a simple textbook for any in-home tutor!

They're heeeeere

Unless you never avail yourself of any type of news media, you might be unaware of the resurgence of bedbugs. Otherwise, you know the little critters are flourishing worldwide.

Denver has been particularly hard hit. Although bed bugs don't spread disease, they are still significantly unpleasant. The thought of an insect dining on you while sleep is creepy.

There are some things to know about bedbugs:

• They do not discriminate based on economic status, gender, nationality, age, or attention to housekeeping. They are equal-opportunity pests, and you can pick them up almost anywhere.
• You should not assume, if facing a bedbug invasion, that you picked them up in someone's home.
• Unlike roaches, you don't get bedbugs because your house is dirty or you visited someplace that appeared to be unsanitary.
• Bedbugs do not cause or spread illness.
• If you are a renter, your landlord cannot hold you responsible for an infestation.
• There are common-sense precautions you can take to avoid an infestation, but suffering an infestation can happen to anyone.

Bedbugs are travelers. They generally hitch a ride on furniture, clothing, and on international flights. They particularly like to snuggle into the seams of soft-side luggage in hotels and in the cargo hold of airplanes. they also enjoy the warm dark of movie theaters, and lately have been showing up in hospitals, schools, and clothing stores.

Many of the apartment complexes where refugees live have or previously had a bedbug issue. Part of this starts with international travel, but the problem persists because residents haul infested furniture out of the trash. They also don't necessarily report a problem when it happens.

Imagine you lived your entire life in a bamboo hut in the jungle. Having insects cohabitate your living space isn't just a reality--it's inevitable. For someone who has always experienced this as normal, having insects in your Denver apartment isn't going to make you raise an eyebrow. Think about it. In an article in the Denver Post, one exterminator said, "Americans think it's our birthright to live free of vermin," Miller said. "Get over it." In most parts of the world, bugs are just a fact of life, and soon that will be the case here.

So, what can you do to minimize your risk of an infestation?

• Be aware of the symptoms, from bites to dark spots on upholstered furniture.
• Don't take your coat with you when you go inside of your student's home. In fact, take only hard-surface items that you can keep in the trunk of your car (I take in only a plastic folder, a book, and a plastic pencil case).
• Brush off your clothes before getting back in the car or going into your own house.
• Leave your shoes outside overnight.
• If you buy anything at a thrift shop, leave it outside in the sun so bedbugs will be coaxed out into the warmth. Then, run everything through a hot cycle in the dryer.
• If you travel, never put your suitcase on the bed and don't unpack or use hotel drawers. Also, bring a large plastic trash bag to cover your suitcase with when you're staying in a hotel.
• Don't forget to check the mattress seams for signs of infestation.
• If you do get bedbugs in your home, you must be diligent about cleaning out the house, bagging and washing everything made of fabric, and employing the services of a good, ethical, and knowledgeable exterminator.

Most people are unaware that prior to the 1950s, bedbugs ran rampant. The introduction of the highly toxic pesticide DDT all but stopped widespread bedbug infestations. Once DDT was banned worldwide, bedbugs were ready for their resurgence. New evidence shows that like cockroaches, bedbugs are genetically adapting to the modern world and have become all but invincible in the face of other pesticides.

Heat and cold are your friends. So far, bedbugs cannot withstand exposure to extreme heat or extreme cold. In a state that often has mild temperatures, this isn't the ideal solution, but any bedbugs clinging to items left in your closed-up car on hot, sunny day will not survive the experience. Likewise, in winter, leave suspect items outside overnight when temperatures are below freezing.

To learn more about the current state of bedbugs in our nation and around the world, please refer to these articles:

• From NPR: Bedbugs aren't just back, they're spreading. Click here to read
• MSNBC: Questions and answers about bedbugs Click here to read
• Denver's bedbug primer. Click here to read
• Bedbug Central (comprehensive site) Click here to read
• Tenants and landlords Click here to read
• From NPR: Extreme fight: Dogs, chemicals take on bedbugs. Click here to read
• From NPR: Bedbug genome reveals pesticide resistance. Click here to read
  
• Sleep tight!

It's a whole new year!

Happy New Year!

Please make a note of the following dates when tutors need to report their time spent with their respective students. We need this information so that resettlement agencies, case managers, and our state refugee office are aware of of the activity in this program (trust me, it's important!).

To remind you, any time spent with your student counts toward your monthly total, even if it was a social outing or a trip to the local clinic. Things that don't count: Lesson planning, making calls on your student's behalf, transportation time to and from the student's home.

2011 Reporting Dates
(no later than...)

Month tutoring...Date to report by

• January time...Monday, February 7
• February time...Monday, March 7
• March time...Tuesday, April 5
• April time...Thursday, May 5
• May time...Monday, June 6
• June time...Wednesday, July 6
• July time...Friday, August 5
• August time...Tuesday, September 6
• September time...Wednesday, October 5
• October time...Monday, November 7
• November time...Monday, December 5

Please make a note of these dates and please report your tutoring time promptly!
Thank you!!

Mia Farrow's slide show tribute

UNHCR and the Blue Key

Here's a suggestion for an inexpensive yet valuable stocking stuffer this holiday season. UNHCR has introduced the Blue Key campaign to raise awareness of refugee issues around the globe.

You can purchase your own blue key for only $5 from the UNHCR Web site. The site also includes a downloadable book with refugees stories. Each story is followed by a response from a celebrity in the arts, politics, or elsewhere on the world stage.

Help unlock the door to a better future. Click here to learn more.

What if you could stop a war?

Dispatch from Aurora

Carina Ramos has been tutoring an Eritrean refugee since July, 2010. Here, she reflects on the experience so far.


by Carina Ramos

I will never forget the first time I ever walked into my student’s apartment, four months ago. A young, Eritrean mother of four, Gidey greeted us warmly with one of the few phrases she knew in English: “Hello, how are you?” The distinct smell of coffee beans being roasted right there in her living room struck me sharply—and not in your typical ‘Starbucks’ aromatic way, for sure…

The humble apartment was sparsely furnished and Gidey offered us two chairs at the kitchen table—and, after she rushed around trying to tidy up the apartment a bit—she sat down with us to complete the initial questionnaire. Through her eight-year-old daughter, who had already been in school for nine months and knew the most English in the house, we were able to communicate our questions to her and obtain answers.

After Sharon, the coordinator left, I stayed there longer to drink “boona”— Ethiopian coffee—with her and get to know her better. Other Eritrean neighbors and cousins came in and, since most were more fluent in English than her, acted as translators too, telling me more about her life in Eritrea as a farmer, her complete lack of formal schooling, and her excitement at the possibility of receiving English classes at her home.

I started meeting with Gidey two evenings a week, and despite frequent interruptions by her older daughter, toddler, and baby, we started scratching the surface of the English language by learning basic phrases, such as “Hello, my name is…”. Since she was completely illiterate in both Tigrinya and English, all of our classes were oral at first.

After a couple of sessions, Gidey told me, through her daughter, that she wanted to learn the “ABC,” so we began working on saying and recognizing the alphabet visually, as well as writing it. We worked with textbooks, workbooks, notebooks, and white boards—practicing over and over again. I bought her a colorful alphabet chart, which we stuck to her kitchen wall and referred to often. It ended up being a great hit both with her, her children, and the neighbors, and was the source of everyone’s admiration. After more than two months, we started working on writing out her name, and she copied it over and over again in her notebook, trying to memorize it. I tried to put myself in her place, and imagined trying to write my name in Tigrinya, a language with strange characters, completely foreign to me. How long would it take me to recognize it when I read it, and learnt to write it?

At the end of one of these sessions, I turned over to a clean page of her notebook, and told her to write her name, without any reference to copy from. I waited anxiously to see how she would do… and watched her slowly trace the letters, one by one, perfectly! One of her Eritrean friends was sitting on the couch across the room, watching, and we all cheered and clapped as she finished writing the last letter. She smiled proudly as she examined her work. Then, she wrote it a few more times across the page, so as to cement it into her memory. What a sense of accomplishment! It was as great as writing a thousand-word essay—the feeling of crossing a hurdle initially as tall as Ras Dashen, the tallest mountain in Ethiopia. What an achievement!

In her next class, Gidey copied all of her children’s names down and practiced them in her notebook. It looked so neat and clear that I cut out the pages and stuck them on her refrigerator, while she beamed with happiness. Her handiwork was on display for her to admire every day.

We have been moving on to food names, numbers, and other basic vocabulary—all with the goal of helping her become increasingly independent when she goes to the supermarket, to her child’s school, and to complete basic government paperwork. I look forward to helping her cross many more hurdles—though the progress may at times be slow—because her contagious enthusiasm carries us forward each session. And of course, no class is complete without a cup of home-roasted, ground, and brewed Ethiopian ‘boona’ at the end to celebrate all of our hard work.

Noodles for a great cause!!

September 9 is the birthday of Emily Griffith Opportunity School. Here's an idea for a birthday gift that's good for you and the school. On September 9, eat at Noodles & Company's location at 6th Avenue and Broadway in Denver after 4:00 p.m.. Mention the school, and part of your purchase will be donated to the Emily Griffith Foundation. The Foundation funds student scholarships and school improvements, and many refugees have benefited from this generosity.

Save the date, and save room for a great (inexpensive) meal!!

Don't strain your eyes...Click on the picture to enlarge!

Currently on the NPR Website: Two stories about refugees and school--and both provide valuable insight into how a person's background affects life as a student.

New Refugee Students In NY Get Ready For US School
by The Associated Press

Photo, Associated Press/NPR

For their first fire drill, teachers at the Refugee Youth Summer Academy gathered their students, leading them out of the building to show them what to do during drills in the upcoming school year.

But one thing was missing: the sirens. They had been muted, for fear blaring alarms could trigger terror in children who recently arrived from war zones and other conflict areas where sirens can signal danger.

The silent fire drill was part of the balancing act for staff at the 6-week summer program that helps children who have survived wars and refugee camps prepare for a new experience — American public school.

It's not just about the academics, said Elizabeth Demchak, principal of the school run by the International Rescue Committee, which works with refugees and asylum-seekers.

For some of the kids, formal education has been haphazard or nonexistent, Demchak said. For others, school consisted of sitting and taking notes surrounded by dozens of others with a teacher reciting a lecture.

Preparing them means helping them learn how to go to school along with what they learn there.

To read the rest of the story, please click here.

To read or listen to the second story (listening to it gives a more authentic experience and may actually be easier to follow), please click here.

Refugee kids doing something good

From KUSA in Denver, a short piece about Growing Colorado Kids. This group helps refugee kids learn to raise their own vegetables, as well as sell some. Participants also learn cooking and nutrition skills. You can read more by clicking here.

More from the field...

Ann Lockhart is technically retired, but still works as a freelance editor. She has been a volunteer teacher in the CRESL In-home Tutoring Program since 2000.

Why I like tutoring refugees
by Ann Lockhart

Tutoring refugees has been a very satisfying and absorbing volunteer activity for me since my early retirement. Refugees really need the help to function here, not only with English, but also with daily life challenges like doctor’s appointments, deciphering junk mail, telemarketers, making appointments, filling out forms, etc.

Just as they learn the basics of the language and American culture, I always learn a lot about them, their country, culture and food. Many have stories of political discrimination, torture and displacement. Unfortunately, they can’t explain much of their past until they learn more English.

Having an ongoing personal relationship with each refugee has been really important, interesting and challenging for me. It makes me realize how very fortunate we Americans are. We think we are not rich, but we have so much more than any of them do.

After their traumatic departure from their homeland, refugees come to the U.S. exhausted, but hopeful about starting a new life in one of the richest countries of the world. Then reality sets in. They have to learn so much so fast, starting with the money, the transportation, getting a job, shopping for basics and paying back the loan for their long flight to the U.S. They also get a small apartment with mismatched furniture and very basic supplies.

A man and his wife from Sudan who later lived in Egypt were my first refugee students. He had been a self-educated magazine publisher in Khartoum, and was a political prisoner for 10 years. I was really, really nervous about meeting them, and I think they were just as nervous. But we all relaxed as in-home refugee coordinator Sharon McCreary broke the ice and introduced us. I continued meeting with them for several years, watching their children grow, learn English, attend school and gradually begin to call Denver home.

The Sudanese family was absolutely thrilled when I took them to the Denver Art Museum to see the Cezanne exhibit and again absolutely excited when I got some free tickets to take them to the Denver Symphony. I also took them to see the Glendale fireworks display July 3rd and Sunday night summer concerts at City Park.

My second assignment was tutoring a woman from Iraq with a small child, whose husband went back to Iraq as a translator to the U.S. Army during the war there. Often our English lessons were interrupted by a child’s demands, cries or interruptions. I learned a lot about Iraq and the war there.

She worked really hard to study for her citizenship test, asking me to go over and over the questions weeks before her scheduled meeting. I took her to the office for her test, which consisted of only 10 questions. To her great relief, she did very well. Attending the citizenship ceremony with many other refugees with their friends and families was a really moving experience for me.

Next was a Somali Bantu woman who left an abusive marriage, taking her baby boy with her. Little by little her traumatic life story came out. Her father was a general, and her mother a shopkeeper, but their lives all changed dramatically when warlords took over the government. Her entire extended family is scattered in various countries. She eventually went to St. Louis, Missouri, hoping to get a job and start over.

A woman from Bhutan, whose family was forced to leave that country for neighboring Nepal, is my current assignment. Her two little girls run in and out, and family members come in and out as we try to focus on the English lessons. Her neighbor asked if she could join us, so now we three work together every week.

Preparing lessons does take some time, but I know the better I prepare, the better it goes. With the Picture dictionary, flash cards, workbooks, paper, pencils and whatever else I can come up with, we keep on working.

It’s been fun for me to share with all of them what I love about Denver and the United States. It takes time for us to communicate well about more difficult, abstract issues, going beyond pictures, gestures and simple words.

I highly recommend in-home tutoring as a very satisfying volunteer activity.

Photo courtesy of Ann Lockhart