Sewa Hosts First General Clinic for Bhutani Refugees

On Saturday June 20, 2015, the Houston branch of Sewa International held its first free health clinic at the Los Arcos Apartments. For an afternoon, residents of the apartments were invited to come to the clinic to receive free health screenings, education on health issues and referrals to specialists if needed. The clinic was coordinated by the organization’s public health interns Meeta Garach and Akshata Joshi as well as the other Get Inspired Houston (GIH) interns. The clinic is the first of many the organization hopes to hold in the coming months at the apartment complex.

The purpose of the free clinic was to provide the residents of the Los Arcos Apartments a much-needed check up and counsel on where to seek treatment for their conditions. The apartments are populated primarily by refugees from countries such as Bhutan, Mexico, and Nigeria. Refugees lack access to quality healthcare in Houston primarily due to language barriers and lack of mobility. Sewa Houston’s goal in creating a monthly clinic at the Los Arcos Apartments is to bring healthcare to the refugees and mediate and language barriers.

Lead by Dr. Ashima Chauhan, a board certified Family Medicine physician, interns and  medical students assisted in a variety of basic medical screenings such as taking vitals and assessing patient’s medical history. Sewa also provided the necessary translators to accommodate the various languages spoken such as Burmese, Bhutanese, and Nepalese. The clinic welcomed patients of all ages making it a successful turnout. The interns also had the opportunity to interact with the families from the ASPIRE tutorials as well as to meet some newcomers.

Sewa hopes to bring in even more patients for their next clinic in July at Los Arcos Apartments!

For more information please contact

Kavita Tewary at educationhouston@sewausa.org

or call 713-303-4253

or visit us at www.sewausa.org

Sewa ASPIRE Tutorials

Intensive Facebook Campaign helps SEWA International’s ASPIRE Tutorials win a grant of $25,000

Being a refugee is no easy task – having to adjust to a completely new environment, learn another language, earn a living from scratch, and provide for family members is just a glimpse of the challenges that refugees constantly face. This is especially true for Houston’s growing and diverse refugee population. It is for this reason that the city’s chapter of Sewa USA has wholeheartedly taken on the challenge of alleviating the burdens of refugee life through a variety of projects and programs. From its origins in 2003, the Hindu-based non-profit organization now has an extensive support network with the city’s refugee population as it strives to empower them to attain a better quality of life. In particular, the organization has excelled in promoting education within the youth, specifically through its ASPIRE Tutorial Program.

ASPIRE (Assuring Student Performance In Refugee Education) is the current system of tutorials provided by Sewa with the purpose of helping refugee and underprivileged children to catch up with their classmates and grade expectations. With its beginnings in 2008, the tutorial program has slowly grown and is now a year-round aspect of Sewa’s mission statement that provides students with invaluable one-on-one tutoring in essential elementary proficiencies.

Additionally, it has a formal structure that is conducive to learning and supplements school education with innovative and evolving teaching styles and activities. This aspect of the program is crucial because refugee children usually lack such structure in refugee camps. With a focus on the concepts rather than the need to complete school assignments, ASPIRE gives students the necessary tools to give them control of their education.

But the program itself serves a deeper purpose – to free children from the vicious cycle of poverty; to make children self-sufficient early on in their lives. In other words, it intends to tackle the root of poverty, which is a lack of education. A common issue faced by students is that due to their economic conditions, parents tend to place more attention on employment than on parental time. Consequently, Sewa serves as the transitory liaison and mentor. The organization recognizes that there is a direct correlation between education and quality of life; thus, to increase the latter, basic educational foundations (i.e. reading, speaking, and mathematics) must be bolstered. The benefit of such an approach is that it greatly increases the chances that each child has the opportunity to continue his or her educational endeavors. For this reason, Sewa wishes to continue the beneficial program into the future.

State Farm’s recent competition known as Neighborhood Assist provided a significant opportunity for Sewa as it challenged community members to vouch for a cause and earn $25,000 that can be used to promote it. The general procedure involved selecting an area to support and providing a grant statement that explained the organization’s purpose for applying. Determined with its ongoing ASPIRE program, Sewa’s position advocated for education. After submitting the application, Sewa was placed in the top 400 of the approximately 4000 that had applied across the different categories. At that point, an exclusive Facebook voting system was instilled in the sense that the number of “likes” on an organization’s page would determine their chances of winning – which means being in the top 40 in the leaderboard during the end of the voting period.

After Sewa was selected in the first phase, the Facebook voting process set off as organizations members spread the information of their cause to the greater community. And with the immense support of friends and family from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, and India, Sewa secured a healthy rank of 19 when the polls closed. It was also the only charity from Texas to have made it to the top 40.

The additional money gained from this grant is extremely important as it will allow Sewa to buttress the infrastructure of the tutoring program as a whole as well as to have a continuous volunteering pool throughout the year. In other words, the money will ensure a smooth and productive continuation of the ASPIRE program and hence the betterment of the lives of refugee children in the years ahead.

Testimonials reflect that the refugee community is very thankful for the efforts of Sewa volunteers and that results are definitely visible as students that were once struggling are now on par with or have surpassed their classmates in school. What is more significant is that educating a single generation can greatly increase the chances that future generations will also be educated, thereby weakening the chains of poverty. Such outcomes are most desirable and therefore motivate the organization to continue its educational commitment.

Sewa also connects with refugee families on a personal level to form a very strong familial bond that makes it unique in its purpose and practice. The goal isn’t to simply help refugees, but to get to know them for who they are. Consequently, combining family bonds and the drive for educational advancement yields a very unique mission.

The future of Sewa is very promising as it already has established centers all around the world and is growing significantly as new challenges to humanity arise. Although societal idealism cannot be practically realized, Sewa’s efforts are definitely approaching the end goal of a happy world, one step at a time.

Contributed by Umang Thanki

First Impressions

We've almost finished our first month interning with Sewa and I've been so busy with PR work and the kids activities that this is the first time I've been able to even write on this blog.

The CA team is spending about five days a week with the kids at Villa Bella, and gradually over the weeks it has turned from exhaustion and stress into good hearted fun. Learning their names was probably one of the hardest parts, especially with two sets of twins in the group! Fortunately though we got that out of the way quickly, with the exception of the twins Ram and Laxeman, who most of the time we can only differentiate by the little scab on Ram's nose. We joke that we hope Ram's nose doesn't heal too soon so that we can keep telling them apart easily!

With so much interaction with the kids at Villa Bella all of us share the same thoughts and feelings that we're actually forming real friendships with them. They're so lively and full of energy, keeping up with them almost makes me feel like I'm pushing 85 instead of 21.

I thought going into this that these kids would want us to teach them so much, things about America and other things about this country that they would eventually call home. Instead I found that they hold strong to some aspects of their culture but are open to what we have to offer. The kids often speak, or rather screech, in their native Nepali language and we find ourselves constantly trying to remind them of the "rule" to speak English around us. Little Yubek or one of the twins will usually blurt out something along the lines of "Yes Nepali!" as a quick retort to our heinous demands. When given the option to watch a Bollywood movie or an American movie, they pick Bollywood, and when we want to play 'Hot Potato' they'd rather play Carom Board (which to my surprise, is a lot of fun!)

But as I sigh at their disinterest in some of our American games and ideas I find myself remembering that they are only trying to retain what little left of their culture they have here. I try to put myself in their shoes; perhaps if I had left my home in Texas to live somewhere across the world, foreign in every sense of the word, I most certainly would do the same.

I think I'd like to get inside these kids' heads and figure out what they really think of being here. After watching them try to "collage" I think I'd like to figure out if America to them really means a picture of the U.S flag with a cut-out of 50 cent's face glued on it. Which yes, one of them really made.

Children's Activities at Villa Bella Apartments (7/1/2010)

The smile was printed across Leela's face while she sat next to me and tried to explain how the Nepali flag looks like. Her black straight hair was falling across her face while she opened a book to show me the flag of the country she was born and the country she actually considered herself from (Bhutan). I used my scarf to tie her hair back which made her look at me and ask where I was from. "Brazil" I said. Her eyes sparkled as she realized I was like her: foreign, different, but striving to fit in. She decided to open her heart.
Leela, who used to be shy when talking to me certainly now fell a bond as strong as the knot I made with the scarf on her hair. Her speech turned bubbly as she told me about the houses in Nepal, where she was born. "My parents made my house out of bamboo" she said. As she described what it took her parents to make the house I could not stop but think about this book I read one day that said "to know the history of humans it is important to look at their houses." She explained the houses were not stable, the wind would often blow the bamboos away and it would leave her and her brothers in a 24-hour watch for missing bamboos on the roof and the house's structure in general.
To me this story summarizes what I have seen this past month while talking to my new group of friends: the Bhutanese-Nepali. Each and every generation has suffered with subjugation from misunderstanding cultures throughout their lives. The parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents I have talked to, all had to move away from the land they lived on because of cultural persecution. Therefore I conclude the only thing that has kept them sane was their culture: which is what all have in common and all strive to protect.
Their culture is like the house Leela just described. The basic foundations were thought of centuries ago but each family has built and tailored the culture and made it unique to them. The older folks treat these foundation almost like a sanctuary, but the children are the ones now in charge to be on the watch for things that will move the "bamboos" of their heritage. They are the ones who will decide, from now on, whether or not to fix it when in contact with American "winds." I have observed the children for three weeks and I believe that has left me with the opportunity and fondness to say this "tornado" might as well do the same thing it did for me and my culture: draw a very stable blueprint for the "house" they will one day build for their families or themselves.

Youth Mentors

Sorry that I haven’t written in a while- it’s a positive product of having so many projects underway. Examples include: women’s knitting coop, women’s health program, children’s art classes, patio garden, weekend soccer, UN survey…

For instance, the youth mentorship project just had its first collaborative meeting this morning. Its mission is to create a student organized and student led buddy system between Bhutanese and Houston high school students, one which would help share teenage-relevant information and build friendships. The club would offer practical help, such as high school study tips or college preparation ideas. It would supplement these meetings with social events like pizza parties or bowling. Soccer or cricket leagues, music jam sessions, and after-school programs have also been discussed.

It was great to introduce some of the Bhutanese students to the high school leaders of youth mentorship today. I envision this group will help make Houston more of a home and the transition from Nepal to American high schools, more fluid. It certainly can be risky leaving a project up to high school volunteers with already packed schedules, but their commitment thus far has been very inspiring. I hope that the co-leadership between the Bhutanese and Houstonians continues and that the club expands as other high school students are looking for volunteer hours.
Let’s add a dash of unity to high school!

Accepting interested volunteers indefinitely. The project will most likely start at Hastings High, and most events will probably be on Saturdays.

Knitting Circle Launch

Today Kathy and I went to VP to launch Women’s Issues Knitting Circle. The women were so excited when we pulled out the crochet hooks and yarn, and the last thing one of them said to us as we left was “I am so happy now.” Getting to watch the talented seamstresses and teach the beginners was an excellent bonding experience. It got everyone talking and involved as our knitting circle kept scooting closer together and we developed an outer ring of spectators. The women even kicked the men out of the apartment within the first ten minutes so that it could be an official, girls-only club.

As part of the circle, Kathy and I learned to count in Nepali, we taught the women key phrases in Spanish, we laughed over dropped stitches and silly two year olds. We discussed health concerns, got updated on the job search process, and shared congratulations on English improvement and new-found jobs. The age of our group ranged from two and a half (ok, our honorary member) to late, late seventies. The stitching patterns, yarn color, native tongues varied, but the sentiment was shared. I think we all needed the time to sit and chat and literally unwind.

Houston, I was genuinely so inspired by this first meeting; I can’t wait to return next week. I think it will be a great outlet for the women to improve their English, share their feelings, strengthen friendships, and relieve stress. The challenge right now is finding a way to get the materials donated so that we have enough for the women to make the blankets, hats, and sweaters that they knit and crochet so beautifully. Then we might be able to cover the vendor fee and get our co-op club into a local craft market- team work, initiative, and perhaps a little microfinance.

Universal Language

So far, this week has been going well. We were able to secure a soil donation for the garden, thanks to the kind folks at Cowboy Trucking, and we are starting to collect old water bottles/yogurt cups to start our seedlings. We have also planned some follow-up women’s only meetings at the apartments and are still working on getting a female doctor to offer her expertise on health questions. Sprinkle in some volunteer interviews, apartment visits, and Medicaid/Gold Card research and the week is truly in progress. Two other big projects are registering the children for school and looking into vendor applications at local markets, where the women might sell their crafts in the future.

At the end of last week, Agatha and I went to VP in hopes of meeting more of the women and hearing their concerns. I have to say I was blown away by the number in attendance. We not only got a lot of helpful information, but we were able to speak with a wide age range- from 19 to 79 years old. I would say that any specifics in the refugees’ needs, and of course English proficiency, are based on age. But even the language barrier was put aside in this very engaging conversation. We finally got the specific art supplies they need for their beautiful crocheting and knitting projects, and even got to see some of their art pieces up close. I am very eager to begin our knitting circle next week to build a stronger sense of community between the women and, if the market idea works out, create an additional source of income.

When I was reflecting on this particular visit a few days later, I suddenly realized that when the room became so noisy with voices, the whole room was speaking to me in Nepali. The questions that I had asked the designated translator became public property and a truly a community concern. By no means do I speak Nepali, but in some strange fashion I could understand the injuries they described or the details of their children. Language barriers are, after all, relative.

Waving in Traffic

Please bear with me as I use a bizarre analogy. Late last week, my computer decided to play hopscotch with the normal functions it is supposed to perform, leaving me at the mercy of my team mates and in the waiting room of a computer repair shop. I had determined not to get too frustrated, but was made immediately aware of how reliant we are all on technology- so many of my projects depended on e-mail contacts, internet access, sharing Google documents, accessing stored phone numbers, etc.

The times when we find ourselves teetering between stress and forfeit remind me of how thankful I am for the people that swoop in to help. They are not the masked super heroes that we read about, but they are the team member sitting next to you who sends some extra e-mails and takes on an extra hour of work. They are the jean-wearing tech masters who can decipher 10-12 digit strands of information and troubleshoot out-loud. These unexpected moments of sanity always come when I realize how much I do not control in life and how much I rely on the people around me. (A little plug for anyone reading this blog- next time you’re in traffic and someone lets you cut in front of them, please wave. It will make someone’s day, I promise).

The moral of my jumbled story is that even these computer glitches and their aftermath helped me grow in my efforts to help the Bhutanese. For instance, while I was temporarily kept from productive work, I was quickly reminded of the fear that accompanies a problem you have no idea how to solve. I was desperate for the tech person to explain the situation in my language and to fix what was broken. Similarly, the refugees are desperate for some advocates to make sense of this new land and help them fix the unemployment situation. Resources are not helpful if we hoard our knowledge of them. I have a renewed commitment to get as many resources ready as possible (our team motto) and say thank you as much as I can.

Los Arcos Visit

After a long week of sitting at the computer compiling a list of resources specific to each apartment complex for the refugees with a brief [but entertaining] interlude of hard labor, the highlight of the week was getting to visit with the refugees at Los Arcos Apartments. While I was happy that we were getting to interact with new refugees [which is pretty much the core of the Women's Issues group--one on one interaction with the refugees], I was a little disheartened after Katy had informed us of some manipulation on the part of refugees. I can't really fault them for it, but hearing that the group's efforts and hard work were being taken advantage of really didn't do much to feed the fire of my incentive to help.
So with a tiny bit of skepticism, I accompanied both my team and workforce development to Los Arcos Apartments, where we were lead to a community room filled with refugees. Workforce dealt with the men, while Women's Issues [unsurprisingly] dealt with the women. It's what we do.
Anyway, Agatha, Katie, and I divided our group of women into 3 groups so that we could complete the census in a more efficient and personal manner than if all 3 of us did it together--I think that would have seemed more like an interrogation, which probably isn't the best way to go about building trust. At first I was very nervous about talking to my group of women by myself;usually, Agatha and Katy and Katie do most of the talking, while I interject with a few questions every now and then [If I were in the position of the refugee women, I think I'd feel better explaining my problems and personal information with the people who've graduated from high school already]. In retrospect, the feeling was completely absurd. The women at Los Arcos were incredibly open, eager, and willing to answer every question to the best of their abilities. A very good deal of them spoke English, which made it much easier to communicate with the women and made the census questions fly by. There was even some casual banter after we were done with the formalities of the census.
The general consensus was that they all want jobs. As one refugee described it to me, "If we find jobs, then every other problem solves itself." It was clearly a burdensome worry for each of the women I talked to; there was even a fear that only 15 refugees at the apartments would get jobs. However, that rumor was quickly dispelled, and it was reiterated that Workforce would do their best to supply them with the resources and knowledge they would need to find jobs. Reassured, they all left and thanked us for our help.
All in all, it was a very good day. Basically, I went into the apartments with a reserve of cynicism [just in case], and left with faith in humanity. I have very high hopes for Los Arcos.

Workforce Development

The workforce development team has been working hard for almost 3 weeks now! Our responsibility is to provide refugees with the job skills they need to succeed in Houston. We spent our first week getting to know refugees. We assessed their needs, talked about their experiences looking for jobs in the US now, and learned about the challenges they have faced. We've visited two of the apartment complexes already. We have a vast array of challenges to overcome: many of the refugees don't speak or read English, some have health problems, very few of them have cars or reliable transportation, and many of them lack the work experience or knowledge to easily find a job in the U.S.

While we started out researching available jobs in the area and helping refugees edit their resumes, we have moved away from that. We've since decided to focus on training refugees to take control of their own job search and professional development. Right now, we're creating the materials needed for training. We're planning a resume and job skills workshop (complete with a mock interview!), English classes, and computer classes. We need English teachers who can commit to at least six months: if anyone is interested, please contact us!

I'm looking forward to more cooperation with local agencies. It seems like there are so many services being offered to refugees in the area, particularly in the skills that we're trying to develop. Imagine how much more powerful a coordinated effort to support refugees would be!

planting trust

This has been quite an eventful week. My primary focus has been working on the community garden project, trying to get supplies donated and secure our location. It turns out that our original donor is no longer able to offer his land but another volunteer offered his spacious backyard, so all is not lost. I actually think that this smaller size will work well because it will force our gardeners to be a close-knit group with a set schedule and leader.

I also posted a grant application on dosomething.org (check out Solidarity Community Garden) in hopes of getting volunteers and supplies (soil, tools, hoses, watering cans, etc.). This morning we moved the donated concrete bricks to the garden site and it was really great to see the project under way. Even if in baby steps, we are moving forward and laughing a lot in the process. You just have to love team work. And getting lost in Houston!

I also worked to schedule follow-up meetings at various apartments and one introductory meeting at the apartment with the largest number of refugees. It is really interesting to notice how each apartment has a very distinct personality, and I can’t figure out if it is because of the amount of time the refugees have been in the country, whether or not they are still receiving the 90 days of aid and from which organization, or their neighborhoods and security.

Two themes that I’m noticing are desperation and community. In some apartments, these go hand in hand to balance each other. In other apartments, the desperation seems to overcome any chance at community; there is such a need for employment, and the desired job, that our efforts to help our often frustrated. It seems that where a sense of community and initiative remains, we have made much more progress. So, how do you build trust, encourage honesty, and repair community? Tricky questions, but ultimately SEWA and Women’s Issues’ goal.

Obstacles are part of life and of any worthwhile project. So honestly, I’m not that frustrated with the challenges we have faced thus far. Instead, I think I am now more committed to lead this Women’s Issues group. Our work is both never ending and unpredictable because we have to convince the Bhutanese community- especially the men- that we are not trying to Americanize the women but help the Bhutanese women live whole, safe, and satisfied lives in America. We are here to learn as much as we are hoping to share our Houston resources with them. Team work!

Victoria Park and World Refugee Day

Coucou! Today was a fairly interesting day. First my women's issues team along with Public Relations and Workforce Development went to Victoria Park Apts. this afternoon. While Workforce Development held a resume-building and career skills assessment workshop, women's issues and PR went to speak one-on-one with the Bhutanese women at the apts. Unfortunately, the majority of them had been hauled off to church and dentist appointment by Alliance. Hence, we were were left with very few women and girls to speak to at Victoria. We still got the information we wanted from the women and girls that were there. In fact, I believe we received more than the logistics information but more trust and honesty from the women. Bisa's husband was primarily in the apt. with us but we all noticed that as soon as he left, she confided in us even more. I noticed a sudden shift in the atmosphere in the room as she shifted her chair closer with almost just 12 inches separating her from the two Katies as they asked her some questions. She began to volunteer more personal information about her health and medical concerns to them. It was astounding to watch. Bisa's neighbor, who had brought both Bisa's son and her own 2 yr old son to the apt. even suddenly moved to sit next to me on the couch as I asked her questions. She even began to volunteer information about wanting to continue going to college here. She'd started going to college in Nepal but was not able to finish because of the costs. I told her that I'd look into getting her into a community college. However, the main obstacle for both of the women is finding someone to look after their children. The women voiced that their husbands always rely on them to take care their children 24/7, not necessarily taking the load off of the women. This will definitely be a short-term goal for our women's issues team; to find a community daycare, whether it is one within the apts in which the elderly can get together and help look after the young kids or one outside the apts that offers free daycare services. This is a very vital implementation for our team because the women cannot work or continue schooling when they must constantly look after their kids. This calls to mind another goal for us, which is to implement the idea of community-building among the Bhutanese refugees within each apt or among the neighboring apartments. Sometimes, I get the feeling that the refugees feel like it is "survival of the fittest," as if there is a lack of communication and full support for one another because everyone is so focused on getting themselves fully settled within the Houston community. I also believe that our garden and art/crafts project, if sucessful, will eventually bring the women and their families closer together. Thus, community-building might not be too hard to come into play.
After our conversation with the women, we were able to take some of the younger girls, including Padma and Indra, with us to Westland YMCA for the celebration of World Refugee Day. Essentially, the event was about them. There were many refugees from different regions of the world, including Africa and Bhurma, at the event. Each shared an insight into their culture by way of performing their cultural dances and the like. Six of our Bhutanese girls performed a traditional dance and looked absolutely beautiful. We could see the enjoyment and "plaisir" on the other Bhutanese girls as they watched them remind them of the pleasant cultural traditions. It was amazing to watch. At our Sewa Int'l booth at the fair, we were able to share the vision of our different teams within our organization to those who'd never heard of Sewa. I was able to walk around and do bit of networking with the other non-profit groups there. I met up with a representative from UNA-Houston organization who brought up a discussion about microfinance. She has valuable contacts that would be help for our women's issues team, not just for community awareness but also for our long-term goals of the women starting their own businesses.
All in all, it was a very productive day for women's issues. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Apartment visits

I am quite pleased with my Women’s Issues team and their dedication. This past Wednesday, our team, along with Public Relations and Workforce Development, visited several Bhutanese families. Their optimism and determination was transparent in the manner in which they interacted with us and with each other. When visiting the families, the primary goal of my team is to understand the specific problems the women of the families are facing. For instance, many women want to work but are unable to do so because of the young ages of the children. One suggestion, which both the interns and the women seemed to find agreeable, was the utilization of the elderly women in the families to be caretakers of the children so that they mothers could work. In our attempts to gain understanding of such issues, we constantly face the obstacle of speaking to the women on an individual basis due to the presence of men and children at our meetings. We are very excited about our visit with the women this upcoming Saturday as it will be the first time we will converse solely with them.
The group members are beginning to understand that, besides employment and language issues, there is an intricate web of complexities the refugees are undergoing, such as general mistrust of the new environment, doubts about their futures, gender roles, etc. Interacting with them, I begin to reminisce about my own experience in coming to the United States. For a great deal of time, I dreaded going to school and speaking to other people, simply because I felt my uncertainty and fear would be visible to all. I receive this impression from the refugees as well. I do not think us interns can necessarily eradicate such feelings; however, we do our best to at least put them at ease since cooperation between us is the only way of bringing forth positive results in their lifestyles. I am constantly asking my mom to share some of her feelings from when we first arrived so as to better understand the internal issues of the women.
I speak on behalf of my whole team when I say that the internship is an extremely rewarding and humbling experience. The open-mindedness, sensitivity, and optimism of my team makes every day an enjoyable one.

first apartment visit

This Friday marked our first group visit to one of the apartments, V.P. Without really knowing what to expect, this trip offered a range of insights into the issues facing the Bhutanese. We began by meeting the apartment coordinator. The coordinator serves as the link between SEWA and the refugees. Generally, he or she is also the refugee that has the most English proficiency and has been in Houston the longest. After meeting his family and talking in his apartment, our group followed him on a family by family tour.

What struck me immediately about this afternoon was the sense of hospitality that filled each room. We were offered juice, greeted with heart-warming namaste and introduced to family members. I particularly noticed, as we tried to gather a family census, that there were just as many neighbors in a given room as blood relations. Our apartment coordinator explained that since the children were so used to living among thousands in the camps, they were not used to the boundary of doors and family divisions.

Another striking element of our visit was the number of health problems. Kidney stones were quite common, and their prevalence made me wonder if there might be a nutritional cause/deficit (most of them are on food-stamps and adjusting to a different cuisine). Thus, transportation appeared an issue not only for finding and keeping jobs but also for frequent trips to the ER.

Two other interests that we noticed were a love of soccer among the young boys and a fondness for crocheting among some of the women. Women’s Issues Group is going to try and incorporate these interests into our art and entertainment projects, and maybe even use the crocheting as a means to generate extra income. But when a 68 year old grandmother spoke urgently through the coordinator of her desire to learn English, there was no denying that ESL classes must be goal number one. Most individuals want to work but there are definitely still obstacles of language, access to and knowledge of resources, and attempts to join/retain community. Education, English, and employment remain our priorities as we strategize how to provide resources and empower these families.

day one planning

First of all, I feel so lucky to be part of my small team of dedicated women. It's a great feeling to know that you can trust your co-volunteers to get the job done and done with heart.

Second, I think day one finds us in the tricky balance of far reaching goals and realistic possibilities. Our fruitful brainstorming sessions have created ideas such as a museum display of the children's art, a community garden and farmers' market sales, crafts as community builders and as English instruction, mentoring programs, health and abuse support groups, and childcare for working parents. The suggestions are so plentiful and the desire to help is so great that it is sometimes hard to compromise the desire to help with the reality that we cannot do it all, or cannot do it all at once.

We continually repeat that our priorities are securing jobs and teaching English. Without these two elements, any attempt at community building is severly limited. Add to this the sensitive issues of gender divisions from the refugees' experiences, traditions, or economic concerns...and the goal of talking to the women one on one grows even more dim.

But I feel that my group is headed in the right direction. We are planning projects that we hope will welcome the women and children to their new home, and create a bond of trust. We are also preparing ourselves to shelve any of these projects at the drop of a hat. These three months have to be about us offering ourselves as helpers, and observing. We will need to read between the lines of family dynamics, exaggerated or simplified answers, and language barriers. It's a play by ear scenario balanced with the mission to serve, empower, and welcome.