This is the Place to Start

Where do I start?  How can I help?  What should I do?

I found these questions bubbling up in my mind and heart a few months back.  Our training session had ended, and as I looked ahead I saw blank space on my calendar.  And as I walked and shopped in my neighborhood, my attention was drawn to the many Somali families living here, some of them recent arrivals.  I know from experience what it’s like to be a stranger in a foreign land.  So many challenges and needs; what part can I play in meeting them?  I decided to keep my eyes open.

One afternoon I passed a local elementary school just at dismissal time and noticed parents picking up their children.  Almost all the women and girls were wearing head scarves and some of the men were in traditional African robes.  I was curious; it seemed to be a charter school.  Later I asked a teacher friend of mine, and she told me that 95% of the kids there were refugees and recent immigrants.  She put me in contact with a friend who taught there.

Feeling drawn to those little girls in their uniform headscarves, I called the teacher and asked if they needed volunteers.  She told me that yes, they could always use help in the classroom.  When I went to visit, she talked about how her refugee kids often come from big families where they don’t get much individual attention, and where their parents can’t give them a lot of help with their homework.  She asked me to come in once a week to help with reading groups.  A good place to start!

So on Wednesdays I show up at her fourth grade classroom, where the kids always seem glad to see me.  I sit with one or two of the reading groups and listen and help with the difficult words.  I’ve already seen improvement; they are bright kids, and eager to learn.  Some of them remember what life was like in Africa, in the refugee camp, while others have forgotten and know California as their only home.  These children are old enough to be aware of the challenges their parents face as immigrants, challenges in employment and housing as well as the hurdles of cultural differences and prejudice.  No matter what difficulties they face, I am glad that inside the walls of their classroom they experience kindness, understanding, and safety.  And that I can play a small part in opening the world of books to them, and the joy of sharing stories.

(The book we’re reading is called “Sitti’s Secrets” and is a wonderful story about a Palestinian grandmother.)


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