Out of the 14 students in fifth grade-teacher Debra Beale's last period class at Walker Elementary School, nine are from another country. Some of them can hardly speak English, while others have never attended school before. Many of her students are refugees and survivors of horrific violence - including one boy who witnessed his father's murder in Tehran - that many Charlottesville residents may find unimaginable.
In addition to their traumatic pasts, refugee children face many challenges both in and outside the classroom. Beale expressed concern, for example, about how these children's language skills can make their educational transition especially difficult.
"How am I supposed to teach fifth-grade math? When I talk to them about perpendicular lines, they're not really following me," she said.
Beale was just one of nearly 90 guests at a recent dinner designed to bring together different organizations that work with the refugee community in Charlottesville. Refugees and representatives from the International Rescue Committee, Madison House and several other community and University organizations came together to discuss the many issues - educational difficulties and otherwise - that refugees face as they transition and integrate into U.S. society.
Charlottesville IRC Executive Director Harriet Kuhr said the organization resettles roughly 200 refugees in the area each year. These individuals fled their countries because of war and destruction. Some were not allowed to stay in the places where they initially relocated and have since moved to Charlottesville. The IRC assists with case management, employment, family support, immigration services and English as a Second Language programs.
Because of a lack of funding, the IRC can only support refugees for 6-12 months after their arrival, which can be an insufficient period to help these people adapt to their new lives. Several community and University resources, including Madison House programs, literacy assistance and medical clinics, step in to continue the work of the IRC.
Bridging the Gap, meanwhile, is one of a handful of volunteering organizations through Madison House that helps refugee children adjust to life in the United States. Volunteers drive and support children in local soccer programs and also provide one-on-one tutoring while acting as mentors.
For third-year College student Garrett Lyons, the experience is much more than simply volunteer work.
Although "you're tutoring and teaching the kids about American culture, you realize they're slowly but surely teaching me, too," he said.
At first, it takes time for the children to begin to trust volunteers, Lyons said.
"They've been moving so many places. We established a really cool bond when they realized we weren't going anywhere," he said.
To help build these relationships, Bridging the Gap took a group of students to the national zoo last spring, an opportunity made possible in part by a grant from the Imps, Lyons said.
"[They] were unbelievably excited, and they understood what a special occasion this was, the kids talk about it all the time now. You can tell we made a difference," Lyons said.
Another group that strives to provide services to the refugee community is the International Family Medicine Clinic, established through the University's department of family medicine. The clinic provides full medical services to individuals of all ages, along with pregnancy and in-hospital care. Doctors and nurses in the clinic are specifically trained in caring for the many issues refugees may face, and interpreters are readily available.
Many of these community and University resources, however, are not in contact with one another and sometimes find it difficult when they cannot refer to other services or when their work overlaps.
"At U.Va., we have a lot of different [contracted independent organizations] doing similar things," Lyons said. "It's important to bring those groups together so we can have a dialogue with one another."
Second-year College student Hillary Hurd saw this need in the community last April and began planning a dinner with the Public Service Fellows Program to try to unite these resources.
"There's so much energy at U.Va.," she said. "We want to make people more aware of who lives in Charlottesville," she said.
She, along with several others, organized a dinner that linked several community organizations together, including members of the IRC, the IFMC, Madison House, the U.Va. Women's Center, several professors, literacy volunteers and ESL teacher.
Hadya Abdulsatar from Afghanistan, Yussuf Yussuf from Somalia, who works as a translator for the IRC, and Hari Uprety from Bhutan, spoke on a panel about their experiences as well.
Organizers of the dinner hope to build a network between community members while helping everyone understand the importance of community, Lyons said.
"Even though U.Va. is really big and can be kind of intimidating, it's not that hard to get people to do good things," Hurd said. Students "are really energetic. If you have an idea, people are willing to help you"
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