The Sudanese Center was very excited to welcome students from Harpeth Hall to the Center! We wanted to give these young ladies a taste of what life is like for refugees and immigrants in Nashville, so their visit started out with a little bit of stress!
Idah (our beloved staffer) greeted them at the door, and immediately started giving them their instructions in Swahili. This, as you might imagine, caused a great deal of confusion! Awaiting them in their classrooms were forms they needed to fill out in Swahili. As you can imagine, they struggled quite a bit!
After Idah was allowed to speak English again, the girls got a quick lesson in Swahili with how to say important words. Then, Allison gave an overview of the Center's history and mission, and went into detail about the Education Program's ELL program. The young ladies then got to look at the books used in the regular ELL courses (offered in all six levels, from Literacy to Advanced).
After this, Gatluak addressed the girls with his story. For those of you who have
not been fortunate enough to hear it, it's an amazing tale. He talked about his life in Sudan (being forced into the rebel army at 6 years old) and the hardships he faced when coming to America and the sheer strength and determination it took to earn money, learn English, and support his family in a new country.To top off the morning, the students brought the Center clothing donations they had collected specifically for the Center's clients. We enjoyed Harpeth Hall's visit, and welcome any future schools to come seek to understand our mission! The students visited us as a part of a Service Learning Interim. For more information, see their blog: http://www.girlmeetsworldsl.blogspot.com/
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