8. Alternatives to ESOL
Learning is accelerated when it's a two-way street and cultural sharing is the objective. (more)
• Montagnards learning English while gardening (photo documentation) (read article)
• Nepalis learning English while training in a professional kitchen (photo documentation)
• A Montagnard woman talks about what she grows in her garden (YouTube video)
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9. Cultural Preservation
Working closely with partner Betsy Renfrew, and Pastor Y Hin, we are developing a project to help refugee women from Southeast Asian preserve backstrap weaving and promote its practice.
• Backstrap Weavers Web site
• Ju Nie at the Green Hill Center Winter Show
Montagnard community members have kept copies of historical information. Along with other existing translated texts, these could form the raw material for native language classes, an interest expressed by leaders.
• A 1939 Rhade Primer
• A Vietnam War-era Bunong phrase book
Visual memory can also help preserve the past.
• See Chram's drawings
American vets who supported resettlement of Montagnards are getting older and may be interested in looking back at their shared past and considering the future of the Montagnard American community.
• We've just started making contacts
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10. Nonprofits and Volunteers Can’t Do It All
Refugee agencies working in the Piedmont are contracted by the state to provide time-limited resettlement services. Independent nonprofits, faith-based organizations and ethnic community orgs chip in. Volunteers contribute time, money and other resources. Who's in charge?
• Do local elected officials represent refugees and immigrants?
• Why aren’t refugee, immigrant and diversity issues part of regional economic development?
• What’s the end game look like?
