Being far from home and having to learn a new language can be difficult. But thanks to a group of committed college students, refugees on Buffalo’s West Side have been given a helping hand.
Five years ago a multicultural studies professor at Houghton College, Houghton, NY, gave his linguistic students an option to travel to Buffalo’s West Side and tutor refugees. The students, after fulfilling their requirement, offered to continue the work as long as transportation was provided.
Because of this selfless beginning, Houghton College now works in correlation with Journey's End Refugee Service, which is a Christian and community-based organization aimed at helping refugees become contributing members of a community, according to the website, http://jerswny.org.
“ They had a 12-passenger van and seven of the eight continuing so they decided to recruit of few more to fill the van,” said Charles Massey, professor of education at Houghton College and coordinator of the Office for Urban Connections. “When they put out the word of what they were doing they ended up with about 25 students.”
During a semester, the volunteers make an hour and half long trip to Buffalo’s West Side 10 Saturdays a year. They go into the homes of refugees and tutor them in English. They focus mainly on the children but parents often take the opportunity to continue their English education.
“It was so successful the first year,” said Massey. “The students have really taken over the work. This spring was the 10th semester of them doing this and we had about 20 to 30 students going on a regular basis.”
As the concept continued to find success, Journey’s End assisted them in expanding. They offered a summer program to help recently arrived refugees learn English and teach them what to expect in America’s schools.
With the help of AmeriCorps, a program of cooperation for national and community service, Journey’s End was able to recruit a group of Houghton students. These students would spend up to 10 summer weeks working on the West Side. This program is called New Horizons.
This summer there will be, for the first time, ESL (English as a second language), instruction at the school. Along with the students at Houghton College, other instructors include volunteers from AmeriCorps, three Buffalo State College students, a Niagara University student and even a student from Horton College in Massachusetts.
“This is what we hope to be able to continue,” said Massey. “Houghton has put it together and worked on the arrangements but there is something healthy about broader participation.”
When the cultural program first started in 2004, the West Side had a strong population of refugees from Somalia. But over the years their numbers have decreased significantly. The most recent numbers show a large population of Burmese refugees. The Iraqi population also has seen some recent growth.
Since the start of this program many students have built solid connections to the West Side and after they graduate come back through AmeriCorps and serve for a year with various organizations.
“The greatest satisfaction in life comes from service to others, so when you have that opportunity it is a privilege to be able to do it,” said Massey.
And that service started when a few students decided to make a difference.