Upcoming Events
SF Summer Soccer Event
Sat, July 31, 1 - 4 pm
Crissy Field, San Francisco
Boy's Camp
Fri - Sun, July 30 - Aug 1
The Presidio, San Francisco
Girl's Camp
Fri - Sun, Aug 12 - 14
The Presidio, San Francisco
Craigslist Foundation:
Boot Camp
Sat, Aug 14
UC Berkeley
Oakland School District: Back-to-School Fair
Sun, Aug 29
Location TBD
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RT's NEW Facebook Page Please connect with us through our new Facebook Page! Just click here and then click on "Like" at the top of the page to keep updated with recent RT news, events, and media.
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Craigslist
Boot CampOlivia Byler, Coordinator of the East Bay Refugee Forum, will feature Refugee
Transitions in a presentation titled "From Displacement to
Resettlement"at the 7th Annual Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp. We hope
you can attend or spread the word! See these details for more
information: Boot Camp
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Volunteer
Resources
San Francisco
Check out SF - Family PassAvailable at any SF public library and allows free access to participating attractions (Exploratorium, SF Zoo, etc). OaklandOFCY listSearchable databank of youth programs in Oakland.
South BayAMC - $1 Movie Tuesdays$1 movies each Tuesday at 10 am (AMC - Mercado, Eastridge, and Saratoga). Through August 10th. |
Reminder: Volunteer LogsTo all home-based volunteers, please remember to send us your monthly volunteer logs. For a refresher on how to do this click here. Also, feel free to email Lauren at lauren@reftrans.org with any questions. |
Tutors needed for our after-school programs!
As the 2010-2011 school year approaches, we are still seeking volunteers for our after-school programs with San Francisco International High School (SFIHS) and Oakland International High School (OIHS). Please contact Lauren at lauren@reftrans.org for more information about how to volunteer! |
RT is seeking a volunteer with video-editing skills!
We are looking for a volunteer to edit footage taken by our youth to create a 3-5 minute short about RT's programs.
Please email Lauren at lauren@reftrans.org if interested!
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Volunteer Spotlight
Ken Hsu - South Bay
Harry (left) and Ken  | Harry is my tutee from RT, an 18-year-old shy boy from Bhutan. When Harry asked me if I could take him to Oakland on
Sunday, I hesitated. Oakland is a pretty long drive and I just spent my
Friday evening and entire Saturday preparing for a dinner. I was pretty set to have some
time
for myself.
But, after all, I did try to build a relationship with him so he would feel
comfortable
if he ever needed anything. So Sunday afternoon, we put on our backpacks
and
went on this adventure.
On the way there, Harry wasn't as helpful as I'd hoped. However, on the way back from
Oakland, he essentially led us to a bus, BART, and three
more buses
back to his place. I was so proud of him for learning so much in just
one day.
This past Monday, RT sent out an email asking if anyone
would like to take their tutee to see the San Jose Earthquakes play. I
knew
Harry would love to go since soccer is his favorite sport. I brought the
voucher to him, explained how to get there, and what to do in order to
exchange the voucher for tickets. He looked at the 7 pm kick-off time
and asked
how can you see at night. "There will be lights," I said, "and you
should
invite your friends from the job training school."
I called Harry on Wednesday afternoon and was glad
to find out that he had decided to go. None of his friends could make
it, so he
went by himself. Right before the kick off, Harry called. He sounded so
excited when he told me, "Ken it is so beautiful! I like it! Okay! Bye!"
It
was a short phone call, but one of the best I ever got in my life.
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Student Story
Faustine
 My name is Faustine and I go to high school. I play basketball at my school. I have English and P.E. classes. I run in my P.E. class and play sports. I'm 14 years old. In Africa I was happy and when I came to America I liked Christmas very much because it's America's great festival. I like books, coffee, and apples. I like to go to school and I like to write.
The first time at school I was tired and afraid. But I like playing basketball at school. I like to live in California. I like cats and my favorite color is red. I have a big family. Everyone wants to become something. I want to be a policeman by studying hard in the future. That's my aim. I want to be a policeman because I love working with this country and helping others. |
Activity of the Month
ABC's for Tutors: 26 Teaching Tips
Board Games: For a change of pace, and to give your students extra opportunity to practice any previously-taught vocabulary, use super-simple, enjoyable board games. Draw a set of boxes around the sides of a piece of paper, marking one square as the Start/Finish. For vocabulary review, turn a picture face-down on each square. For sight-word practice, use word cards instead - or use a mixture. Provide a colored paper clip or piece of paper with initials as game pieces for yourself and each player. Toss a coin - heads, move one square; tails, two. When players land on a square, they turn over the piece of paper and name the object or read the word.
Learn about more activities and teaching tips here!
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RT Welcomes Sandy Naing
 Sandy Naing joins Refugee Transitions' staff as our new PR and
Development Associate and AmeriCorps VISTA member. Sandy will work with the RT team to improve donor
and volunteer communication, develop new social media, and strengthen
volunteer outreach and support - particularly in the South Bay.
Prior
to joining RT, Sandy lived in Chicago where she volunteered as a tutor
with several literacy organizations - including Open Books, 826CHI, and
the Southeast Asia Center - and worked as a consultant at Morningstar,
Inc., a financial research
firm. She graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English and
American Studies.
As a native of the Bay Area, Sandy is excited
to be working with the refugee and immigrant communities here, and looks
forward to meeting and supporting RT's clients and volunteers! Please feel free to email her at sandy@reftrans.org.
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Life Book and Trainers' Guide
A useful activity for you and your student
IOM Nepal has developed a "Life Book" (and accompanying Trainers' Guide) for use with refugees from Bhutan,
and would like to make it available to others who may find it useful in
their work with Bhutanese refugees.
A Life Book is a
psychosocial support tool to help refugees say goodbye to their home and
help them resettle in their new home.
Life Books can help refugees:
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Reflect on the home and life that they are leaving
* Imagine the
place that they are going to and prepare for it
* Re-evaluate their
expectations of their new home once they are there
* Deal with
living in their new home
The Life Book can explain
students' migration journey and a bit about who they are. The students
may want to show their Life Book to their case worker and to people they
trust in their new country to help explain who they are and where they
came from.
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Cultural Orientation Skit
An educational resource for volunteers
The
CWS/OPE Nairobi cultural orientation trainers have developed a skit to
be performed at the beginning of cultural orientation sessions
throughout the region.
The skit examines the experiences of two refugees,
one who arrived to the United States six months ago and one who arrived
one year ago. Also included are the questions that the trainers pose
after the skit concludes, and the answers to those questions.
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Refugee News and Media
NPR: Burmese Refugees Preserve Culture Through Music
Jack Chance
When refugees...come to the U.S., they bring with them the
most important parts of their culture - their religion, their food and
their music. The Burmese play on instruments such as the thana,
a small wooden harp, and tell ancient love-story tragedies through
song.
To listen to the full story click here
Oakland Tribune: As Exiles Fill East Bay, Bhutan Gets Dressed U p
Matt O'Brien
As they prepared for the
biggest international event ever to be held in Bhutan, leaders of the
secluded mountain kingdom asked their people for help.
First, make
the place look magnificent. Thousands of volunteers heeded the call,
pouring into the streets of this capital city to pick up trash, unplug
storm drains and cheerily wave flags at passing motorcades.
To read the full article click here
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