January 5, 2014
Eleven student leaders gathered nervously at the
Secaucus station on an icy Sunday afternoon. All from unique backgrounds, they
were all gathered for one purpose: to embark upon a journey to grow, learn, and
serve the immigrant community in Boston through education initiatives. I don't
think any of us knew what to really expect. Whatever it was, we would be
getting through it together. The five-hour bus ride to Boston was not too bad. After
getting a little lost, we all settled into our cozy and super cool rooms at
Hostel International. We all hit the hay early, tired from the long trip and
resting for the upcoming week of bonding, venturing, learning, and serving. There
was definitely something nerve-wrecking, yet exciting about serving in an
unfamiliar city with people we've only had four pre-meetings with. Nonetheless,
we were eager to take it on.
January 6, 2014
We all woke up and got ready bright and early to
travel and work at our first site, Jewish Vocational Services, which was only a
short walk from the hostel. On a brief orientation of the facility, we learned
that the organization served immigrants and refugees from a plethora of
different countries. Many of them had incredible stories and beautiful personalities
and were all determined to learn English as well as marketable job skills. The
team was split up into different areas including Beginner level English,
Intermediate English, and Cash Register Training. I think we could all agree
that none of us expected how challenging working with these immigrants and
refugees was going to be. Placed in Beginner level English, I worked with two
immigrants, helping them with job interviewing skills. It was truthfully really
difficult working with people twice my age that barely spoke or understood any
English. The fact they were also both from different backgrounds was also
another challenge. One was a former ping-pong coach from Vietnam. The other was
a former certified nursing assistant from Haiti. Other people that our team
worked with were from Kazakhstan, Spain, Morocco, China, and Kenya just to name
a few. Although the morning was pretty challenging and exhausting, it was
completely rewarding. The facility does not often get a large group of
volunteers at a time. So it's hard to focus on individual needs. Coming in as a
large groups and teaching in one-to-one or small group settings helped the
immigrants learn and understand more than they do during a regular class. It
was definitely an eye-opening experience. In the four hours that we spent at
the center, we learned a lot about immigrants and refugees, as well as new
teaching skills.
Afterwards, we went grocery shopping, had our
first reflection, and made dinner together! It was pasta night. It was way too
much fun cooking with team. No matter what level of cooking skills we had, we
each contributed to the delicious meal. We were later joined by the lovely
Karen Ardizonne! After, we did some team bonding and played Taboo. It was
pretty intense. Then we headed to bed in preparation for another day of
service.
January 7, 2014
After a good night's rest, we woke up early and
got ready for another day of service. This time we would be going to two sites
- back to Jewish Vocational Services and Catholic Charities in Dorchester.
However, unlike the day before, the weather was absolutely brutal. The
temperature was reaching the negatives. Nonetheless, we were all determined to
work. The cold could not stop our warm hearts and fiery passion. Back at JVS,
many of us tried different areas. Some of us remained with the people we worked
with the day before and others met new ones. Some of us faced new challenges
and some found it easier than the day before. However, we all did learn more
about the issues at hand, as well as more about ourselves. In between teaching
English, we were each able to learn a little about the people we were
individually working with and getting a sense of their story. It's crazy how
much they've been through. I think it's absolutely beautiful how much diversity
and culture are in a single center.
We later on ventured and took the train to
Dorchester to work at our new site, Catholic Charities. It was a grueling walk
from the train station to the site, but we were greeted with warm, welcoming
hearts. We toured the facility and learned that Catholic Charities serves the
large Cape Verdian youth population in Dorchester. It serves as an after school
safe haven for students from middle school through high school to do homework
and interact. Dorchester is recognized as one of the rougher neighborhoods in
Boston. Catholic Charities does an amazing job in keeping these kids safe and
instilling important values and support that will ensure them a bright future.
Our tasks at Catholic Charities included organizing clothes donations and
helping the kids with their homework or simply just getting to know them. It
was definitely refreshing working with kids after working with older people
back at JVS. I think the biggest surprise at Catholic Charities was that the kids
barely knew any English. They spoke a mixture of Portuguese and Creole. Most of
these kids are immigrants from Cape Verde. It's pretty hectic when a bunch of
kids are running around and yelling in a different language. It was no easy
task trying to help them with their homework either. There is a very thin wall
of communication that made it so much more difficult to help them even with the
simplest homework. It was frustrating because these kids were extremely
brilliant and the only obstacle that kept them from understanding their
homework and us helping was the English language. Eventually, some of us got
through to the kids. There's a lot of trial and error and patience involved. What
this organization is doing is awesome. The workers genuinely care about each
and every one of the kids. Today was definitely rewarding
The day ended as usual. We went back to the
hostel, made dinner (TACO NIGHT!), did reflections, and played games. With each
day that's gone by and each moment spent together, we've all bonded pretty
quickly. It's amazing how only a couple days ago, we all barely knew each
other. It's even more beautiful that we've become closer through an amazing
cause. We're such a diverse group and everyone is beautiful in their own way.
We inspire each other and fuel each others' passions. I, myself, can
confidently say that this is the happiest I've been in awhile.
January 8, 2014
Today, was pretty much like yesterday. We spent
the day at JVS and Catholic Charities. It was actually our last day at JVS. We
taught English, job interviewing skills, and some history on the civil rights
movement. It's incredible how much and how quickly the immigrants and refugees
learn in a one-on-one environment. It's such a rewarding feeling to see your
own knowledge and skills used to help others progress. Before we actually
started working, I remember seeing one of the immigrant students happily
greeting and hugging her fellow student. They were both from different
countries and backgrounds and it was so heart-warming to see so much love and
kindness between two extremely different people working towards the same goal.
It makes you realize that when it really comes down to it, the color of our
skin, the way we communicate, and where we come from, is irrelevant when we try
to achieve the same things. Also, no matter where were from, love is universal.
We really are brothers and sisters on this Earth. Later on while we were
working, Dwyer, one of the program coordinators, brought in one of his former
students. He only came to the US six months ago and today, he is enrolled at
Bunker Hill College and has a job. It goes to show that hard work really does
go a long way. What really touched me was how everyone in the room stopped what
they were doing and applauded for him. Words cannot fully accentuate or capture
the beauty of this camaraderie. It was hard leaving JVS that day. We really did
get so much more than we signed up for during this Alternative Break.
We later on traveled back to Catholic Charities
for another day with the children. Each day with the kids just gets better and
better. Most of us spent time with the middle school kids and some hung out
with the high school kids. Something about working with kids is just so
satisfying. Each of them has such a bright future and is destined for
greatness. I think most of could agree that we wanted to stay there and just
guide them through any obstacle and help them achieve their dreams. They have
so much potential and I pray that no matter what life throws at them, they get
through it and never let go of their dreams.
Today ended with a beautiful lasagna dinner and
an even more beautiful reflection. I think we could also all agree that we
never want to leave #We'reAllFriendsHere
January 9 & 10, 2014
After
three days at JVS and Catholic Charities, we began to volunteer at a new
center, the Vietnamese American Community Center, which is located in
Dorchester right outside of downtown Boston. The organization inside the center
is called VietAID and offers a plethora of opportunities to people who are new
to the area and the country as a whole. Not only does the center offer a
pre-school and after school care for children, but it also offers real estate
opportunities, family child care, a summer youth program, and help with small
businesses. The center also offers other counseling assistance on anything and
everything possible.
When
we first arrived at the center, two extremely friendly and outgoing women named
Emily and Marisa greeted us. These women were youth program coordinators at
VietAID and ran all of the children programs at VietAID such as the pre-school,
the after school program, and the summer program. These women worked day in and
day out for the children and their families, and the connections they had with
the families were truly inspiring.
They were so happy with their jobs and what they did at work, and were
so thankful to have us there for the next few days (they even brought us
munchkins… we love munchkins).
On
the first day at the center, we split up and did various different tasks
throughout the center. A lot of paperwork had to be done to organize children’s
emergency contact folders, so a couple of us worked on that for most of the
day. The school has many students, and keeping track of all the information is
a time consuming task. Another group of us worked on cleaning up the classrooms
that the after school programs and summer programs take place in. On the second
day, we continued to do the filing work as well as cleaning. We cleaned and
organized the library that VietAid offers for the children and their families.
The library has books of all kinds and can really advance their learning. We
also worked on setting up a raffle event for the after school program for the
kids. While we worked at VietAID we saw how much work the employees and
volunteers do in order to give the children a great after school experience.
They offer fun events every Friday, and also take frequent field trips to fun
and interesting places in Boston. The week we were there, after school they
took the kids to the Children’s Museum in Boston. We were also able to see the
connection Emily and Marisa had to the students and how much they truly cared
about the children. When we asked questions about each kids, Marisa and Emily
knew everything about them, and you could see on their faces that they
genuinely cared about these children. These women were truly inspiring and they
act as amazing role models to the children that attend the programs.
From
our experience with the Vietnamese American Community Center, we really learned
that every little bit counts. On our first day of reflection, Christina read us
a poem that we should think about while on the trip, and the poem applied to
this situation more than any other. The short story was about a man who offered
a bed to a couple homeless people a night. The poem reiterated over and over
again that this wasn’t going to change the world, or save anyone. While we were
doing the work at VietAID, we weren’t changing the world, but we sure were
making a difference indirectly. By cleaning the classrooms and library,
organizing the files, and helping set up an after school program for the
children, we were making a difference. This is work that could have taken Emily
and Marisa hours upon hours, but because there were so many of us volunteering,
we were able to get these tasks done in a short manner. Every little bit
counts. Always remember that!
January 10, 2014
On our last day in Boston after working at
VietAID, we walked the city and attempted to see every piece of it! We visited
Harvard, Cambridge, the Boston Common and Garden, Quincy Market, and ended our
night with an awesome Italian dinner in the North End. I’m sure I can speak for
everyone in saying that we had the time of our lives, and made memories that we
will never forget. After starting the trip with a group of strangers, we ended
as a group of close friends. It’s true, #We’reAllFriendsHere. I love my RUAB
Boston family, and I’m so happy we got to share this experience together!
By: Christian Fernandez and Danielle Ferullo
By: Christian Fernandez and Danielle Ferullo
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