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It never gets boring… at the Refugee Elder program!!! What…??? Civics & fun at our Frankfort Capitol Trip Welcoming 3 new citizens! Art expressions with Joyce Cherokee Park Fun Delicious Dishes Fitness & Yoga with Abdel & Kamalapati New students Our Elders Represent at Bellarmine Birthdays What’s next….
Needless to say—our trip to the Capitol of Kentucky in Frankfort was preceded by bubbling joy and high levels of excitement! 3 full vehicles with 56 participants from 10 countries, compassionate volunteers and indispensable interpreters, plenty of water and a variety of lunch dishes started our Frankfort trip to the Capitol and the KY History Museum! We took our lunch break in a beautiful park to share ethnic delicacies & exchange cultural nuggets! This was a great experience in putting a face on the American History and legislature material taught in the classes! On the right: Aren’t we a happy bunch? Below: Madhavid & Tika from Bhutan with Abby grinning with joy!
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Gladness accompanies the table of our Bhutanese elders—talk about variety! Hari Maya, Kamalapati, Hari, Gobinda (standing), Madhavid and Bishnu in the front.
Our Vietnamese elders, Hong and Le Boi enjoying a breeze and a photo-op with teacher Michaela after lunch., and on the right, Dep, their gracious interpreter!
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While visiting the different Chambers or strolling along the statues of historic KY figures, our tour guide was always present to point out important details.
Abby, Bishnu (Bhutan) and Michaela in the Senate Chamber
And again.. Sharing is like a second nature —our Bhutanese Indra, Tika, Dharmananda and Man Karki in company of our Cubans Emma and Zoilo—standing on the right is Omar from Cuba, and on left Jolyanna from Iraq
Many things to see and lots of questions asked— it’s time to call it quits Francisco (Cuba) and Nzanzibandi (Congo) with teacher
Multicultural harmony at the KY History Museum— Adel (Iraq) enclosed by some of our Cubans—Zoilo & our beauties Isabel and Emma! This is how we ended the day—tired, but content & relaxed!
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CITIZENSHIP CLASS Baharieh (Iran) and Juan (Cuba) — intense concentration during citizenship questions review! (below) Volodymyr (Ukraine), Man Karki (Bhutan) and Modhr (Iran) practicing conversation
WELCOMING our 3 new citizens AUNG, ASIM & ROBERTO!
(Below) Ler Htoo Ni from Burma (Karen) appreciates the benefits of technology—a nice break from pounding civics & history! Jolyanna from Iraq—Yes, I will make it, no doubt!
(below) Modhr from Iraq—no obstacle can keep him from coming to class!!!!
Baharieh & Kiummars from Iran—a joyful couple, always eager to learn!!
The End-product !! Yearlong diligent studying and dwelling in history, civics and governmental details paid off! Bright smiles grace the faces of our new citizens Aung (Burma-Karen) (above with Abby & Althea), Roberto (Cuba)and Asim (Russia) (below) as they show off their new citizenship certificates! Abby’s thoughtfulness translated into a big celebration cake! Asim was not able to come, but we celebrate him the same way! By the way, Aung & Roberto come in periodically to assist the ones to come with citizenship preparation! Inspiring moments! Way to go, Elders!
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Delicious dishes make learning easier...
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Musa (Sudan) is taking his supervision of the cooking very seriously!
Teacher Aimee prepared with her class a hands-on lesson with vegetables and alike, resulting in an extraordinarily delicious soup feeding all participants and more!
While Bhutanese Hari Maya is checking the content , Burmese -Karen Hit Ler is making sure everybody is involved—cooperation without words!
Cuban Francisco & Volunteer Carol—are these the right ingredients?
New students
Omar (Cuba ) can’t wait to be the cup bearer and taste the inviting dish!
Fitness & Yoga Joseph (Iraq), Raghu & Puspa (Bhutan) joined us as well in our Elder Hit Ler (Burma-Karen) and Shree with program and participate quite actively Hari Maya and Indra (Bhutan, left & back) and Volunteer Julie assembling particularly in the morning exercises! the ingredients! Way to go, elders!
Francisco, Miralia & Martin were the next fresh additions to the Cuban team!
Zoilo & Idilia (Cuba) were warmly welcomed by their shortly previously arrived fellow country men Calixto & Lazaro! The gracious hosts served a scrumptious meal! Better watch out for those cooking skills….!
Abdel (Iraq), an accomplished Olympic Athlete, did his exercises before class alone—until we enlisted him to get all of us fit! Now we’re stretching our muscles & pumping our legs on Thursdays, with Abdel, and Kamalapati (Bhutan) leads us into refreshing Yoga moves every Tuesday! The elders tare taking to the workouts so dearly that it becomes an integral part before our days start—here at Cherokee Park, invigorating exercises precede an deliciously assorted and culturally
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EDP—Ethnic delicacies Picnic at Cherokee Park!
Joy(ce)ful Art Expressions !
Art therapist Joyce engages monthly each ethnic group in various ways of expressing their creativity & hidden abilities! We are thrilled to see some of their talents displaying exceptional works! The joy on Dharmananda’s face cannot be overlooked!
(Below)
Le Boi (Vietnam) makes sure every detail is captured! Way to go, Elders!
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Bhutanese Bhadry (left back) is relaxing from her efforts, while Hari Maya (right) is still concentrating on her work, while Dharmananda (front) displays confidently his accomplished piece! (Left) Bhutanese Shree is decorating skillfully his bag while Puspa and Bhadri (left) get heavily into drawing...each Bhutanese quiet inventive with his own design! Way to go, Elders!
Above: Nzanzibandi (Congo) & Man Karki (Bhutan) exercise their catching skills! Delicious food from a variety of countries! We didn’t know which to taste first. Pah Noe (right ) had obviously made his choice!
Fun knows no age!! Above, some of our Karen-Burmese ladies—left to right Pah Lah, See Lah, Pae Dah, Kehler, Ah Pae (Below) Tika & Indra (Bhutan) blowing bubbles!
(left) - Cuban “meeting”. Miralia, Isabel and Emma (Francisco in between) with Zoilo and Jose!
(above) - Friends hanging out— Volodymyr (Ukraine) and class mate Kiummars (Iran) …. Aung (Burma—Karen) is not quite sure what them both are up to….but they all seem to have mischief on their minds! LOL! - Fun is contagious!
(left) - uuuh...Volodymyr (Ukraine) has been caught and doesn’t like it while Kiummars & Baharieh (Iran) get their laugh!
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Our Elders REPRESENT…. at Bellarmine University! Abby, our Program Coordinator—always pondering how to make life easier for our elders—!
Yes, we like to hang out and chill! Hong (Vietnam) and teacher Michaela use a break for a photo-op! Our tall guys from Sudan Musa) and Congo (Nzanzibandi)
Birthdays in July:
A spirit of gratitude surrounds Chaudhary (Pakistan) as he is sharing inspiring words with a gerontology class at Bellarmine and expounding on the unique dynamics of a refugee’s journey!
Abdel, 1 Adel, 1 Jose, 20 Dharmananda, 30
Never tiring!! Nzanzibandi (Congo) is using the downtime to review vocabulary! Our elders are exemplary in diligence! Way to go, Elders!
In the same manner, Roberto (Cuba) points out the challenges and talks about the overcoming attitude displayed in our refugee elders to succeed in their newfound lives!
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Services for Refugee Elders Program design: Highland Methodist Church, 1400 Cherokee Rd., Louisville, KY 40204 Tues day& Thursday—10.00 a.m. - 12.00 pm Tuesday: 9.30-9.45 a.m. Kamalapati—Yoga Thursday: 9.30-9.45 a.m. Abdel - Fitness Abby Webb—Program Coordinator— 502-292-9899 awebb@kyrm.org or visit kyrm.org
Mon What’s next….
Tue
Wed
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Summer Break: no class
We will have a photo album with photos from all our activities—if you have some to share, get with us!
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Driver’s Education Classes with interyou are interested in getting your driver’s license!
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We will inform you about our communi-
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Summer Break: no class
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Summer Break: no class
preters are coming up every 3 months if
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Summer Break: no class
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Class
Class
ESL and Citizenship
ESL and Citizenship
ty speakers and feature their services!
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We will present in each edition elders with their story, talents, abilities & aspirations!
(Field trip??)
We will introduce our interpreters and tutors! We will prepare information for general
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community resources and connections to
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ethnic groups in Louisville and state wide! If you want to share something or pro-
ESL and Citizenship
mote any service you found helpful, contact us! We have always room for new ideas!
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Class
We never stop learning…
Learn-a-Word-a-Week
ESL and Citizenship
… of course, spelling is not quite perfect, but helps to pronounce! Nepali—suagatam—welcome Karen—Tablu tapur—blessings Cuban—como estas—how are you Vietnamese—taoem—good morning Russian—spasiva—thank you
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IT NEVER GETS BORING‌ AT THE REFUGEE ELDER PROGRAM!!! Recognized as a model program by the Center for Applied Linguistics, we are dedicated to helping our Refugee Elders learn English, attain US citizenship and become active members of their community. They participate in English and Citizenship classes, art lessons, attend community speaker presentations and experience field trips in the Kentuckiana area. They recently began also fitness activities under the auspices of two of their own! Each person involved contributes with invaluable knowledge, ideas, time effort and compassionate engagement! Our volunteers may have limited time commitments due to changing schedules and various responsibilities, but each one of them is a valuable asset and we are glad to have them!
Class: Beginner 1
Class: Beginner 2
Class: Beginner 3
Teacher: Sarah
Teacher: Aimee
Teacher: Cathy
Current volunteers:
Current volunteers:
Current volunteers:
Teacher: Michaela
Beth
Carol Rogers
Bro. Ward
Current volunteers:
Jacinda
Julie Borders
Current students:
Katie
Current students:
Class: Intermediate & Citizenship
David Current students:
Emma., Cuba
Jose P.., Cuba
Adel, Iraq
Isabel, Cuba
Boi Van Le, Vietnam
Nzanzibandi, DRCongo
See Lah, Burma-Karen
Volodymyr, Ukraine
Pah Lah, Burma-Karen
Bishnu, Bhutan
Hari, Bhutan
Kiummars, Iran
Pae Dah, Burma-Karen
Indra, Bhutan
Sekhar, Bhutan
Baharieh, Iran
Angel Noguera, Cuba
Omar, Cuba
Kamalapati, Bhutan
Man Karki, Bhutan
Joseph, Iraq
Martin, Cuba
Abdel, Iraq
Dharmananda, Bhutan
Tara A., Bhutan
Hari Maya S., Bhutan
Pae Dah, Burma-Karen
Modhr, Iraq
Bishnu, Bhutan
Hong, Vietnam
Gobinda, Bhutan
Jolyanna, Iraq
Bhadri, Bhutan
Shree, Bhutan
Madhavid, Bhutan
Juan, Cuba
Hit Ler, Burma-Karen
Puspa Bhutan
Ler Keh, Burma-Karen
A. Musa, Sudan
Rhagu, Bhutan
Pah Noe, Burma-Karen
Ler Htooni, BurmaKaren
Zoilo, Cuba
Francisco, Cuba
Ah Pay, Burma-Karen
Calixto, Cuba
Miralia, Cuba
Tika, Bhutan
David, Burma
Current students:
Periodically (citizens) Roberto A., Cuba Aung, Burma-Karen
Calixto
Hit Ler
Pae Dah
Jose Pah Lah
KAREN
CUBA Zoilo
Angel
BHUTAN
David
VIETNAM
Bishnu
SUDAN Joseph
IRAQ
Bhadri
Le Boi
Musa
Tara
Democratic Republic of CONGO IRAQ Francisco Omar
CUBA
Nzanzibandi Adel
Bishnu
Martin
Miralia
Shree
VIETNAM Indra
Hari Maya
BHUTAN
Puspa
Rhagu
Hong
Abdel
IRAQ
Emma
Isabel
CUBA
Keh Ler Hari
Madhavid
Gobinda
See Lah
KAREN
BHUTAN
Kamalapati
Tika
Sekhar
Pae Dah
Ah Pay
Pah Noe
Juan
Kiummars Baharieh
Juan
Roberto
CUBA
IRAN Ler Toni
IRAQ
AUSTRIA
KAREN
Man Karki
BHUTAN
Omran
Volodymyr
UKRAINE Dharmananda
Abby is the Services to Elder Refugees Coordinator at Kentucky Refugee Ministries, and the Coordinator of the Louisville CityWide Elder Refugee Program. She moved to Louisville in August with her husband Missouri. Abby loves working with refugees because she feels she can learn a great deal from their difficult experiences and inspirational stories. She loves learning about cultures and languages from all over the world, right here in Louisville. Ryan, so that he could attend school here. Abby and Ryan are from St. Louis,
Sarah Sloan has lived in Louisville for the past five years. She is originally from Tennessee and has a background in social work. Before moving to Louisville she lived in Kathmandu, Nepal for two years teaching English to refugees there. The little bit of language she learned in Nepal has been helpful as she teaches the beginning level ESL class in the elder program. She loves getting to know people from different cultures and takes every opportunity to travel and see new places.
Beth Clark – Has a Bachelors degree in Biology, and an MBA in Finance. Was a banker, and banking consultant, for 30+ years – now recently retired. Has lived in Louisville most of her life, except for college in Virginia, and commuting on her job to Columbus Ohio and Chicago Illinois, for 4.5 years. Has been married for 30 years to Kennedy Clark, an attorney. Live in a house on 11 acres, near the Summit shopping center in eastern Jefferson County. Loves dogs (has 6 of them), and also enjoys reading, needlework, traveling. Has also enjoyed hosting international students, who have lived with Beth and Kennedy while they were in high school, university, and/or graduate school.
Jacinda is a recent transplant to Louisville, having just moved back from overseas last fall. She taught English in Beijing, China for four years, where she developed a love for internationals, teaching, and travel. Her education is in Social Work and she is TESOL certified. Currently she volunteers with the Refugee Elder Program and assists with medical transports. Her favorite part about working with KRM is building relationships with students and learning about other cultures.
I am a Louisville native. My love of other cultures and languages began as a French major at Western Kentucky University and Indiana University.
Hello, I’m Aimee Zaring and I’ve been teaching beginner ESL at KRM’s Elder Program since 2009. I also teach advanced English to immigrants through Jefferson County Public School’s Adult Ed/ESL program. I double majored in English and Psychology at Bellarmine University and have an MFA in Writing from Spalding University. Teaching refugees and immigrants is the most rewarding work I’ve ever done, and it is an honor and privilege to do the work that I do. I have published short stories, essays, and book reviews and am presently working on a book of refugee stories and recipes, THE KITCHEN REFUGE: HOW KENTUCKY’S RESETTLED REFUGEES ARE REINVENTING HOME AND SOUTHERN COMFORT FOOD, to be published by University Press of Kentucky in 2015. To learn more about this project, visit www.thekitchenrefuge.com.
I briefly taught high school French before raising my four children, now ages 19 to 12. I began volunteering for the Elder Refugee Program in 2010, after Chris Clements of Catholic Charities suggested it. I have also done volunteer work with other groups in Appalachia, in Kentucky, and in Belize and Nicaragua in Central America. My interests include travel, reading and yoga.
My name is Carol Rogers, SCN and I am from South Boston , Massachusetts . I have been a Sister of Charity of Nazareth since 1954. I have spent my entire Community life and work ministry in Kentucky as a teacher, principal, and director of campus services. I feel blessed and privileged to be a volunteer with the Elder Refugee Program for over two years. The Elders have enriched my life with their goodness, sincerity, and desire to learn.
Hello, my name is Annie McDevitt. I volunteer teaching civics and ESL with my sister Cathy Blackburn in the Elder Program at Kentucky Refugee Ministries. I was a nurse for 29 years. I have one daughter who is 24 years old. I have been married for 26 years. I enjoy teaching very much. I really enjoy meeting people from different cultures. I have made many new friends at the Elder Program and hope to make many more.
Cathy Blackburn retired from the Jefferson County Public School System in 2006. In the 27 years of her teaching experience, she has taught all grades. Currently she is teaching English as a Second Language focusing on reading, speaking, writing, and understanding the English language.
I am Brother Ward O'Connell am a member of the Xaverian Brothers. We are a group of vowed religious men in the Catholic Church. Before becoming a volunteer in the Refugee Elder Program, I taught secondary school for many years, did parish work in South Dakota and Alaska. Recently, I lived in Nairobi, Kenya and helped young Xaverian Brothers with their study programs. I live now in Louisville with twelve other Xaverian Brothers.
Michaela was born in Romania and emigrated in her early childhood to Germany , moved to the US in 1999, and obtained her citizenship in 2008 . Michaela has served for many years as a volunteer in a variety of capacities, among others with the VA, the Center for Women & Families and the Fort Knox Community Outreach. She volunteered at Kentucky Refugee Ministries as an intern for Social Work, and continues her internship for her advanced Masters while working part-time in the Elder Program and Cuban/Haitian office. Michaela is excited to work with the Elders and discover the unique ness of each of them, but
above all to learn from their individual experiences and help them succeed in their aspirations, particularly in obtaining the citizenship. Christy grew up in Champaign, Illinois and went to an arts boarding school in Virginia to study ballet. She went onto dance professionally for 12 years in various ballet companies around the US. Christy moved to Louisville four years ago with her husband, who is a dancer with Louisville Ballet, and began to pursue a new career in Nursing. She graduates from nursing school in May and hopes to work in the Emergency Department.
Katie Gagel has been volunteering with the Elderly Refugee ESL Program since April 2013, after teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language) in South Korea for one year. Prior to Korea, Katie has also taught at Murray State University's ESL Program and worked in international admissions. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Communication and a Master of Arts in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and has decided to return to graduate school to pursue a Master of Social Work at the University of Louisville in the fall.
My name is David Clifford and I attend Maryville College as a member of the Class of 2016. I play baseball at the college and am a Bonner Scholar as well. I am doing my Bonner Summer Service at the Ministry and am interning in the
Elder Program and Cuban-Haitian office. "My name is Cindy Maiorella and I
have been a KRM volunteer since July 2013. I moved to Kentucky last April from Wisconsin to work and live closer to my son. I have been working as a Registered Nurse for 17 years. Most of my nursing background is in Public Health and I have been recently nominated for the Peace Corps in the Health Care Sector. I have a love for humanity and global health."
Birka alternates volunteering for the K-TAP program between the Elders program and in various capacities at the main office, while also attending ESL classes. You always see him around with a big smile on his face, and he has been an invaluable help wherever he goes.
Volunteers are always welcome—they are a great help to engage the Elders one-onone and to assist in a variety of activities. We value their contributions tremendously!
We will hear more about them in the coming issues..
Chris Clements has worked for Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) since 2004 and as of January of 2006 as the Community Resource Developer, where he assists with all incoming in-kind donations (furniture, household items, clothing, and automobiles), volunteer activities (orientations, trainings and recruiting), and any type of public speaking engagements surrounding the MRS Program. Chris Clements also plays a vital role with the Elderly Refugee Program in helping to recuit volunteer tutors and mentors, obtaining donated materials and supplies for Althea Faulve was born in the Philippines and moved to California when she was 5 years old. Althea then moved to West Lafayette, Indiana for college in 2008. She recently graduated in May 2012. After her graduation she moved to Louisville and is currently an AmeriCorps*VISTA serving for Catholic Charities Migration & Refu-
it as well as educate the community about this great program and how its a collaboration between Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) and Catholic Charities. Chris has two Bachelor of Arts (BAs) History and Political Science from the University of Kentucky and a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from the Martin School of Public Administration and Policy (University of Kentucky Graduate School). He is happily married to his wife, Kim Clements, for 13 years, and has three boys (Ryan, Devin and Liam) and a young girl (Kaitlyn).
gee Services. Her service will end in July, but hopefully she can still come to the program and volunteer. Besides serving for Catholic Charities she enjoys traveling, visiting her family/friends, and spending time with her dog. She eventually plans on attending Law School and perhaps become an immigration lawyer.
Joyce has been assisting the Elder Program faithfully and you see her always engaged in preparing delicious snacks for the Elders. She will tell us more about herself in the next issue.
Stacey Padgett was born here in the Louisville and calls this her home, though she spent 14 years in South Florida. She moved back to Louisville in 2000 and has spent 12 years in mental health/social services. She first started at Ackerly Child Psych unit as a Patient Care Associate, then at Seven Counties in Bullitt County as a Mental Health Counselor. She then spent 5 years at Family and Children's Place providing supervised visitation for parents who had lost custody of their children to CPS, and leading Family Team Meetings for families in need. Now, Stacey is at Catholic Charities as the TAG-D Employment Readiness Case Worker. This role will change when the TAG-D grant ends this September 30. Stacey will then be more involved with Catholic Charities' piece of the Elderly Program. Stacey is thankful to be at Catholic Charities and welcomes the challenges that come her way in her new position.
Bhutan Man Karki
Dharmananda
Gobinda
Madhavid
Kamalapati
Bishnu
Hari Maya
Tara
Raghu Tika
Hari
Shree
Bishnu Bhadri Puspa
Indra
Sekhar
Democratic Republic of Congo
Nzanzibandi
Cuba Miralia
Jose
Francisco
Zoilo
Omar Isabel
Roberto
Calixto
Martin Juan
Angel
Emma
Martin
Iran
Kiummars
Baharieh
Iraq Abdel
Modhr
Bibi
Joseph Jolyanna
KAREN Hit Ler
Pae Dah
Ler Htoo Ni Aung
Pah Lah See Lah
Ah Pay
David Tha
Kehler
Pah Noe
Pakistan
Chaudhary
Russia
Asim
Sudan
Abdelkareem
Ukraine
Volodymyr
Vietnam
Boi Van Le
Hong