13 minute read
A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN
How Alise Shafer Ivey’s retirement vacation sparked change in the lives of many others
Tracey Long speaks with Alise Shafer Ivey, Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles (PILA) founder and former Director of Evergreen Community School in Santa Monica, about her refugee early education project, The Nest.
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Alise Shafer Ivey on her ‘retirement’ vacation to Europe
After retiring as Founder and Director of Evergreen Community School in Santa Monica, California, Alise Shafer Ivey and her husband Tom decided to take a vacation to Europe. Both avid foodies, they chose the Greek island of Lesvos as their final destination. They took great delight in exploring the small tavernas, fournos (bakeries) and traditional cafes, while soaking up the historic architecture and verdant landscapes. They had no idea that their visit to this beautiful island, situated just off the coast of Turkey, would dramatically change their lives and the lives of many others.
“One day while on our way to a taverna we found ourselves on this tiny mountain road,” recalls Alise. “ I jumped out of the car to help navigate us through, just as a young woman came bounding down some steps with a broad smile.”
Originally from Kansas, the young woman was working in Lesvos as a relief worker. Her role was to keep watch at the beach every night as refugee boats from Turkey washed ashore. Along with other volunteers, she would help the weary, frightened and often traumatised passengers to disembark safely and find their way to the refugee camps.
Alise admitted that she knew little about the situation for refugees on the island, so the young lady suggested that Alise and Tom could visit one of the refugee community centres to find out more.
CIGARETTE BUTTS, RUSTY NAILS AND A TODDLER WITH A STEAMING COFFEE Towards the end of their time on Lesvos, Alise and Tom paid a visit to the community centre, One Happy Family (OHF), which is run by a Swiss NGO. OHF welcomes several hundred visitors a day. They primarily provide services for young men, but are also frequented by women and children. The OHF model is to work with refugees, not for them. Their aim is to ‘give a measure of dignity and selfdetermination’ back to the thousands of people stuck in limbo on Lesvos.
“We walked in and there was a bustle going on,” recalls Alise. “The first thing I noticed was this young boy, toddling about aimlessly with a cup full of hot coffee. It was such a jarring sight to see. That was my first moment of high alert. From there I started noticing all the children. Some of the kids were playing with cigarette butts and lighters and rusty nails.”
While she knew that catering for children was not central to OHF’s purpose, Alise asked if they had anywhere for kids to play. A volunteer showed her a rather soul-less room, which contained little more than a couple of broken crayons and a puzzle without all the pieces.
“Later, while chatting with the person in charge and before really thinking it through (we were on a retirement trip), I asked if he would like us to come
A Community Nester playing with a child at The Nest Samos ‘A mother and her child take a break from the refugee camp to build structures in The Nest. Together, they are building towers, building dreams and building hope.’ via @think_with_us on Instagram
back and set the space up for children to play.”
As soon as the words tumbled out of Alise’s mouth, she felt a moment of panic. As the executive director of
non-profit organisation Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles (PILA), she realised that she hadn’t checked in with the board or considered the cost before making the suggestion.
FEVERISH FUNDRAISING AND A TRUCK LOAD OF IKEA FURNITURE Shortly after arriving back in LA, Alise called a PILA board meeting. To her relief, everybody was in agreement that the initiative should proceed. She sent out a fundraising email to family and friends of The Institute and within 48 hours they had raised $10,000 to make Alise’s idea into a reality.
Less than two months later, Alise and Tom returned to Lesvos with a truck heaving with IKEA furniture purchased in Athens, and 300 pounds of teaching supplies that were shipped from the US. With the help of international NGO and refugee volunteers, they furnished the first Nest in the OHF community centre.
“The humour and magic of encountering each other through a magnifier captures the imagination of the children in Nest Congo!” Via The PIofLA on Facebook
THE NEST BRANCHES OUT Two years on, there are now five Nests helping children and families to learn and heal: one each in the Greek Islands of Samos and Lesvos, The Nest’s Congo Peace School, and two Nests in Tijuana, for families waiting immigration interviews at the US/ Mexico border.
In each location, The Nest offers engaging spaces where young children can play and explore. They offer a peaceful refuge from the overcrowded living conditions that families endure in refugee centres. Equipped with openended materials that spark creativity and curiosity, Alise tells us that Nests offer what all children are entitled to, to ensure healthy development – the right to play.
NURTURING ADULTS, AS WELL AS CHILDREN While Alise’s core idea for The Nest was to help children, it soon became clear that these spaces would be of great value to adults too.
“We thought that the sole purpose for The Nest was to help children who were lost in the shuffle,” recounts Alise. “But I would now say the benefit is to help the adults as much as the children.”
The Nest model works by engaging a mixture of international volunteers (who are already qualified educators) and local adult refugees (community Nesters) as teachers. Before walking into a Nest, volunteers are given training to ensure that they can teach with a trauma informed approach, and understand the Nest’s constructivist philosophy.
Dozens of young male and female refugees have found a new passion for early education while volunteering at The Nest, some even plan to study teaching when they finally settle in their new host country. It seems that the volunteering role has provided an opportunity for personal growth and healing, and has given greater meaning to time in limbo (it can take up to two years before refugees on Lesvos are granted an interview with Greek police to discuss their case for application for refugee status, and during that time their movements are limited to the island).
In Tijuana, the Nest’s international volunteers provide a range of services for refugee adults including English language lessons and parenting classes.
“We have parent meetings every few weeks where we serve wine and cheese and hors d'oeuvres,” says Alise. “We talk about brain development and why the 123s and ABCs aren’t what makes a person smart. It’s the ability to puzzle through a problem.
“We can’t talk without a translator, but their gratitude comes through in every way. The adults are rethinking what it means to be a parent.”
Nester Suzie Rauch teaches English language classes to adult refugees in Tijuana
INTERNATIONAL NEST VOLUNTEER - CHLOE FLANNERY FROM GUARDIAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA
Chloe Flannery says that she has always been passionate about supporting and advocating for the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum, so when offered the opportunity to volunteer at Nest Lesvos by her employer, she was very keen to help out.
“In my spare time, I volunteer with a social community group,” explains Chloe. “We organise fundraisers and events to fund education projects for refugees in the Middle East. As part of my volunteering I have started to learn and speak Arabic. When the opportunity with Guardian was offered, I applied as I believed my previous experiences and ability to speak Arabic would be beneficial.”
Chloe spent two weeks on the island of Lesvos volunteering as an International Nester, driving the shuttle for the refugee helpers and also at Attika and Refugee4refugees clothing banks, sorting donated clothing and assisting newly arrived refugees to pick adequate clothing and toiletries.
Chloe’s starkest memory of her time on Lesvos was the sheer scale of people living in cramped and intolerable conditions.
“There are currently two refugee camps on Lesvos,” explains Chloe. “The larger has a population of around 8,000 people and the smaller has a population of around 2,500 people, mostly families."
The photos below taken by Chloe, of the tents and the groups of children on mats on the ground, show the reality of the living conditions and daily life for refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, North Africa and Kurdistan.
Chloe explained that the groups of children on the mats are the ones who are not fortunate enough to attend any formal schooling projects. Refugee4refugees has organised this simple education station alongside the refugee camp to offer the children some consistency and belonging.
“I would highly recommend going to volunteer at the Nest or supporting people displaced and seeking refuge,” says Chloe. “These experiences offer life lessons from the amazing people you will meet and the stories they share. As a person and as an educator, spending time with refugees has really taught me the value of social constructionism, togetherness and community.”
JOIN EDUCATORS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD AS A VOLUNTEER NESTER
The Nest is looking for experienced teachers who would like to spend a minimum of two weeks working side by side with young refugee children. “As a Nester, you will not only enrich the lives of children and their families,” says Alise, “you will enrich your own life in ways no other experience can.” Find out more at www.thinkwithus.org/refugee-project
COMMUNITY NESTER – MINA’S STORY
One of the first refugee volunteers for Nest Lesvos was a young woman from rural Afghanistan. Mina and her husband Mehdi jumped at the opportunity to help Alise and other refugee volunteers to unpack box loads of furniture, toys and teaching materials.
“The place was buzzing as refugee carpenters started erecting furniture, electricians installed lights and the space started to take shape,” says Alise. “I noticed that Mina had become fixated by a baby doll that she had unpacked. She was sitting in one spot cradling that doll for what felt like ages, and I wondered what was going on.”
Mina ended up becoming one of the Nest’s first refugee volunteer teachers and Alise and her husband have since formed a very close bond with Mina and her husband. After building this personal relationship, Alise found out about the couple’s tragic story.
Mina and Mehdi were childhood sweethearts, but their union was forbidden as their families were from warring tribal factions. After begging their local Imam on many occasions, he finally agreed to marry them, but they were sworn to secrecy due to the outrage it would cause in the village.
Not long after marrying, Mina discovered that she was pregnant with Mehdi’s baby. While the couple tried to work out how they could be together as a family, Mina was informed by her father that she was soon to be married off to a relative. Their one confidante, Mehdi’s older brother, warned them they would be stoned to death if they did not flee. The pair managed to scrape together a small amount of money and headed to Europe seeking freedom from persecution via Iran and Turkey. Sadly, Mina lost her baby while dodging gunfire on their journey through Iran.
It has been over two years since Mina left Afghanistan. She and her husband now live in Germany, still in a refugee camp, still awaiting asylum. The story of a refugee is a long one, a hard one and not always a successful one. On good days, Mina believes that one day she will have a “normal life”, and that she and Mehdi will have good jobs and raise a family. On bad days, Mina cries for all that she left behind and for a happy future that often seems just out of reach.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP BUT CAN’T SPARE THE TIME TO VOLUNTEER?
You can donate via www.thinkwithus.org by going to the international projects tab and clicking the donate button for the Nest project you would like to support.
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