AMERICANAWhere COMMUNITY CENTER: Louisville Meets the World SUMMER 2011
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Volunteer Spotlight
Rimsha Chowhan has been volunteering at Americana since June 2011. She has been volunteering with the youth Summer Program where she helps in the Kindergarten to 2nd grade classroom. She also helps supervise during activity time and chaperone on field trips to the pool each week. Rimsha is an upcoming senior at Kentucky Country Day School. In the future, she would like to study to become a doctor and she would also love to have the opportunity to travel around the world. Despite the fact that Rimsha has only been volunteering at Americana for a month, she has already volunteered more than 80 hours. She has been an integral part of the summer program and has proven to be a huge help in our day-to-day activities. She is an incredibly dedicated and devoted volunteer who comes in every day with a smile on her face. Several of the staff members have commented on how well Rimsha interacts with the children and the ease with which she has formed close relationships with many of the kids and staff members. Rimsha plans to continue volunteering during the fall as part of the After School program. We’re grateful for all she has done so far and all she will do here in the future. Thanks for all you do, Rimsha!
Article by Kristin Burgoyne, Programs Director
FAMILY LEADER DINNER HIGHLIGHTS TEACHERS & FAMILY LEADERS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS Americana Community Center’s Family Education Program held a Bridges to Tomorrow (B2T) Family Leader Engagement Event on Saturday, April 16, 2011 from 6-8pm. The event blended a brief presentation on the importance of native language use at home for bi- and multilingual children with a discussion concerning the Family Coaching Program at Americana; additionally, ACC staff recognized teachers and Family Education participants for their dedication and hard work. The event also included a special recognition of two outstanding Family Leaders, both of whom have made significant progress towards achieving their individual goals. ACC’s Executive Director, Edgardo Mansilla, enjoyed dinner and conversation with 38 adults, 34 children ages 6-18, and 18 children under the age of 5. Seven active Family Leaders and 10 prospective candidates attended the engagement.
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Certificates and flowers were presented to teachers and assistants from the Early Childhood, Adult Education, and School Age classrooms in appreciation of the immense dedication each person displays in aiding students in their educational pursuits. All Family Education participants received a certificate of recognition to honor their commitment to the program. Lydia Quiah and Maria Castro, the two outstanding Family Leaders, were surprised with flowers and Kroger gift cards for their motivation and progress in accomplishing their goals.
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Article by Kristin Burgoyne, Programs Director
FAMILY EDUCATION FAMILY LEADER FEATURE: Family Leader Honored For Hard Work
Lydia enrolled in coaching in July 2009 and has since worked non-stop in progressing towards achieving her goals. A refugee from Liberia, Lydia faced many challenges in her home country, including limited educational exposure. Liberia possesses restricted educational opportunities for its population, with the average literacy rate only reaching about 40 percent. While an established educational infrastructure exists in Liberia’s capital city of Monrovia, rural areas lack accessibility and resources to provide quality learning opportunities for residents. Notwithstanding the limitations on written literacy acquisition, Liberians harbor a rich oral tradition focused on learning by memorization. Lydia never experienced a free public learning system, which feeds her strong desire to learn to read and write in English through Family Education. As a speaker of Liberian English, Lydia brought oral skills to the classroom. But she has tirelessly and consistently worked with the Adult Education teacher to become literate. After a year of faithful attendance, Lydia only misses class if she has an appointment or her child is sick, she finally accomplished her dream: Lydia can now read and write in English. To this day, almost two years after enrolling in coaching, Lydia continues to attend classes four days per week and improve her English literacy skills. In order to become more economically self-sufficient and provide for her family of four, Lydia hopes to soon find full time employment. Lydia attended two job fairs, enrolled for services at the One Stop Career Shop, and applied for more than ten job positions. Lydia also hopes to work towards obtaining a driver’s license, studying the manual in her free time. For more information about Family Education or Family Coaching please contact Kristin Burgoyne, Programs Director at kristin@americanacc.org or 502-366-7813
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21ST ANNUAL
AMERICANA WORLD FESTIVAL, “WHERE LOUISVILLE MEETS THE WORLD” Another successful Americana World Festival means much more than creating awareness about the Americana Community Center and its programs, it also means celebrating the international community, and it means every year more people in Louisville are exposed to the rich diversity of the South End. Native born residents are given a chance to enjoy multicultural entertainers, sample various ethnic foods and dance alongside their international neighbors. To Americana staff, it means two populations (the native U.S. born population and refugee and immigrants) coming together, if just for one day, to celebrate Louisville’s richly diverse community as one. It is a day of fun, yes. But, it is also a day of bridging cultural divides, a day of understanding our neighbors and of celebrating what each person offers to our community. This year saw more festival goers than previous ones. Despite the sweltering heat, people came from all over the Louisville Metro to enjoy the festivities. Seasoned entertainers such as the Kyene Drum Ensemble (West African drumming), Appalatin (a Latin and Appalachian Folk music fusion band) and Salsa Rhythms (Latin band) shared the stage with up and coming entertainers such as Americana’s own Self Kuwa (East African DJ, Eric Mbirizi). Children played various international games at a chance to win a brand new bicycle while their parents browsed the ethnic food and retail vendors. The day also saw a stiff competition between a variety of soccer teams during Americana’s Soccer Tournament. Americana thanks every single person who made a visit to our Americana World Festival, our numerous volunteers and to our generous sponsors, ValuMarket, TARC, Pro Med Rehab, LG&E and KU Energy, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare, Fifth Third Bank and Family Health Centers for making this year’s World Festival truly a successful one. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Americana World Festival, held on the first Saturday in June.
Article by Kristin Burgoyne, Programs Director
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The Rage of Fighting The rage of motherland The rage change my people The rage makes the war How people are today The fighting makes everything worse The rage makes countries to be apart The fight and the rage kill people Broken down people, house Seeing people outside and have nowhere to stay Why can’t we stop the war Can we see that our people are dieing Why can’t we see the tears of each other Why can’t we stop fighting each other And live the life the way we are support to live it Stop the war But start loving each other Less hating but more loving Fight for freedom but not for breaking each other’s hearts Stop fighting, and bring peace and strength to each other Can’t stand the pressure and the sorrow of my people Stop the fighting, and Rage for a better life Don’t fight each other because you want to break each other’s hearts only fight for freedom.
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SOMALI CHILD
By Ifrah Ahmed, age 17
BY ODILE AKAKPO, AGE 13
RAGE FIGHTING
Drawing by Michael Mulinda: Michael is a 16-year-old junior at Atherton High School. He has been attending Americana Community Center from the age of six, when he first arrived in the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This summer Michael has not only been a teen program member but also a volunteer with the younger elementary children. While not at Americana Michael said he likes playing basketball, making music, learning about history in his favorite class social studies, and drawing. In this drawing, Michael imagined a student playing sports when he drew this image representing the Americana Community Center summer program. Michael believes drawing is “something that’s made up of patience and concentration. If you have patience you can create anything.” He created this drawing for the students at Americana.
I am Somali child I am the night of my nation who becomes leader is no concern of mine I pray to Allah to guide me and to make this day begin a new day for my family and me I pray for Islam to take root I am the first child All I need is education and family I shake my head, how am i going to get that? I have plenty of room for hope I wish to grow in wisdom I long to carry books I wish to watch the moon set I want to watch the birds flying around I am a Somali child that is wishing
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