Archive for the ‘teens’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on January 12, 2012
Under a new program the City of Seattle will offer job training and educational support to low-income immigrant and refugee youth between the ages of 15-20 who typically have poor high school graduation rates. To pay for the program the City will redirect $315,000 from existing city programs for immigrants and refugees, with another $150,000 in funding added. An article in The Seattle Times has more:
Job training and educational support will be offered to low-income immigrant and refugee youth and their families under a new program announced Tuesday by the City of Seattle…
…The city is looking for established or emerging organizations that can improve the outcomes for immigrant and refugee youth between the ages of 15-20 who typically have poor high school graduation rates, few job skills and little parent support or advocacy…
Advocates say immigrant and refugee teens have a difficult time competing for and landing jobs because of their limited language skills, lack of job training and the gaps in their education because of their family histories… Read more here
Posted in economic self-sufficiency, education, employment/jobs for refugees, funding, schools, Seattle, teens | Tagged: at-risk, graduation rates, job skills, job training, jobs program, refugees, resettlement, seattle, teenagers, youth | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on December 7, 2011
It’s hard to imagine what its like for some refugee teenagers after we plop them down into our schools when they have little schooling, no English, and no knowledge of the local culture. Imagine not understanding how to get lunch or open a locker for weeks and no one notices. Or worse, being bullied or ignored by other students when adults make little effort to prevent that, or help students understand refugee teenagers’ plight. An article in The Salt Lake Tribune tells the story on young refugee that the refugee program and a school are trying for a better outcome with:
…For typical American teenagers, high school holds both excitement and liberal doses of adolescent angst. Now imagine being dropped into that social pressure cooker with little schooling, no English, and no knowledge of the local culture…
…Rising problems with drugs and gang violence, particularly among refugees in the 18-21 age group, has prompted the [Utah Refugee Services Office] to redouble its efforts with youth.
[Gerald Brown], the refugee services director, says he has attended four funerals for young refugee men in the past two years due to violence or drugs.
“We’re determined to do something about it,” Brown says. “There’s no single answer, but I think if we can put a lot of different things together, then we do have a real chance.”
Part of it is helping students succeed academically, he says. Too often, youths become frustrated when they cannot compete with their peers in school. They find other ways to stand out… Read more here
Posted in Karen, language, men, Salt Lake City, schools, teenagers, teens, Utah, young adults | Tagged: Burma, drugs, gangs, Karen, Myanmar, refugees, resettlement, teengers, Utah Refugee Services Office | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on August 31, 2011
A high school in Regina, Canada has deemed two Sudanese teenage refugee brothers “international students” and asked them to pay tuition fees of $10,000 each. A CBC News article has more:
Two refugees living in Regina are facing tuition fees of $10,000 each for high school, fees they have no way of paying.
The family caring for Lino and Angelo Kuol are hoping to raise the tuition money by appealing for donations.
The two boys, who are Sudanese, arrived in Regina Friday from Kenya. Before that, they were rescued from a refugee camp in Uganda…
…Lino and his brother Angelo, 15, were also quickly enrolled at Sheldon Williams High School in Regina, which has allowed them to start classes.
However, the boys are considered international students and are expected to pay $10,000 for the school year.
“These two boys, they don’t have any financial support at all,” Avery said. “The charitable organization they’re with did cover the cost of their flights to come here, but they’re not in a position to help with their tuition.”… Read more here
Posted in Canadian refugee resettlement pgrm, schools, Sudanese, teenagers, teens | Tagged: Canada, refugees, Regina, resettlement, sudanese | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on December 7, 2010
There is an interesting article in the Alternet about the Sudanese community in Nebraska. This is the single largest group of former Sudanese refugees in the US. Many of the Sudanese youth are fighting and joining gangs. Reasons for this disturbing trend include their families’ migration from a homeland in conflict, a difficult to adapt to (completely different from their own) US culture, parents who no longer discipline their children due to US laws against beating children, to youth dropping out of school after schools place them in grades way above their education level. In addition this second generation of immigrants has learned English much more rapidly than their parents and are able to manipulate their parents’ interaction with other members of the community, such as school officials and the police.
..early 8,000 miles away from the violence in Darfur [and southern Sudan], Sudanese residents of Omaha are experiencing their own share of turbulence in this unassuming Midwestern city. And they’re fed up with it…
…Bruce Ferrell, a retired Omaha police officer, is the chairman of the Midwest Gang Investigators Association estimates that there are three Sudanese gangs in Omaha right now (More claims there are fourteen.) Ferrell said the first gangs in Omaha began in 2004–MJ, a Nuer acronym for “Dog Pussy,” and Afrikan Pride. Others followed, like MOB, GBLOCK, 402 (the area code for eastern Nebraska), South Sudan Soldiers, and TripSet. Gang members are mostly Nuer and Dinka, and, predictably, live in low-income neighborhoods. They are the children of refugees or are refugees themselves, coming from camps in Ethiopia, Egypt, and beyond, but ending up adrift in the middle of America…
…”They’re doing graffiti, they’re wearing colors, they’re identifying by specific group names, they’re participating in crimes that are against rival Sudanese gangs. We’re seeing that more [in the past year].”… Read more here
I think what is good about South Sudanese is that they have a strong identity and pride in their culture. Sometimes pride can also be a downfall – for us all – as in the old proverb “pride does often go before the fall”, but I think what’s happening here is a generation who doesn’t yet know who they are. Are they South Sudanese or America? Trapped between? Its a hard road to travel.
Posted in alienation-isolation, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, men, mental health, Nebraska, Omaha, police, school for refugee children, South Sudanese, suicide, teenagers, teens, young adults | Tagged: Dinka, gangs, juvenile delinquency, Nebraska, Nuer, Omaha, refugees, resettlement, sudanese, youth violence | Leave a Comment »
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