In the Beginning... (Pre-Service)

1. What are your hopes for the service-learning project?

When I volunteer through World Relief, I hope to be someone that provides a lot of assistance to the refugees in need.  My classmate and I will be teaching a refugee family about life in the United States and the English language.  Every Wednesday I will be driving my classmate and I to the family's home.  While teaching them the English language, I hope to be a positive influence to this family in need because I realize how difficult it is to learn a foreign language and I want to provide as much support as I can.  I also would like to expand my communication skills by figuring out ways to speak with them and learning how to better associate with people I don't really know. 

2. What are your assumptions about your service-learning sight? 

I assume that the people who work at World Relief are caring, generous, and kind people that are also very compassionate especially towards the refugees that they are trying to provide a home to, teach them the ways of the U.S., and successfully teach them the English language. With that, I imagine the service-leaning sight to be a very positive environment that is welcoming to people all over the world.

3. What do you already know/assume about the work they do?

The World Relief is a non-profit agency designed to help refugees find a home, teach them about the American lifestyle, and how to fit into the American lifestyle, while also teaching them the English language.  I assume World Relief is rather a "safe place" for the refugees to call their home since they cannot go back to their homes in the third-world countries.  The refugees' homes are deemed as unlivable due to the unsafe environments around them, so they are forced into the U.S. basically for safety and because their countries don't want them there any longer.  World Relief then takes those refugees that are forced out of their home countries and provides them with any help they can to basically get them up on their feet again. 

4. What do you know/assume about the population they serve?

World Relief serves refugees that are forced out of their countries and are unable to go back, so they acclimate them to the U.S. for this is quite the new atmosphere that they are just not used to at all.  Henceforth, they assist them with anything they need such as getting them to doctor's appointments, helping them with something we deem as simple, but important like filling out medical forms, driving them and helping them pick up groceries, and other issues that are even larger such as placing them into homes. 

5. What connections/interests/passions do you have for this site or the population it serves? 

I am very excited to start teaching people the English language and helping them with any questions that I can answer about the U.S. and how to basically live in it.  I am extremely compassionate and love helping people, and I hope that I can provide any information that will be of use to them.  I also want to learn how to communicate and connect with people and I believe that this will be a great opportunity to do so.  It may be tough at first because I tend to be a little shy around people I just meet and I think since they speak another language that I am not familiar with, it may also provide difficulties, but I am up for the challenge! I cannot wait to get started.