Each Monday night this year I’ve had the honor to read with Noah, a second-grade Burmese boy whose family is part of the refugee community in Vickery.

Many of these sweet kids arrive to Reading Circle spring-loaded with energy. My buddy Noah came with a quiet countenance and a hint of skepticism about everything. The first several months I wondered if anything we were doing was getting through. He kept his poker face and yet I knew it meant something to him because he would answer my facetime calls immediately as soon as I pressed “call” at our scheduled time during COVID-19.

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Before volunteering with Refugee Resources, I was blind to the vast number of refugees we have in our own city. Reading Circle has opened by eyes to not only the number, but to multiple different cultures and relationships. Vickery Meadow is right in our backyard yet, so few people know about the many families here that are working so diligently to adapt to a completely different life here in America, leaving behind most of what they ever knew. Refugee Resources uses a unique connecting point to allow for relationships to be built through reading. As mentors in the reading program, it is amazing to have the opportunity to walk alongside a child of a refugee family, empowering them to learn and getting the chance to see the amazing progress they make as they adjust to a completely different world than what they may have been used to. Mentors and mentees are not only provided with books to read together every week, expanding the mental knowledge of the readers, but are also given the opportunity for something even bigger: an impactful relationship and time. Time to grow together, laugh together, and learn together.

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Hi, my name is Layne Matthews and I served as the summer intern here at Refugee Resources. I am a rising senior at Texas A&M University and it’s been a growing desire of mine to form friendships and work with the families living in the Vickery Meadow community. Being an intern at Refugee Resources this summer, I was finally able to feel a part of this vibrant neighborhood! And wow, did God pick for me an interesting summer--the summer of 2020 amidst a global pandemic--to begin engaging with and helping students grow in their literacy skills. Little did I know I was in for so much more.

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Elysee, Gentil, and Kelia along with their family, having fled from the DRC, were resettled to the US with refugee status from Rwanda in May 2016. Their caseworker from the IRC registered both the boys in the Reading Circle. However, because we have a one to one ratio for our Reading Circle students, we waited until we were able to recruit and train volunteers. It took a few months, but in September 2016 Elysee and Gentil started the Reading Circle as non-readers. This did not overly concern us as we realized that students grow at their own individual rates. We wanted to know what their level was and we worked with each student to progress at the speed that was right for them. Elysee and Gentil were in the 4th and 2nd grades respectively when they began the program and we began the journey of supporting them in their flourishing. Kelia would join her brothers at the Reading Circle in the fall of 2019.

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This month we’d like to introduce two of Refugee Resources’ top students, Pray Reh and Bu Meh. These two remarkable students have been a part of Refugee Resources since the program first launched at Sunchase in the summer of 2012. With books and blankets in hand, volunteer groups would meet underneath a tree every Saturday morning, and Bu Meh and Pray Reh would arrive every week, ready to learn!

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In high school and college, I often excused myself from service opportunities by claiming that I was “too busy” or “had other plans for the day”. Selfishly, I only wanted to partake in a mission trip or act of service if it benefited me in some way or another. When I moved across the country to the great state of Texas, I found that those excuses no longer held up. I had nothing but time on my hands and decided that I needed to find somewhere to volunteer on a regular basis. I prayed that I would find the right fit and God led me straight to Refugee Resources, a nonprofit based in Vickery Meadow that focuses on improving literacy for refugee children through one-on-one mentoring. 

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 Growing up my father was a refugee from Vietnam, and although only one of my parents was a refugee, I was able to empathize with his pain of not fitting in, of being called a “jungle boy” and struggling to communicate with others. Both my parents despite their different backgrounds, always emphasized the importance of education. My mother gave all the children access to books which filled our imaginations and ignited a joy for reading at a young age. By learning to read, I discovered how vast the world was and how many things I didn’t know.

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Per an informal, likely inexact poll of classmates I passed in the hallway of my high school this morning, teenage girls receive five or more hugs weekly. Dicey data aside, the point remains that hugs, though hugely appreciated, tend to be insignificant amid the bustle of our busy lives. Sometimes, though, a simple embrace has the power to change everything, which I learned thanks to a bright-eyed, gap-toothed Burmese five-year-old named John-Paul.

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This semester, I have had the privilege of serving with Refugee Resources as both a mentor and an intern. My sweet student’s name is Wilondja, a 6th grader who is approaching middle school. I have known Wilondja for over a year, but just became his mentor in September. He is silly, smiley, and always upbeat. More than most children, he brings joy into a room with a simple joke or phrase. Wilondja could be summarized as goofy.

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Some time ago, I read on a sticker that a smile is charity. What is charity? According to one of Webster's definitions, it is love of humanity. Without saying a word, one can show love to another with a simple smile. Well, meeting and getting to know Katinisa at Refugee Resources has been nothing short of a series of charitable charities. Although there has been a language barrier, there have also been showers of love through several smiles and laughter. 

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Some, including myself, would classify my skills in the kitchen as mediocre at best. The extent of my talent in the kitchen goes to sautéing vegetables, heating up leftovers, and broiling premade turkey burgers in the oven. When I am starving after a long day, I find it hard to smile after I follow every exact detail of a recipe and the food still turns out a complete disaster.

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I wish I could say I had a heart for the Refugee community ever since moving to Dallas a few years ago. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Though outwardly I would verbally affirm the importance of being involved and helping in the refugee community, inwardly my heart was callous and cold. I talked the talk, but never walked the walk. I made assumptions without first seeking to understand. Subsequently, I wasn’t ready to walk through to the doors the Lord had opened.

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I moved to Dallas five years ago and I felt a calling to serve in my community, but I allowed the excuse of being busy to get in the way of committing. I had a friend who was passionate about volunteering with refugees but that seemed uncomfortable and a little scary so I continued to ignore the tug I felt in my heart. Until January of this year when I happened to run into Alysa, the founder of Refugee Resources, and I knew there was no more putting it off. No more excuses. It was a quick process, from the online background check and application to the training a couple of weeks later and the following Thursday I met my student, Asmah.

 

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I am currently sitting in a café on the corner of Broadway and 105th in NYC. Sipping some coffee. Taking in the views, the people, and the heat. And all the while, comfortably knowing that when I’m finished here, I’ll be going back to a quiet room with AC and candles that smell like a garden.

I am sitting here fully aware of the privilege that it is to sit at a corner café on Summer vacation. As the hustle and bustle drowns out any voices of reality in my head, another voice makes its way to the surface. Angel. “Shukuru”. She is 10, vibrant, quietly hilarious, loves to dance and is eagerly finding her footing in America.

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It’s very easy for me, and other people who live in North Dallas and the DFW suburbs, to ignore the real, pressing people needs in our community. The Dallas Morning News recently reported that one of every three children in Dallas grows up in poverty, which is astounding.

There certainly are people with great needs all over the globe. I have for many years volunteered for a  Christian organization that ministers to children in poverty in countries around the world, a worthwhile ministry that I will continue to support.

 

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My friend’s older brother and his high school friends looked to us and asked, “Hey, would you like to join us this weekend? We need someone to work craft tables and games to entertain some kids.”

I honestly went wherever my mom drove me. From school, to swim practice, to Girl Scout meetings, I had my life set in a circle that I continued going around and around again. But this year was different: I was twelve years old. My parents trusted me to stay home alone assuming I would not jump on the mattresses while eating all our sugary foods. Teachers had prepared me for the upcoming elementary to middle school leap. And my Girl Scout troop had just completed our Bronze Award.

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I will never forget the first time we walked into Refugee Resources for our training day.  My three daughters and I were joining the newly-launched Preschool Circle and were so excited for this new adventure.  As we got settled into our seats for orientation, my oldest daughter leaned over and said, “Mom, that couple is from Rwanda, I just know it.” I exchanged a knowing look with her, and we tried to conceal our instant love for the volunteers sitting at the table next to us. 

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This is Samuel. He is in 4th grade, likes to draw, has taught me more about anime than I could ever imagine, and loves Chipotle. I have been lucky to mentor Samuel for the last 7 months and his quick wit and ability to learn have made our time together a treasure. Tuesday nights with him feel like any other Tuesday night with a friend.

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On my first day at Reading Circle, and every day since, arriving in Vickery Meadow has been like a breath of fresh air. I am transported out of America as I’ve known it and welcomed with smiles, hugs, and open doors into a stunning variety of cultures and stories. When I first found Reading Circle a year and a half ago, I was simply searching for any way to start meeting people in the refugee community in Dallas. I was new to the city and didn’t know much about it yet, but I had learned that it had become a new home for many of the most resilient people on Earth. I am grateful to say now that a highlight of every week I’ve spent in Dallas has been each Tuesday night at Reading Circle.

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As I drive through the Vickery Meadow apartments every week, I get to experience the most delightful feast of the senses. I see men and women passing by in their traditional garbs of colors and patterns. I smell mouth-watering spices and flavors as mothers and daughters prepare dinner for their families. I hear a constant chatter of men, women, and children speaking languages completely foreign to me. I am greeted with the sweetest hugs of exuberant children ready for a night of learning. It is then that I think how fortunate I am to get to experience this beautiful and dynamic community every Wednesday evening.

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