We work with an average of six people at a time gathered at home-based or church center of a particular community group. This allows us to provide each refugee with individualized attention and allows each refugee to explore independently on a tutoring program on education, health and computer.
Each of our classes headed by coordinators with minimum of two tutors for each community group center take the form of a project. While working on a project, students develop a variety of skills. We believe that the project approach provides a meaning and a context to the learning process. Projects explore topics that enhance school-based learning. The finished project for a class can be a magazine, a computer slide-show, an oral presentation or a web page.
Because we are a community-based organization, we have the opportunity to explore issues that may not be a part of the standard school curriculum. But if necessary and demanding we provide tutoring/coaching assistance to students from public schools and colleges. Although we have learning objectives and lessons plans for all classes, we have the opportunity to explore issues that come up in the course of a class and to “deviate” from the curriculum when it is appropriate.
Although technology literacy is one of the goals of our classes, we believe that technology is a powerful enabling tool that can support critical thinking and other developmental skills. Curriculum for each class is developed by the coordinator for that class, within a framework which focuses on process issues. For example, all classes have the same structure: they start with a warm-up exercise, which is followed by a vocabulary review.
Basic computer classes and free weekly in-home English language assistance to refugee families.
Small groups of tutors visit their refugee family once a week to help with English or other school, SAT or university work, or just basic conversation or life skills. They also help the family adjust to life in Minnesota and learn how to navigate American society.
A typical tutoring session consists of the tutors assisting students with any homework from school, or with reading or writing practice. Where families have queries that the tutors are unable to help with, we assist our tutors to refer the family to another organization who can assist.
For students who have not previously attended school, the tutoring they get through CID program is a valuable opportunity to get one-on-one assistance with Basic English and Math skills that their classmates may already have mastered.
To ensure that everyone in our community has access to the Internet and computer-related technologies and to create the opportunity for the young people of Burmese refugee to be pioneers in the information revolution-first, by teaching them high-end technological skills that are in demand in today’s economy and second, by teaching them to market and sell their skills to paying customers.
Our computer education classes are delivered to children and teenagers in two modes:
It offers Internet and research access; word processing, and spreadsheet software; computer tutorials and technical support.
Computer education classes are intended for children and teenagers. Our approach is very aggressive in targeting this population since we believe that the earlier a person is introduced to technology the more open and creative they will be in their efforts to utilize technology for their educational and economic advancement.
Increasing immigrant and refugees from Burma in Minnesota drives demand for health care interpreters. There is a limited supply of health care interpreters among Burmese community in quantity and quality.
Qualified health care interpreters provide the critical linkage between clinicians and patients that largely influences care access, quality of care, and patient safety when the principals do not share a common language and/or culture.
Board members of CID have long recognized the critical facilitative role of the linguistically and culturally competent interpreter in the clinical interface between the clinician and limited-English proficient patient. The qualified health care interpreter bridges the cultural and linguistic divide to foster understanding, comfort and trust that ultimately results in higher levels of treatment adherence leading to improved health outcomes.
Accordingly, CID plans to embark on a community initiative, “Building Qualified Health Care Interpreter Capacity in the Community.” This initiative will address the dearth of trained and qualified health care interpreters within our community who are capable of facilitating communication between people whose language, culture and customs are unfamiliar to those from western, biomedical cultures thereby advancing the delivery of culturally competent care.
Meanwhile CID will introduce pilot coaching health care interpreters into ‘Refugee Tutoring Program’ as a component of this initiative.
During outreach hours the team will provide social services and other assistance to families residing around each assigned centers the following but not limited to: