Our women’s English classes have been running for over 10 years now! It’s been beautiful to see our student body grow from just a handful in 2013 to having served 114 women in the past school year (and nearly 70 preschool aged children as well!). We ran a book drive last year and have been [...]
Afghan refugees are in Nashville, and they need our help! Nearly 300 new arrivals have been or are being resettled mostly in Northern Nashville. Many groups are working together to meet the needs of our new neighbors. Our strength is education, so we're coordinating some English classes for these new arrivals. Women's English class opportunities [...]
Each school year begins with national teachers from all three Medes schools gathering for teacher training. They are continuing to learn good teaching techniques, classroom management, general computer literacy, and even basic first aid while also refining their written and spoken English. It is an unusual experience for many teachers from Iraq to receive such [...]
Kim Tells the Best Stories! Hannah and Colleen chat with Kim, our Office Manager, about her time living in Iraq. We love her stories and she is an excellent story teller! Sometimes in the office we ask her tell the same ones we've heard before because they are just so funny. Here are a few [...]
South Nashville is home to many refugee women who would love the chance to get out and exercise, practice their English, and make a new friend. Grab your walking shoes and join us Saturday mornings at a local park for Walk & Talk. Opportunities for exercise and fellowship are very limited for these ladies, so [...]
Maybe you can't volunteer this summer in Nashville to read to refugee kids (IF YOU CAN, go HERE!), but you'd like to help. There are two ways: Head over to our Amazon Wish List! On there you'll find books, blankets, and awnings that will help us serve kids who attend our reading program this summer! [...]
Director Dave's view from the van! Our recent “Walk and Talk” program was a great success. Over 20 volunteers from local churches joined us to share some exercise, conversation, and much-needed friendship with our refugee friends from Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Somalia. As I watched these women smile and laugh together, [...]
Our work at the center is still going very well. We have had people showing up nearly every day except Friday for English lessons. But today almost no one has appeared because the metro is on strike. I have loved teaching much more than I thought I would, which is good because it is a much larger part [...]
Here's a first-hand account from one of our team members one what it's like to serve refugees in Athens. It's been a whirlwind this week. It's hard to reconcile the anxiety and hesitancy I had right before arriving to the joy that seems to course through my soul. It is not a sugar sweet happiness, [...]
One of our team members this month is a nurse! We are so grateful for the medical personnel who have joined our one week trips; their help is so valuable! Today I went to the newest squat (formed this week after the Idomeni camp shut down). Shortly after entering, a woman saw the red cross on [...]
