State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

CASE STUDY 18DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS POWERTHE OREGON SOMALI FAMILYEDUCATION CENTERWhen Somali immigrants cometo the U.S., transitioning into anew society is a tall order. At oneBeaverton apartment complex,five volunteers are up to the challenge. Foundedby Abdi Muse, the Oregon Somali FamilyEducation Center (OSFEC) seeks to empowerSomali families, smoothing their transition tothe U.S. Abdi says, “The end goal here is a selfsufficientcommunity moving forward as acontributing part of our society.”Serving 150 people, OSFEC receives a smallgrant from the City of Beaverton, but mostlyrelies on volunteers. The group’s journey beganin 2001, when Abdi was working at JacksonMiddle School. He and other communitymembers noticed that recently immigratedstudents were struggling.One seventh-grade girl in particular was thecatalyst for creating the organization. Accordingto Abdi, she only spoke Somali but couldn’twrite it. Jackson teachers asked him to help her.This turned into one of the biggest challenges ofhis life. How was she supposed to learn English,math and science when she couldn’t even writein her own language? “That’s like throwing youinto a Chinese college and saying, ‘Hey, startfrom there, my friend. Your next assignment isdue next week. Have a nice day.’”OSFEC officially began in 2002 with tutoringand a homeschool program. Coming fromrefugee camps, where there was little, if any,schooling, students had a lot of ground to makeup. Since then, the program has expanded, withthe help of student volunteers from PortlandState University, to include adult English classes.In addition to tutoring, OSFEC educates parentsabout the U.S. school system and reaches out toschools so staff can better understand Somalistudents’ specific needs. “Back home, educationwas about teachers taking care of students,period. Having an immigrant family come herethrows them off.”OSFEC also helps families fill out forms, providesinterpreting to help people with their bills andeven offers a tailoring class. The volunteersalso handle police profiling, domestic violenceand child custody issues, as well as other dailytroubles.Another major issue facing many Somalis isnutrition. Back home, they only ate organic foodsand walked most places. In the U.S., they’rebombarded with processed foods and have anumber of sedentary transportation options. Asa result, the rate of diabetes has increased in thecommunity. Through a partnership with OregonState University, volunteers teach people aboutAmerican foods and cooking dishes like the foodfrom back home.146