This article is focused on the following Sustainable Development Goal
Coronavirus has hindered the educational journey of many displaced children around the world. Schools have closed and universities have shut down in order for individuals to stay home as an effort to contain COVID-19 and prevent further spread of the virus. Remote learning remains out of reach for at least 500 million students. Among these individuals are the refugee community that is already considered one of the most vulnerable at this time. With the shutting down of schools, their already perilous education is put to a stop. Which is why an organization like Paper airplanes, that offers online tutoring for refugees, is vital in this epidemic.
MY PERSONAL STORY
As someone who is Lebanese, I am able to see the effects of the refugee crisis through Syrian immigrants who have moved to Lebanon in an attempt to flee from conflict. My aunt is Syrian and has relatives that are affected by the crisis who were forced to leave their homes as refugees. She used to tell us stories about them and their struggles. This plays a huge role in the reason I am so passionate about working with and helping refugees as it’s very personal to me. For a long time, I’ve wanted to volunteer at Syrian refugee camps in the north of Lebanon, however, due to a variety of reasons such as location and safety I wasn’t able to. This is why I am grateful to have found Paper Airplanes because it gives me the platform to connect with people who have experienced the same issues my aunt’s family went through.
WHAT IS PAPER AIRPLANES
Paper Airplanes is a nonprofit organization registered in the USA that matches individuals with personal tutors for 12-16 week sessions conducted via Skype and other video conferencing platforms.
I first found out about Paper Airplanes a few months ago from my CAS coordinator and when I saw the words refugees and tutoring I knew we had to be a part of it.
The organization itself has many projects but we were more interested in the Youth Exchange Program. The program connects tutors with conflict-affected high school students to help them grow and master the English language skills to increase their access to future opportunities.
If you are interested in the program they open up applications at the start of every school year. The application process is really simple, you fill out google forms for your school answering questions like why you want to be part of the program etc. Then the tutor coordinator fills in a separate form. They review your application and if they think you’re a good fit you get accepted.
Once accepted the tutors undergo a training program where they receive trauma information training and language curriculum and guidelines on interacting with program students. After the training, they are matched with students and begin to meet for an hour a week until the end of the curriculum.
The Youth Exchange Programme would be a unique opportunity for schools to make an international impact outside of their local community. The program would make students more open-minded as they tutor students from different cultures and backgrounds, as well as help, raise awareness of the refugee crisis across our school community. It would aid students in becoming more empathetic because they are seeing the impact of the crisis on an individual scale through the person they are tutoring. It’s honestly an inspirational opportunity for the tutors and it would help them establish international friendships with their students.
Here are a few things you should be aware of…
1. They do ask that each high school club set a fundraising target of $500 USD per club of 10 tutors ($50 per tutor). This amount may be produced in a number of ways including club dues, fundraising, finding a community sponsor, or any other ideas.
2. The Youth Exchange Program is structured such that tutors can only participate as members of a club at their school or as a member of a youth group, they do not accept applications from individual tutors.” – so the tutors need to be under a new or already existing school club.
3. Your high school club will gain access to the online training, four-tiered curriculum, student management, personalized support from our organization throughout the year, and to our High School Club Toolkit.
4. Each group must have a Tutor Coordinator responsible for leading the students from your school. The Tutor Coordinator should be a student, not teachers or staff. Tutor Coordinators will regularly communicate with Paper Airplanes staff. They will lead the tutors through the training and Paper Airplanes resources. They will also track their tutors' tutoring hours and lead discussions in club meetings. The expected time commitment is 3-5 hours per week for the entirety of the school year.
5. They only accept a maximum of 10 tutors.
For more information check out their website: https://www.paper-airplanes.org/youth-exchange
Furthermore, if you are interested in the refugee crisis I would strongly recommend reading Refugee by Alan Gratz. It is a beautifully written book that broke my heart and opened my eyes to the realities that refugees face fleeing their homes. An honest 5 star. Remember, change starts with you.
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