bet8体育娱乐入口加入了每个校园的避难所
学生Jenny Ditona, Kenzi Johnson and Tabarak Ismail organize groceries for a refugee family hosted by ODU. 詹妮弗·菲什摄.
作者:安布尔·肯尼迪
bet8体育娱乐入口 is hosting its first refugee family this spring as part of 每个校园都是避难所(ECAR), a national movement to provide support on college and university campuses. ECAR is a global outreach initiative that supports refugees by providing a welcoming environment to build a strong foundation of educational resources for the first stages of transition to a new country.
在美国有40多所大学.S. 加拿大正准备为新移民提供庇护. ODU is the first public university in the country to become an ECAR partner and the first campus in Virginia to join the mission.
Founder Diya Abdo, an English professor at Guilford College, began ECAR in 2015 to call on colleges and universities to partner with local refugee resettlement agencies. 大学校园资源——住房, food, 语言培训, care and wellness - can provide hospitality for refugees as they begin their new lives in the aftermath of war, 流离失所和创伤. Abdo will visit Norfolk to launch ODU's initiative and offer a campus and community talk at 6:30 p.m. March 30 in the Yetiv Auditorium in the Batten Arts and Letters building.
詹妮弗·菲什, 奥德赛大学女性研究教授, this movement is a continuation of 10 years of research and service-learning projects with refugees living in Africa and Hampton Roads. 与ECAR合作, she built a refugee resettlement support alliance within ODU including the Office of Housing and Residence Life, 全球参与中心, 妇女研究系, 英语语言中心, the Graduate Program in 国际 Studies and the 跨文化关系办公室. This network will support refugees who are being resettled by the local Commonwealth Catholic Charities (CCC) affiliate.
布里奇特·韦克尔，ODU的 associate vice president for learning and associate dean of students, noted the direct link between this initiative and ODU's wider mission.
"The ODU-ECAR initiative highlights the importance of engaging in global citizenship right in our community. In addition to the value of assisting a family that's new to America, this program elevates our campus partnerships to engage our students in a variety of opportunities from educational awareness to action and teaching technical to transferrable skills,韦克尔说. "This initiative gives back to our global citizens and supports our students' continued success at ODU."
ODU-ECAR计划将由Fish指导, 在学生团队的支持下, 教师和社区志愿者. CCC will provide guidance on resettlement procedures, core services and funding.
"For many years ODU has been a wonderful partner to CCC and has been an important ally for refugees,克里斯汀·拉彻说, CCC纽波特纽斯地区的运营总监. "We are pleased to continue working together to support refugees who are rebuilding their lives in Virginia."
詹妮弗·迪托纳博士.D. 国际研究研究生课程的学生, will oversee the day-to-day aspects of hosting the first ODU refugee family. Mahfoudha Sidelemine, 毛里塔尼亚富布赖特学者, has been leading an English language class for women and conducting research on refugee resettlement for her doctorate in international studies. Ditona and Sidelemine will link the ECAR initiative to their research and applied support for refugee communities. 这个计划提供了有价值的, direct content for the refugee studies curriculum built through the Department of Women's Studies.
This month, ODU迎来了它的第一个难民家庭, which has been awaiting relocation from Syria for more than two years. Ditona anticipates the University will host refugees for six to eight months while they transition into the community.
Organizers are collecting supplies for their first resident family, 包括家用器皿, books, 不易腐烂的食品, 清洁用品等. 捐赠和志愿者的需求将持续进行. To get involved with refugee resettlement on ODU's campus through direct volunteer support or giving, 联系迪托纳: jdito001@dilidally.net.
