Sophomore Starts Tutoring Program for Refugee Children

In the last few years, many Asian-American students have made headlines by excelling in the classroom and winning prestigious math and science contests. But very little attention has been paid to the Asian-American students who are performing poorly in school. Many of these are refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam who do not speak or write English well; some of them are too young to have mastered their own language. Poorly equipped to adjust to the new environment, they flounder, struggling to learn in a language and setting totally foreign to them. Recognizing the special help these refugee children need, Nhan Truong '90 has started a tutoring program, serving the refugee children of Allston-Brighton.

Herself a refugee from Vietnam who emigrated to America in 1975, Nhan Truong decided to start the program last summer, while working with Philips Brooks House's Chinatown Adventure Program. Nhan Truong children from Chinatown housing projects in the morning and in the afternoon took them on field trips to expose them to the world beyond the "Combat Zone."

Nhan Truong recalls that the children who needed the most help were those who had just arrived in the United States. The Lowell House resident decided to start a program to help refugee children. Allston-Brighton seemed perfect for such a program as it has a sizeable refugee community and no local community service program specifically aimed at the refugee children.

Over the summer, Nhan Truong met with Terene Mech, Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn's liaison to the Cambodian community, to discuss the feasibility of the program. Mech introduced Nhan Truong to several Cambodian families in Allston-Brighton. "They [the children] lived in crowded homes. Their parents had to work all day and did not know enough English to help them with their school work," she said. "You always hear about the top Asian students, but these kids were culturally disadvantaged and isolated in so many ways."

The root of their disadvantage, Nhan Truong believes, stems from their language deficiencies and cultural differences as much as from their poverty. Apprehensive of the new environment, they tend to stay within their own neighborhood. Unable to speak English, they are isolated from other children of their age. In school, they often do poorly as their problems with English can mask their true problems with English can mask true learning potential. According to Nhan Truong, the refugee Children develop and "I-can't-do mentality" that makes it difficult for them to raise their own proficiency. "These kids are in no position to help themselves," she said.

With $500 "seed money" from Philips Brooks House, Nhan Truong this fall started a program providing in-school and after-school tutoring to the refugee children of Allston-Brighton. The program places Harvard student volunteers into the classrooms of Jackson-Mann School, where about 250 Vietnamese children from throughout the Boston area are currently enrolled in a bilingual program from kindergarten to fifth grade.

The volunteers, who can speak Vietnamese, assist the teachers by tutoring the students and participating in other classroom activities. "The teachers really appreciate the volunteer efforts," said Thuy Truong, a bilingual teacher at Jackson-Mann. "These educated young people can serve as role models for the children."

"Six, seven years ago, I was just like these kids and would have appreciated somebody to help me," said Vincent Ho '91, a volunteer in the program and a former refugee from Vietnam.

Twice a week after school and on Saturday mornings, 16 students from other area schools also receive help from the program. The Harvard volunteers bring them to the West End House Boys and Girls Club where they tutor them in English and math for about two hours. The program also seeks to open the refugee children's eyes to the world around them, by taking them on field trips--to receive Christmas gifts from Flynn or to visit the Children's Museum. "The amount of information transmitted is not as important as the appreciation of learning," said Richard Louie '90, a volunteer in the after-school tutoring program.

Encouraged by the program thus far, Nhan Truong is planning a summer youth enrichment program. She expects to hire six counselors and to enroll 48 refugee children in the program. Nhan Truong said she hopes the counselors will live in the same neighborhood as the children to "see first-hand what the children have to live through." A Private curriculum developing consultant has agreed to help structure an academic program that emphasizes creative learning.

The Harvard Business School has given the program $2000. Nhan Truong has also applied for funding from other sources such as the Associated Grant Makers, a consulting organization that helps channel donations from the business community to Boston community service programs.

Anthony Romano '90, who is currently working with the after-school program and plans to continue this summer, said he helps the refugee children because "acquiring English skills is the key to being acclimated to the American culture." The benefits are not one-sided, he added. "I hope to learn from them as much as they learn from me."