ESOL and Cumbia

The group

Despite the snow and subsequent county-wide school cancellations, we went ahead with the Nob Hill community center celebration last night. After several strategic conversations with IMPACT staff I was leaning toward calling it off when all of a sudden Melvis called. “Sebastian, have you bought the chips yet? I’m getting the soda now. You should get more chips, I think lots of people are coming!” With that, the decision was made.

Just a half hour before the event was supposed to begin we got struck with some bad news. Because of some miscommunication between Juventina and I about whether or not the YMCA center would be open, she had committed to working late and thus wouldn’t be able to make the party in time. Knowing that she had volunteered to be the main facilitator for the night–not to mention how excited she had been about finally having the chance to meet more neighbors–the other members of the group and I were pretty bummed out. In addition, Melvis and Rosario were worried that many residents would assume the Center was closed/the event was postponed because of the school cancellations. Somewhat frantically, Rosario started making last minute calls to assure people that we were in fact having the event as scheduled.

Ana taking down names for the English Class

All of a sudden, spirits picked up a bit when Samuel and his cousin walked in with a professional stereo system, including two 4 foot tall speakers. Even if people didn’t show up at least the five of us would have some crystal clear and super loud music to dance to…

But before long, people began to trickle in and by 7:30 our side of the center was comfortably full of adults with the other room packed with children. Without Juventina there, Rosario took charge. Explaining all that the 6 of us had achieved over the last couple months, she welcomed everybody and led the group in personal introductions.

After everyone had stood up and briefly introduced themselves–always received with applause–Melvis took over and facilitated a dialogue about different people’s interests/hobbies outside of work. He told me afterwards that this was the first time in his life he had spoken formally to a room of strangers. Even though his nerves might have shown through early on, by the end he was comfortably calling on group members and even offering his own ideas for what the discussion meant in terms of figuring out how we wish to use the space to best meet our needs. Interests ranged from reading history books about Latin America to playing soccer and dancing salsa.

Next, Samuel stood up and led the group in discussing any community/neighborhood concerns they’ve had since moving to the Nob Hill community. Even though this was just the first time that most of these neighbors had met they found new energy in realizing so many of their concerns were shared almost identically by fellow residents.

Ana Puentes, an IMPACT network member who has offered to volunteer teach the Nob Hill ESOL class, then led the group in hashing out logisitical details for the class. Everyone eagerly signed up for the class and decided that two nights a week, 2 hours each night, would be a reasonable schedule for the class. They agreed that the first class would be scheduled for Tuesday Feb. 16.

Juventina addressing the group

Just as we were winding down and thinking of wrapping up the discussion in walked Juventina. Exhausted after a long day of work and also probably feeling disappointed to have missed a majority of the evening, she plopped down in a chair outside the circle. After about 5 minutes she turned to me and asked: “But it seems like the group is only focused on the English class and isn’t getting that this group also can be used as a space for community support, where we feel comfortable to share our concerns and problems with eachother and together work out solutions?” Without hesitation, she stood up and got the attention of the group asking for a chance to present herself. With incredible confidence, she explained why she and the others in the core group see this project as being much more than ESOL.

With that, we turned down the lights, brought in the disco ball (I have no idea where it came from) and blasted Merengue from the speakers. Dancing for about 40 minutes, we decided 9:30 was about as late as we could go before pestering our upstairs neighbors too much. As the place cleared out, there seemed to be growing enthusiasm around trying to end the occasional ESOL class with a dance party. Stay tuned to hear how this mutual support/ESOL/dance group progresses!

Snowy Tuesday but still Together!

smile -- it's snowing AGAIN

Snowy Tuesday but still Together!

Heavy snow was not an obstacle for our third Tuesday Together, everyone showed up on time and we enjoyed together a delicious dinner from our friends at La Casita. Our friends who are participating in Asset Allies joined us since we are sharing the space for both activities. We started by doing introductions with the whole group — and sharing one good thing that happened to us this week. Even though times are tough, we want to make sure Tuesdays Together is a positive space where we celebrate small victories!

We had new members joining us this Tuesday — like Osman and Ernesto who came after helping give out food at Manna — and that made this a more exciting night, because we met new neighbors and found out about their own experiences and need for services in Wheaton.

the whole group

Frankie leading the mutual support exercise

Frankie joined us and made this Tuesday unique, as she motivated the group in a very dynamic way. Everyone had the opportunity to share their personal experiences and solutions to others problems. For example, David shared his story of trying to reunite with his family here in the US. This sparked a long group conversation about immigration rules and together we came up with possible solutions. Gavin told us about his hopes to attend college in Pittsburg and Pedro shared his daughter’s similar story and encouraged Gavin to keep looking for financial support. This activity helped the group interact and get involved with each other.

It was also a opportunity to say good bye to our great friend Ayad and sing happy birthday to our beloved Martha. Everyone hugged Ayad and wished him well in his new journey and shared a piece of cake for this special occasion.

Faye looks at our resource materials

Hoping the snow clears and our fourth Tuesday Together is as great as this one.

Enjoy the Snow!

“But isn’t that the point?”

In preparation for tomorrow night’s community bash/celebration, the Nob Hill group and I met up last night at Juventina’s apartment to finalize some logistical and programmatic details. With their four kids playing around in the adjacent dining room, we sat in her living room figuring out what was left to be done before Wednesday night and who was to do what. Included on the to do list: food, music, decorations, childcare–not to mention the actual agenda for the evening. Nearly an hour and a half later, we were just finally coming to a decision around who would bring what food. The main philosophical hold-up? Whether to provide a full-fledged dinner or simply refreshments and light snacks. Serving as nothing more than the transcriber of their conversation, I barely even got a word in and to be honest, was ready to move on.

So once we had finally decided to go with the snack option, I said somewhat impatiently “OK, I think it’s time to be done with this.” Immediately, Rosario turned to me and cheerfully retorted “It might have taken a while, but at least we worked through this as a group practically on our own. Isn’t that the point?” Taking a sec, I couldn’t help but say: “Of course you’re right Rosario, that’s EXACTLY the point.”

Approaching 9pm, Juventina insisted we sit at the kitchen table and drink some coffee along with her home-made sugary Bolivian treats. Final task: come up with an agenda. In a conversation Melvis and I had at his apartment earlier in the day we had worked out a tentative game plan but still didn’t know who would do what. After writing out the plan on a flip chart, Juventina interrupted: ”But before getting into group introductions, shouldn’t you and Ray give some background to the group and why we’re having the party?” I responded: “That’s a great idea, except you, and not Ray or I, ought to do it.” Without flinching, she stood up and began rehearsing her spiel. Then Rosario jumped in and explained the objective of the evening. Before long, each of us had signed up to facilitate one 5 minute portion of the meeting. I got out of the whole thing only responsible for leading personal introductions!

If you want to see a truly empowered group of residents shine in front of fellow community members as they lead a discussion on how the community can come together to address some of their mutually shared concerns–as well as eat chips/salsa and dance merengue–join us tomorrow night at 7pm at the Nob Hill YMCA Community Center!

Tuesdays Together Recap

After our first Tuesdays Together was a huge success we couldn’t wait to do it again this week! This Tuesday night we had 26 neighbors join us for dinner and a continuation of our conversation from last week — looking for jobs.

That’s a heavy topic, so we tried to start light by pairing residents up to talk about their favorite jobs.  They ran the gamut — from teacher’s aide at Langley Park elementary school to computer programmer to soccer referee!

Isabel and Margarita share stories about their favorite jobs

Then we started to share specifics about what jobs people are looking for and what they see as the barriers to finding employment. This generated an interesting list and a good discussion about how to deal with situations like no one calling you back after you submit an application or leave your resume. Together, we brainstormed ideas about how to follow up with prospective employers and I’m glad I took notes because we came up with some really good suggestions!

Alpha and Marcos

My highlights from the night were:

–Miguel getting Doris (who works at the reception desk at Montgomery Works) to come and tell us about the services available at the one-stop shop in Wheaton. He had gone there earlier in the day and wanted to make sure everyone knew that you can go there and use the computers for 90 minutes a day!

–Margarita sharing a job opening — working the night shift at Panera in downtown Silver Spring — that she couldn’t take, but wanted to see if others would be interested.

–The group encouraging Alpha to finish the last section of his GED.

See you next week in Wheaton!

Who’s bringing the salsa?

With the Nob Hill support group’s big kickoff for the ESOL class (as well as whatever else the residents decide to use the YMCA center for) only a week away, the group decided to spend last night doorknocking in the buildings immediately surrounding the center, inviting neighbors to next week’s party. Juventina, Rosario and Melvis paired up with Ray, Gretchen and I–as well as with a couple other volunteers planning on teaching the ESOL class–and with their 4 kids in tow, we headed out to the three buildings closest to the center.

Unlike last time we went doorknocking as a group, last night we had our flashy fliers that Rosario and Melvis had made in the previous meeting. So proud of the flier as well as everything else they’ve accomplished over the last couple months, Rosario bravely stepped up and knocked on the first door. But as the young man opened the door, she turned to me and nudged me to start talking. Understanding how nervous she must have been, I introduced myself and asked how the guy was doing. I was just about to dive into my tired spiel about the campaign when Rosario suddenly jumped in and talked non-stop for minutes about why she believes it’s so important for the community to meet up to choose how they want to use this valuable community space run by the YMCA. Getting cut off has never felt so good. With the rest of the 6 people we spoke to–all at length–I said no more than hello.

The final couple we talked to invited us in and–much like what happened with Marina last time we went out–Rosario seemed to really connect with the wife. As Rosario’s daughter ran off with the couple’s daughter to play with toys in her bedroom, we chatted about community problems, how well-connected their neighborhoods were in El Salvador, the importance of neighborhood unity…etc. But perhaps most importantly it came out that the lady is an avid dancer and professional dance instructor. After making me stand up to prove that I wasn’t lying when I told her that my hips aren’t designed to move side to side, she offered to bring her collection of salsa, merengue and bochata music–as well as dance moves–to the party on Wednesday!

I think what we thought was going to be a community meeting just officially turned into a neighborhood dance party!

Community Leadership in Action!

In the past couple weeks, I’ve heard a lot of  stories from our many Gaithersburg meetings that I wanted to share:

-Fatou, a resident who came to the Neighbors Exchange, got an interview for a job at Holy Cross Hospital while applying for Neighbor Corps!!

-Jean Paul has become the unofficial ambassador for Parklane Apartments and residents come to him for help or advice with many things (ex. talking to the city officials about getting a lock for the apartment tennis court so that people don’t go in and vandalize it).

-Jean Paul and Noellie shared the info they received from Montgomery Works about ESOL classes and then Laura also shared that the classes that she and Pedro attend is actually closer- at Gaithersburg High School!

-Pedro stepped up to co- facilitate the last meeting by leading the opening and closing!

-Roberto shared  a really funny story about his interview in a restaurant where he had to cook and he told his interviewer that “no one cooks like me!” Then, as he was cooking rice, he got distracted by a woman who was struggling to wash her dog close by. Being the nice person he is, he offered to help her, but forgot about his meal and it burnt! See video below for more of the story.

-Maricar expressed how much she looks forward to this weekly meeting  and that if she ever became rich, she would make sure everyone in the group was taken care of, but for now, her contribution is that she prays for everyone in the group daily!

Hugh Bailey has also been an integral part of the group by helping with the workforce development piece, and last week shared some resume tips! See below for video.

Back at it

So, after having taking a three week break–beginning with last month’s blizzard–the Nob Hill support group met again two Wednesdays ago to continue planning for its very own ESOL class. Unfortunately, being the only three residents to show up, Juventina, Melvis and Rosario were obviously dissapointed at the apparent loss of momentum that we had been building for weeks before the break. After an honest yet tough conversation about the future of the group, including the importance of the group itself assuming more and more ownership over whatever it ends up doing, we were back on track. We decided that we would once again plan a door knocking for the following week to invite neighbors to an open house on the launching of the ESOL class.

But once again this past Wednesday night, 7pm came around and Melvis and Rosario found themselves stood up. Even in being aware of the valid reasons for the other members’ absence–Melvis personally called a fellow member to find out why he couldn’t make it–they still were left feeling somewhat deflated and let down. They had skipped their weekly church service only to show up to an empty room. After explaining to them that I not only understood their frustration, but shared it, we decided that while it was too late to still go door knocking, we should still have something to show for our meeting. Melvis suggested that we go ahead with making the flier about the openhouse/celebration that we’ve planned to hold as a kick off the week before the beginning of the ESOL. So we did.

But it soon became obvious that this wasn’t going to be such a simple task as you might imagine. First, neither Melvis or Rosario knew how to turn on the computer. Then, with them sitting beside me at separate computers, we went through the basics of opening a document, saving it, changing the font, shifting text position, using Word Art (which their son showed me how to use)..etc. Then, even with the basics covered, we still had to come up with an agenda for the openhouse before we could think of a catchy title. In having them throw out all their ideas for what they saw the openhouse as potentially achieving, it became clear that they see what we’re doing as far more than just starting our own ESOL class–which in and of itself is a worthy goal. In their own words: “You are invited by your neighbors to come and express your ideas for how we can best use the community center as a way of addressing our biggest personal and community problems. We’ve had the idea of starting an ESOL class and would love to have you help us do it, but if you have your own idea, come so we can do that too!” After making final adjustments and edits, I looked to the couple to see what they thought. Together they said: “Beautiful!”

While instead of taking a few minutes, the simple task of putting together a flier took over 2 hours. But seeing how proud Melvis and Rosario were to be able to claim the flier as a product of their own hard work reminded me of just how important moments like these are in the development of one’s personal confidence, and eventually their capacity to take charge of their lives.

Tuesday, more than a get together.

This past Tuesday, twenty five neighbors got together at the Neighborhood Service Center to share their daily experiences and ideas in how to build a better support network for each other. To start, we posed the following questions to our neighbors:

• How long have you lived in Wheaton?
• What do you like most about your neighborhood?
• How have you helped a neighbor in the past?

Many of them had lived many years in the Wheaton area (Martha and Daniel for 16 years!) and had chosen to live here for the great services, sense of security, good school system and access to transportation facilities. The best part of this activity was the way many neighbors had helped other neighbors. For example, Alpha helped his neighbor dig his car out from the snow. Martha helps her neighbors look for jobs on line. Another Martha drives her neighbors’ kids to school.  We found out that everyone has helped someone in need recently.

Gavin and Daniel talking about how they have helped their neighbors

We also gave them time to share their announcements, questions and own experiences on how they can support each other, but what made an IMPACT that Tuesday night was the way neighbors went beyond their own needs to help the needs of others. Martha told the group about a nanny job she knew about. Miguel offered to help Yesenia find afterschool programs for her son.

Based on the groups’ questions this week, we decided to have a smaller conversation next Tuesday about where to look for jobs.

Yesenia and Martha exchanging information on how to build a better neighborhood together.

Counting the days to meet next TUESDAY and TOGETHER hear how IMPACT changed the way they see their neighborhood now.

You Can’t Dream If You Are Hungry…

To support Montgomery County’s food drive in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Neighbors Campaign organized food collection at two Giants this weekend. In Wheaton, we partnered with our friends at the Latino Economic Development Corporation and spent the day celebrating the generous spirit of our neighbors.

our first donation!

We had a big, boisterous group of volunteers all day — check out these pictures:

Danielle, Sophie, Noelle, Rachel, Susanne and Katherine

IMPACT and LEDC volunteers during the morning shift

Neighbor Corps participants Miguel and Roxanne with their kids and our new friend Katherine from Study Circles

the last shift!

Thanks to everyone who donated food, volunteered their time and especially to Molly and Frankie for driving two car-fulls of food to Manna!

Maria and our youngest donor

some of what we collected

Taking The Next Step!

For the past three months, the Wheaton Neighbor Corps has been meeting to develop and realize their vision for the Wheaton community.  The adventure has included personal relationship building, door knocking, hosting a Neighbors Exchange, and other important connections.  This past Saturday, the Neighbor Corps participants celebrated their accomplishments and looked forward to the next stage of their involvement in the Neighbors Campaign.

We spent the morning looking back at all we accomplished over the program, including watching a slideshow of all our sessions and events.  Amie shared a story of personal transformation, how she has become closer to group participants and felt more comfortable opening up to others.  Miguel noted that due to his participation in Neighbor Corps, he was able to refer his neighbors to the Neighborhood Service Center.

Amie Jallah sharing her Neighbor Corps story

After lunch, we began looking into the future.  How could we use the relationships and skills learned in Neighbor Corps to begin realizing our vision for Wheaton?  One possibility was to support Tuesdays Together at Catholic Charities.  Every Tuesday night, the Neighbors Campaign will be using Catholic Charities as a community gathering space (more information coming soon!).  We brainstormed possible ideas for Tuesdays Together and many agreed to participate in continued planning.

Later in the day, some guests came to celebrate the Wheaton Neighbor Corps.  Neighbors Campaign participants from Long Branch and Gaithersburg shared their activities and learned more about the Neighbor Corps program.  Uma Ahluwalia and Kate Garvey from Montgomery County Health and Human Services came and offered their support to the Neighbor Corps group.  We all had a great time learning from each other and connecting to new people.

It is amazing to think that just three months ago, the Wheaton Neighbor Corps was a group of disconnected people, nervous to head to an overnight retreat with nearly 20 strangers.  Now I cannot wait to see what this group of neighbors will continue to accomplish.  Keep your eye out in Wheaton for Tuesdays Together and get ready for the next Neighbor Corps in Gaithersburg!

Maria Lopez and Uma Ahluwalia enjoy the Neighbor Corps celebration