Hiawatha Public Library provides permanent home for Bhutanese learners

By:Brea Love.
HIAWATHA, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) – The Hiawatha Public Library teamed up with the
 Catherine McAuely Center to provide English classes for a group of Bhutanese refugees.

The group fled their home of Bhutan out of need and moved to American start a new life.
Most of them settled in Hiawatha, but with the Catherine McAuely Center’s downtown
location, many of them had no means of transportation.

That’s when the Hiawatha Public Library offered to turn the center’s English course
 into a library program, which provided a permanent space within a mile radius of
their homes.

“We offered that space to them and it has just blossomed into a really great program,”
Library Director
 Jeaneal Weeks said. “The Bhutanese people come every week, and they’re so excited
 to learn. When there is no class they come asking for class.”

It’s that dedication that inspires the instructor Katie Lanius. She said teaching the course
 is her favorite part of the week.

“This group is so motivated and so hardworking that I kind of feed off of their enthusiasm,”
 Lanius said. “They are walking a mile or two to come to class. They do it in the freezing
 temperatures, they do it in the rain, when it’s really warm in the summers, so they’re
motivation is extremely high.”

The students are a variety of ages, between 20 and 70 years old. Some of them have at most
six years of education, others have none. Lanius spends time working on things as simple
as colors or some of the more advance students preparing for their citizenship interview.

“Anyone can learn English at any age, but the older you get the more challenging it gets

 your brain just isn’t as quick or receptive to picking up a new language,” she said.

Student Bala Edhikari is studying for his citizenship. He said he’s thankful he has the
opportunity to come to class every week.

“We have no English in our country we are from Bhutan, we are learning English here,
some people don’t know how to write read,” Edhikari said. “They teach everything, 

but some of my friends they don’t know.”

Lanius uses patience and repetition, and assures each student they can learn with time.

“The English empowers them to be more comfortable talking with their children’s teachers,
my students are now being able to obtain jobs,” she said.

Lanius is grateful for the library and their help to make sure these Bhutanese students 

succeed.

Avenue W: A gathering place for all nations

By:Thia James.

Chhiring Tamang was only nine years old when her family had to leave Bhutan to live in a refugee camp in Nepal.

Nearly three years ago, she and her husband left Nepal for Canada, following her brother Ramesh’s path to a new life in Saskatoon. Ramesh is the Nepalese group’s pastor at the Meadowgreen House for All Nations on Saskatoon’s Avenue W South, where Chhiring — known as Puunam to those closest to her — learns English.

There, they also found a friend in Pastor Rick Guenther, who oversees the House for All Nations.

“He can help us, everything. How to respect people, how to deal with friends, everything when we move to another place,” she says.

Chhiring lived in the Nepalese refugee camp for 18 years. Her family’s home was made of bamboo and their kitchen was constructed with mud. The home was decorated with paper crafts.

The family was among the many thousands of ethnic Nepalese who were subject to restrictive policies in Bhutan. The Bhutanese royal government enacted those policies in the late 1980s out of fear over the growing ethnic Nepalese population within its borders.

Her grandmother urged the family to leave Bhutan and join her in the refugee camp out of fear for their safety.

When she came to Saskatoon, she went to the Open Door Society.

“Very difficult when we came here,” she recalls. “In my country, we always speak our language only. Only Nepalese.”

At school, she took English classes. At home, she spoke Nepalese.

After taking programs through the Open Door Society — one of the programs partnered with the Meadowgreen House for All Nations — she found work at Superstore.

Refugees in West Michigan: A growing population looking for help

BY BRODY CARTER

WEST MICHIGAN – Former refugee Krishna Bista is helping hundreds of fellow Napoli refugees establish a new life after being forced from their homes in their native country.

“At age 5, in 1990, I left Bhutan with my uncle’s family and grandma,” said Bista. “We were part of a mass exodus of culturally Nepali Bhutanese expelled by the King of Bhutan who wanted to create an ethnically pure society."

For the next 18 years, Bista lived in a refugee camp in southeastern Nepal, losing hope along the way.

“I remember thinking once that God had created refugees because He took delight in their misery,” said Bista.

Bista came to Grand Rapids as a refugee with his family in 2008, finding his struggle had just begun.

“The biggest problem is the language, language is the big issue,” said Bista.

Bhutanese refugees in Nepal pledged $1m support

The United States has confirmed a US$1 million contribution for the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide food assistance to refugees from Bhutan living in Nepal. The contribution from the United States will help WFP provide basic food such as rice, pulses and vegetable oil for nearly 17,000 refugees.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been supporting WFP’s refugee operation in Nepal for the past 10 years.

“USAID’s contribution to WFP is part of our global effort to respond to protracted crises. The United States has contributed almost US$34 million to provide food assistance to refugees from Bhutan in Nepal between 2006 and 2016,” said Amy Tohill-Stull, Acting Mission Director, USAID/Nepal. “The United States has also become home to the great majority of resettled Bhutanese refugees.”

“The refugee community is very happy about the news of USAID’s support and I would like to thank donors for their support for the Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal,” said Champa Singh Rai, Camp Secretary of Sanischare refugee camp.

“WFP is grateful to USAID for this generous support, especially at this time of unprecedented global needs of refugees,” said Pippa Bradford, WFP Representative and Country Director. “Predictable and secure funding like this is important for the effective longer-tem management of an operation, as well as showing commitment to the refugees.

Source:Kathmandupost.