“It felt important to let our immigrant neighbors, like my students and their families, know that our community welcomes them and wants them to feel safe with us,” says Reading Together volunteer Kathryn Brignac.
Kathryn, a Kingston resident who works as a livestock and natural resources educator, takes time out every week to help an eleven-year-old immigrant girl improve her English language abilities by reading to her. Shu (not her real name) and her family arrived in the US only a few months ago; Shu spoke very little English. Because Shu is interested in art, Kathryn and Shu have been reading books including Frida Kahlo‘s Animalitos and Yayoi Kusama, Covered Everything In Dots and Wasn’t Sorry. To help build Shu’s culinary vocabulary, they’ve also read The Vegetables We Eat.
The main goal of Reading Together is just to help a child with reading in English, explains UIDN volunteer and program founder Jo Salas. But Reading Together involves more than just language training, she adds. Reading partners typically become friends with the child’s family. Nowadays, such connections are especially meaningful and can be a way to provide practical support such as Know Your Rights information.
“I hope that the work I do with students like Shu will let her have a good life here and accomplish her goals, since that is why her parents made the choice to leave home and come here. Immigrants are a great addition to our community,” Kathryn enthuses.
Originally from New Orleans, Kathryn was already experienced in education as a result of her work with nonprofit organizations and food cooperatives.
Teaching someone whose native tongue is Chinese is particularly tough, says Kathryn. “We’ve worked a lot on basic pronunciation. Some English concepts are really challenging to explain. She has definitely learned a lot. I think she’s gaining confidence and has learned a lot of new words,” Kathryn notes.
Kathryn wants potential volunteers to know that UIDN’s Reading Together program is one option for contributing in a rewarding and meaningful way. Even with a full-time job and other volunteer activities, she notes that she still has time to support local immigrants.
Find out more about Reading Together by contacting uidn@ulsterimmigrantdefensenetwork.org.
