In Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, Somali Bantus receive cultural orientation classes to prepare them for their new lives in the United States. Lessons include practical skills - how to turn a doorknob, use a stove, flush a toilet, fill a bathtub and set an alarm - as well as U.S. geography, weather, people, history and government, community services available in the U.S., rights and responsibilities of refugees, U.S. laws, housing, transportation, education, health care, employment and money management.
It's
an unusual classroom, consisting of a full kitchen and a bathroom complete with
toilet and sink that one would typically find in any American home. But this
classroom is in a Kenya refugee camp, and the students are Somali Bantu refugees
who are on their way to the United States.
A new culture and customs provide obstacles to any refugee group, and the Somali Bantus - with their lack of formal education or experience in an industrialized society - face challenges perhaps unmatched by any recent immigrants. However, with cultural orientation trainings and the help and guidance of resettlement agencies in the United States, Somali Bantus have the same strong prospects for success as previous refugee groups who have arrived and thrived.
The first 74 of some 12,000 Somali Bantus expected to resettle in the U.S. arrived from Kenya in late May, 2003. The IRC was responsible for 37 of the first group, and resettled them in Dallas, Salt Lake City and Tucson.
"Everyone knows how to say: 'Thank you, I am fine, hi, bye,'" Miro Marinovic, IRC's resettlement coordinator in Tucson, said of the three Somali Bantu refugee families who arrived there. The newcomers already knew how to differentiate American coins, taught in Kenya. But they do not know much more than that, and IRC staff has been going to the refugees? new apartments to show them how to perform various daily tasks, such as cooking pasta, eggs and vegetables on gas or electric stoves.
"They require a little extra care," Marinovic, himself a Bosnian refugee, explained. "You can't just explain it, you have to demonstrate everything step by step. For example, I went with the ladies to show them how to do laundry," he said.
"But it's also fun because they are so enthusiastic. We want to train this group really well and thoroughly, and then they can help the next refugee group," Marinovic added.
IRC's Dallas resettlement manager Ranko Milovanovic said the three families who arrived May 23, 2003 in Dallas are a little better off, as two of the younger people in the group of 18 speak English well. But they likewise need the demonstrations, he said.
Among the Somali Bantus, one percent of adults are estimated to have any functional literacy in English, and only an additional 35 percent are classified as semi-literate in any language. In Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp, the IRC teaches an eight-month "survival literacy" course in English and math, which includes instruction in telling time and using a calendar. In addition, a cultural orientation taught by the International Organization for Migration focuses on practical knowledge - how to turn a doorknob, use a stove, flush a toilet, fill a bathtub and set an alarm - and includes U.S. geography, weather, people, history and government, community services available in the U.S., rights and responsibilities of refugees, U.S. laws, housing, transportation, education, health care, employment and money management. The students also undergo pre-departure orientation in Kakuma and Nairobi, focusing on the complications of navigating the airport, immigration and customs.
IRC education staff in Kenya anticipated about 1,000 students in the first round of classes, but after only two months 4,975 students had enrolled, 40 percent of them women. This figure represented almost all adult Somali Bantu in the camp.