Dec. 22, 2022:
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Last week, the Refugee & Immigrant Transitions team counted how many languages we speak collectively… we’re now at 20!
Thanks to your support, in addition to education and leadership programs, RIT works with newcomer communities in their home languages. Read on to see what that looks like.
Meet Maria, RIT’s Community Navigator supporting 60 schools in Oakland.
Like many immigrants from Guatemala, Maria speaks several languages: English, Spanish, and her native language, Mam (an Indigenous Mayan language). Mam speakers are a major and growing group of newcomers in Oakland Unified School District.
Pictured: Maria shared her culture and customs at RIT’s 40th anniversary (as part of Guatemalan performance collective, Rosendo Aguilar Group). Maria is in the center.
At RIT, Maria interprets for families and assists with all kinds of complex needs, such as “filling out enrollment forms, assisting parents in locating school options, parent teacher conferences, Special Ed meetings for students with learning differences, student therapy, Medi-Cal referrals, legal interpretation for lawyers working with unaccompanied minors,” and much more. “We make sure that our clients get clear information and create some level of confidence”, she says.
“One of the big challenges is that there is so much school paperwork to be completed and require their initials,” Maria highlights. “It is just impossible for any non-English speaker to do so without assistance in their own language.”
Pictured: RIT welcome sign
Language is powerful.
Language is connection, knowledge, humor, songs, parents, traditions. For immigrants, having someone in the community to speak one’s language, can bring comfort, connection to home, and a sense of belonging.
In addition to Mam and Spanish, RIT delivers services in Burmese, Dari, Pashto, Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, and other common languages of Bay Area newcomers. And we continue to grow our language capacity. We are seeking to hire speakers of other languages, including Ukrainian.
Together, we shape a more welcoming future. Thank you for being a part of it!
P.S. Have you seen RIT's 40th anniversary video? Please check it out (featuring Maria and Rosendo Aguilar Group's performance!)