NEWSLETTER
SPRING | 2013
STATEN
ISLAND
New Americans Welcome Center
IMMIGRATION NATION: OUR TEACHERS SHARE THEIR STORIES
Our last newsletter highlighted our students and their
successes. We now highlight those who work in the
shadows helping our students achieve. Although our
teachers come from different countries (Argentina, Italy,
Laura Jimenez
My name is Laura Jimenez; I
was born in Guadalajara, México, the
birthplace of Mariachi music and
Tequila. I came to the United States
when I was 4 months old. I grew up in
a mixed immigrant neighborhood in
San Leandro, California. My
neighborhood was a melting pot, there
were people from Portugal, Italy,
France and we were from Mexico. I
remember having Portuguese
homemade bread for breakfast made
by my neighbor Maria, which in my
memories I can still smell. My parents
were hard working immigrants with
very solid roots. My mother was a
creative, happy house wife, always
helping us with every task we needed
to do. My father was a hard working
immigrant who came to this country
when he was 15 years old. I have
three siblings. When I was six years
old we moved back to Guadalajara and
Mexico, Pakistan, and Russia) they all share the common
goal of helping our students to learn English and engage in
their new community. Each one shares their unique
experience of coming to America.
I struggled very much to learn Spanish
and adapted to my new life, but
thanks to my mother and my kind
extended family I successfully blended
into school and everyday activity. I
went to college and I graduated as an
Industrial Designer. After College I
needed a change and I decided to go
to Barcelona for 6 months and I
traveled through Europe. I went back
to Mexico and I worked for Yellow
Pages and an Advertising TV and radio
station.
One day I had the need to
move on and challenge myself so I
decided to go to California and live
with my brother. Months after, I met
my husband and I decided to move to
New York where he lived. I have been
in New York since 1998. I worked for
three years as a Premise Account
manager for Verizon. I got married and
then decided to take a break and
switch to the moms career, “stay at
home mom”. I have two wonderful
daughters who I nurture with lots of
love every day. In 2005, I started
teaching as a volunteer in a program
called “Plazas Comunitarias” and after
that I was hired as a ESL teacher. It
has been a wonderful journey, teaching
others is so fulfilling and gives me
more than what I can expect. I love
teaching, cooking and photography.
Francesca Molanphy
When I, my mother and baby
brother arrived in New York to join the
rest of the family who had preceded
us, none of us knew a word of English,
except my Dad who had spent some
time here in the twenties, as a young
man. We lived in the Lower Eastside
of New York, in a cold-water, railroadroom tenement house, with no bath
and a toilet out in the hallway. The
tenement was right by the
Williamsburg Bridge, which kept some
of us awake with the rumblings of each
passing train. Of course, one got used
to it.
pg 2
pg 3
pg 4
Our Teachers’ Stories Continued
ASK YOUR NAWC
Immigrant Heritage Week 2013
MEET TEACHER RICHARD SANDERS
IMMIGRATION
NATION (Cont’d)
Staten Island Teachers Share their
Stories
“Eventually, my Father decided that he had no choice but to bring his family to America, where the
streets were, supposedly, paved with gold.” Francesca Molanphy NAWC Teacher
(Francesca Molanphy Continued)
There were eleven of us in the
family, which included my parents, five
sisters, three brothers, and grandma,
too. We had to go, once a week, to the
public baths to get properly
washed. This wasn't that unusual, in
those days, to all who lived in Tenement
houses even longer than we did. Our
apartment at night was wall-to-wall
beds. There was no central heating, no
air-conditioning, not even a fan. In the
summer, most people after dinner would
walk over to the East River Park, just to
cool off before going to sleep. It was
like a mass exodus. It wasn't until 1951,
that my family was able to scrape
together enough for a down payment on
a three-family house in Brooklyn. My
parents rented the upper two small
apartments which helped them with the
mortgage payments. But, haaa.... we
finally had a bath and hot water heaven!
Deborah Salmon
In 2001, a big social economic
crisis hit Argentina, so my husband and I
decided to build a better and more stable
future for our two children here in the
United States. We made a big sacrifice,
in order to provide them with a better
education.
It was a big and difficult change
in our lives. We had to leave behind our
family, friends, jobs and traditions.
2
A new life began for all of us.
My husband and I decided to continue
learning the English language as best
as we could in order to adjust to the
new country in a better way. The
Jewish Community of Staten Island
opened its doors to us and we
started with our first ESL class. We
liked it because it was not only a
place where we could learn the
language—it was a place where we
found people with similar stories with
whom we could also socialize.
At that time around 2004 I decided
to volunteer to help other
immigrants, so I started to work at
the JCC as an assistant teacher in a
parenting class for a family Literacy
Program. After doing that for one
year I had the possibility to have my
own group of students.
At the same time I decided to
create my own group to serve the
Latino Community with Basic
Education in their native language
(Plazas Comunitarias). I was the
coordinator of this program for 3
years, providing them with Spanish
Literacy Classes. For some students
this was their first chance to learn
how to read and write in their native
language.
ASK
YOUR
NAWC
Q:
Q
A:
Q:
A:
Q:
Q
A:
I have questions
regarding my
immigration status.
How do I know what
the next steps are
towards my path to
Citizenship?
Immigration Law is
difficult to
understand. Call us
at 718-981-4382
to make a free legal
consultation with an
immigration lawyer.
I have heard that I can
file for my Citizenship
online but I am not
very good with
computers. Is there
any help available for
me?
Yes, you are
welcome to come to
the NAWC and file
your application
online with our
assistance. Call our
office at 718-9814382 to make an
appointment.
cipation and more
Is it possible to attend
English as a Second
Language Classes and
Citizenship Classes at
the same time?
Yes, it is possible
but we always
recommend that you
have a basic
understanding of
English before
beginning
Citizenship classes.
(Deborah Salmon Continued)
In 2010 I started to work in the
New American Welcome Center teaching
basic ESL for students who had a very low
level in their native language. My goal was
to welcome them and work very hard to help
them engage with the English language and
try to help them lose their anxiety and fears
towards it.
I started to look at my life from a
different perspective, far away from a big
city I had lived in before coming to the US,
where I had sat comfortably in my office
working as a psychologist; My life seemed
to be heading in a completely different
direction than it had, and it was acquiring a
new purpose. I realized I had become very
fond of this place.
3
Kauser Akhund
These are my reflections of my
immigration to USA. I came to the U.S. in
1978 along with my husband, who was
working at an International Bank and
transferred to their New York branch. At
least for the initial few months I felt so
homesick that I wanted to go back.
However, once we settled in, started
going out, made new friends, and began
to understand and appreciate the
system, realized the freedom of
information and expression, the respect
for law, the choice to reside
permanently became clearly irresistible.
It was around that time, and a
matter of pleasant coincidence, that the
General Manager of the Bank’s U.S.
Operations asked my husband to stay
longer than the normal tenure of five
years. As an agreement, the Bank’s
management filed papers for our
permanent residence, which culminated
in naturalization.
We have two sons and the
younger one was born here in New
York. After having lived here for the
last thirty-plus years, I firmly believe
that all one has to do is put in an
honest effort and then reap the reward.
Meet Richard Sanders, our newest Team
Member at the NAWC!
by Richard Sanders
Can you image facing a group of adults, not
children, in a classroom setting? The adults are
from various countries, speaking different
•
languages, with very different cultures. They have
gathered in classrooms to realize a single goal: to
become American citizens. Perhaps some of us
•
take being a citizen for granted but I assure you
the desire still burns deep in the hearts of the
people who struggle to come here.
•
As teachers of English as a Second Language we
face many challenges. To face these challenges
•
and help our students to reach their goal of
American Citizenship we always keep in mind:
• The quality of education that we provide
our students
• The need to teach to their strengths rather
than their weaknesses
• To keep the teaching relevant to their lives
while keeping the goal in mind
• To constantly reflect on how our work is
proceeding in order to judge
what is needed
To reflect globally while still
meeting the individual needs of
our adult students
To provide additional support to
the students when needed
through the YMCA and other
agencies
To constantly anticipate their
needs
And finally, to work to earn our
students’ trust that what we are
doing will lead to their ultimate
goal of Citizenship.
YMCA New Americans Welcome Center
285 Vanderbilt Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10304
(718) 981-4382
www.ymcanewamericans.org
Immigrant Heritage Week 2013 with the Ellis Island Park Rangers
And the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
On April 24th, 2013, the NAWC participated in “Punching the Ticket” – an interactive presentation created especially for recent
immigrants. As immigrants finished processing at Ellis Island, many confronted the difficulties of communicating with others in a
different language. Symphonies of Italian, Russian, and a host of other languages filled the air as they made their way to their new
homes. In “Punching the Ticket” the Ellis Island Park Rangers explored with the students some of the communicative challenges and
other difficulties immigrants faced as they settled in their new country. Our students, many of whom are new immigrants, were
able to experience and connect with the experiences of newcomers arriving 100 years ago.
Later in the day, the NAWC experienced “We are Ellis Island.” They were treated to the award-winning documentary “Island of
Hope; Island of Tears.” The documentary chronicles the moving stories of people and families with dreams of opportunity leaving
their homeland with what they could carry. The film also contains magnificent archival footage from Ellis Island when it was the
primary port of entry for millions of European immigrants. They were also treated to a conversation with an Ellis Island Park
Ranger who engaged the students in a lively discussion while reenacting the reception process for immigrants upon arrival at Ellis
Island.
Bronx YMCA New Americans Welcome
Center at Glebe Senior Center
2125 Glebe Ave. Bronx NY 10462
Flushing YMCA New Americans Welcome
Center at the Flushing YMCA Branch
138-46 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354
Ruben Arce, NAWC Program
Coordinator [email protected]
917-673-8688
Kathy Liu, NAWC Program Coordinator
[email protected] 718-961-6880, ext.123
Tania Alor, NAWC Counselor
[email protected] 917-721-0748
Grace Kim, NAWC Counselor
[email protected] 718-961-6880, ext.
121
Chinatown YMCA New Americans
Welcome enter at the Chinatown YMCA
Beacon Center
100 Hester Street, New York, NY
10002
Harlem YMCA New Americans Welcome
Center at the Harlem YMCA Outreach Center
(Family Welcome Center #1)
2627 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., New
York, NY 10039
Jie Ling Chen, NAWC Program
Coordinator [email protected]
212-219-8393
Thalia Kwok, NAWC Program Coordinator
[email protected] 212-690-4024
Stephanie Chan, NAWC Counselor
[email protected] 212-219-8393
Terita Givens, NAWC / Lit Zone Partnership
Coordinator, [email protected]
212-690-4024
Abraham Magana, NAWC / Lit Zone Ed.
Case Manager,
[email protected]
212-690-4024
Prospect Park YMCA New Americans
Welcome Center at the Prospect Park
YMCA Branch
357 9th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215
Nabila Khan, NAWC Program
Coordinator, [email protected]
212-912-2375
Joanna Zant, NAWC Counselor
[email protected] 212-912-2378
Staten Island YMCA New Americans
Welcome Center at the Staten Island
YMCA Counseling Center
285 Vanderbilt Ave., Staten Island,
NY 10304
Rachael Rinaldo, NAWC Program
Coordinator, [email protected]
718-981-4382, ext. 17
Regina Marks, NAWC Program
Counselor, [email protected]
718-981-4382, ext. 1513
Darragh Murphy-Caplan, ONA
Education Case Mgr./Counselor,
[email protected]
718-981-4382, ext.1513
ELESAIR Project at the
Association Office
5 West 63rd St., New York, NY
10023
Dio Gica, Program Manager
[email protected]
212-875-4336
Lorna Blancaflor,
Program Coordinator
[email protected]
212-875-4345