The Impact of Knoxville Internationals Network - KIN - KIN - CONNECT

Smart Girls and Smoke Detectors

1/22/2021

2021 n01
Celia heard the beep as soon as she entered the apartment. Using Google translate, she asked Sada, “What is that noise?” But Sada didn’t know, so Celia followed the sound to the smoke detector in the hallway. She showed Sada and tried to explain that they needed to change the battery.

Sada and her husband, Abe, fled their home after Abe’s life was threatened because of his work with the US military.

ELL: Much More Than a School Subject

11/30/2020

2020 n17
What keeps you going to work every day?

For Emma,* an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher, it’s the other teachers at her school and the kids in her classroom. Emma has been teaching at a local middle school for seven years now.

In ELL, Emma has the same students across several years, often until they test out of ELL services. That means she gets to know them and their families personally.

An Eagle Scout and an Elder Stateman

11/9/2020

2020 n16
It sounds like the beginning of a joke: An Eagle Scout and an elder stateman walk into a used bookstore…

But it’s not a joke. It’s the kind of thing that happens often in KIN’s LaMP program.

From Bully to Friend: A Middle School Story

10/5/2020

2020 n15
When our culture instructor surveyed her class about possible topics to discuss, two mothers—one from Iraq and one from Thailand—asked about bullying. The Iraqi mother said that before they fled Iraq, they had many enemies, but they thought things would be different here in America. Now her middle-schooler dreaded going to school because some kids bullied him constantly because of his race. Both mothers were discouraged and hurting for their children.

The Books Are Free!

9/7/2020

2020 n14
Where is the one place you can—for free—find books:

to help your children with math,
to learn how to cook something new,
to improve your English skills,
and to entertain your children for a few minutes?

“It’s the library, of course,” you say. But what if you had never seen a library?

More Alike Than Different

8/3/2020

2020 n13
Sarah’s purple hair catches many by surprise, so she walked into her KIN interview willing to change the color if Jani, KIN’s Volunteer Outreach Coordinator, thought she should. But Jani loved it, and Sarah began her internship with KIN a couple of days later.

As a college senior, Sarah already knew she wanted a career helping those without a voice in society.

Green Cards and Blue Passports

6/30/2020

2020 n12
With their lives threatened back at home, Quincy, Katie,* and their two boys arrived in Knoxville six years ago carrying passports from Iraq. Quincy’s English was fairly good, but Katie didn’t speak any English until she began attending English classes near her home. They didn’t travel much with just US Green Cards.

In 2019, after the required five years of residency, Quincy took and passed the US citizenship test at his first opportunity.

A Man With No Country

6/16/2020

2020 n11
Tim* and his family walked away from their home when he was eleven. The Sunni and Shia sects of Islam were killing each other, and Christian families like Tim’s were caught in the middle. His father sold the factory he owned, they packed their most precious belongings in a few suitcases, they locked up their house, and they moved to the northern part of Iraq. Tim’s mother knew they would never go back.

They settled in a Kurdish city in northern Iraq—a place very different from their home city. Tim was the only Christian in his high school classes of forty students or more. Other kids would ask him and his sister, “Why don’t you convert to Islam?” After seven years, the pressure became too much.

Let's Buy a Home!

6/2/2020

2020 n10
For two years, O and H dreamed of owning a home. They talked about it while they were engaged and began saving as soon as they married. Even a move to the US and the expenses of a new baby didn’t thwart their plan. So, when their apartment lease was nearly up in 2019, they began searching for suitable property.

Like anyone else looking for a home, the search took awhile.

When Unprecedented is Good

5/19/2020

2020 n09
Twice a week, Mrs. W logs into an online meeting platform and connects with a family across town. The three siblings are lined up, ready to work with her for about 20 minutes each. Their father is there, too. He follows along, encouraging the children, but he usually learns a few new things himself, too.

The Encourager Professor

4/21/2020

2020 n07
With over 300 active volunteers, KIN representatives serve the international population of metro Knoxville in many ways. Only a few of those have changed since we began facing COVID-19. For example, while it may look a little different, one-on-one conversation and pronunciation practice continues. For example, Diane* began volunteering with KIN last fall.

One Chinese Story

3/24/2020

2020 n06
Mei* walked onto American soil two and a half years ago, the bride of a life-long Knoxville resident. She came from China. Here’s an interview with her, edited for length.

1. Briefly explain why you immigrated.
I met my now-husband on the internet. After a few months, we fell in love. He quit his job and moved to China to be with me. Occasionally, we had a hard time understanding each other due to the language barrier, but our relationship grew fast as we shared everyday life together.

The Van Was Loaded Down

2/25/2020

2020 n04
The back of FBC Concord’s 18-passenger van was loaded down with framed prints, floor rugs, linens, kitchen utensils, pottery, even a small statue. On a rainy November afternoon, all the talking fogged up the windows, too, providing a great “whiteboard” for an Arabic lesson.

That’s what happens when six Arab women (and two children) join four American women for a trip to the Great Smokies Flea Market!

Emily Takes Some Pictures

1/28/2020

2020 n02
Here’s a little “behind the scenes” story about something you may not know we do at KIN.

I (Judith) should have a bumper sticker that says, “You had me at falafel.” That’s why, when Jani, our volunteer outreach coordinator, asked me to accompany Emily* to Yassin’s Falafel House, I didn’t hesitate to agree.

Does Mentoring Make a Difference?

1/14/2020

2020 n01
Her tear-filled eyes wide, Abe’s mother pulled her teacher aside after adult English class one day in late August. Her teenage son, a high school senior, was failing chemistry at school and hiding in his room at home. Could the English instructor find a tutor for him? The instructor jumped into action, reaching out to several potential tutors before she found a very bright university student with a keen grasp of chemistry. They began meeting regularly, and Abe’s grades soon rose.

Hats, Scarves, and Gloves…oh, my!

12/3/2019

cold weather sets wrapped and ready to go

2019 n25
The calls went out within an hour of hearing the plan. Here at KIN, we love ELL (English Language Learner) teachers, and ELL teachers love their students.

At one local high school, the ELL teachers wanted to make sure every student had a Christmas gift. For some students, it’s their first Christmas in the US…and their first Christmas in the cold.

Of Holidays, Gravy, and Refugee Camps

11/20/2019

2019 n23
If you grew up in the United States, the story isn’t new for you. You know about the Pilgrims’ struggle to survive when they first arrived in the new land, about the Native Americans’ generosity and patience, and about that first Thanksgiving feast to celebrate a plentiful harvest.

But Thanksgiving is an exclusively American holiday, so for ten African adult English students meeting at a nearby middle school, everything about it is new—even the mashed potatoes.

What'cha Gonna Do?

10/22/2019

2019 n22
There’s English, and then there’s southern American. The ESL workbooks don’t teach southern American, which means the books don’t provide a few of the words our internationals need to understand their Knoxville neighbors.

One recent ESL class talked about contractions. The instructor handed out a list of common contractions, and the class reverse-engineered them to discover the full phrases behind each one.

He Left with a Smile

10/14/2019

2019 n21
He walked into the large room with no expression on his face. After a full day of kindergarten in a new classroom, in a new school, in a new country, he had nothing left to give. If anything, there was a bit of fear in his eyes. Three other children—two first graders and a second grader—entered with him.

An American lady approached him. Was she another teacher? She told him something in English, but he didn’t understand even the first word.

Our Fifth and Our Five Hundred

9/30/2019

2019 n19
Last week, Knoxville Internationals Network (a.k.a. KIN) did something we’ve never done before. We had a volunteer appreciation dinner. Why do such a thing now? Because we’re celebrating five years as a nonprofit, and it was only natural to celebrate our birthday by celebrating those at the heart of our organization: our volunteers!

In the past five years, more than 500 volunteers have passed through KIN.

About

Why KIN?
Our Team
KIN's History
Statement of Faith
Numbers & Need
KIN in the News

Contact KIN

865.235.1476
[email protected]

Mailing
PO Box 31052
Knoxville, TN 37930

Office
6300 Deane Hill Drive
Knoxville, TN 37919

Photos from shixart1985, jonkriz, shixart1985, Jocey K, Rod Waddington