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

The Nations at the Lunch Table

3/25/2021

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You wouldn't notice if you passed them in the courtyard, but their outdoor lunch table is a study in cross-cultural acceptance. These Iraqis and Americans see nothing strange about sharing a meal every weekday. (The one time in the school day, by the way, when they take off their masks.) Some of them have been friends for years and some have joined the table in the last few months.

ELL: Much More Than a School Subject

11/30/2020

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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.

From Bully to Friend: A Middle School Story

10/5/2020

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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.

More Alike Than Different

8/3/2020

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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.

Emily Takes Some Pictures

1/28/2020

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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

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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

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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.

He Left with a Smile

10/14/2019

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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.

Safaa Can Always Smile

9/3/2019

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Afternoons in southern Iraq are hot. Working in his university’s research gardens, Safaa Alshuwaili was sweating when he noticed an interesting ant and followed it back to its hive. That ant belonged to the first of five ant species he found, classified, and named while studying there. In 2010, Safaa graduated with his master’s degree in environmental science.

He took a position at another university, where he taught insect taxonomy and classification for seven years. Then he received a scholarship to continue his studies in the United States. Safaa left his parents and five siblings in Iraq, landing in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Christmas time in 2013. He spoke almost no English.

2018 & 2019

7/17/2019

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Sundays are different at Lennon-Seney United Methodist Church these days. Swahili songs bounce off the beautiful stained-glass windows, and people greet a few church members as “Teacha” when they pass.

Just one year before this was written, Pastor McLain and others looked across the chain-link fence separating their church property from an apartment complex full of African refugees. How could they reach these new neighbors? How could they tangibly love them? How could they break through the figurative fence separating the two cultures?

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She came to Knoxville alone: a widow with three small children, fleeing an ongoing conflict in her African home country. She found an English class and attended faithfully all summer. With a small child on each hand and her baby strapped to her back, she wrote down every word and asked many questions, but she needed to learn more quickly, so she added another day of classes.

Soon she found a job, but she had to take the bus to get there. That's where things got confusing.

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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.

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It was August, but a cool breeze kept everyone comfortable beneath the dark wooden arches of the pavilion. Covered dishes crowded onto two long tables. I had peeked beneath every foil covering and inside every cling-wrapped container, and, like I do every Thanksgiving, I wondered when someone would finally decide it was time to eat. There were familiar dishes like mac-and-cheese and unfamiliar offerings, like chat masala. (photo credit: Yahya Sami Alseiha)

One recent Monday morning, their instructor shared the history behind Thanksgiving, but even after defining many vocabulary words, the questions piled up. Among the most difficult were those about Native Americans: Why were they called “Indians”? Where did they come from? Where are they now?

READY TO GET INVOLVED?
This church in East Knoxville realized the nations were--literally--next door. By partnering with KIN, they found a way to welcome and help their international neighbors. When you're ready to engage the nations already around you, let us know. We'd love to walk that journey with you or your church! Contact us anytime.

Neighborhood Walk

5/6/2019

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Esther’s kids walked six blocks to and from school every day. It was less than a mile each way. As a child back in Africa, Esther and her siblings had walked much further without giving it a second thought. There were homes along the way, so Esther never imagined her kids were unsafe.

Victoria's Venezuela

4/8/2019

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I was just nine years old and I didn’t know how the only thing I knew…how my whole world was going to change.

My parents told my sister and me we had to move from Venezuela, the place where I was born, because it was getting hard for my dad to work there. I was little, so at first, I didn’t pay much attention to it. But as the days went by, I started thinking about my family, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Was I ever going to see them again?

Backpack Blessings

1/21/2019

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Remember the excitement of the first day of school? Remember how proudly you shouldered your new backpack and marched into school?

International children now have the same feeling after they visit the Knox County Schools Welcome Center, where new families enroll their children in school throughout the year. Every child receives a well-stocked backpack, readying them for that first day in their new schools.

Replacing Ronaldo's Hope

12/3/2018

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A bomb robbed young Ronaldo of much of his hearing. Then an international move robbed him and his family of their home and everything familiar. It’s no surprise Ronaldo struggled in school after they reached Knoxville. He couldn’t hear well, and what he heard wasn’t always understandable. He couldn’t sit still in class. He couldn’t finish his homework, and he resisted discipline at school. Ronaldo was frustrated. His parents were desperate.

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