Lydia Likes It

The volunteering life {conversation groups}

After working in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes for eight years, I've been thinking more and more about testing myself in a new format. Conversation groups aren't classes per se. There's no homework. No reading challenges. No tests. Conversation groups encourage students to interact with each other and with a facilitator/teacher, to get to know each other, and to share information and opinions. I've thought of a few conversation starters: (1) a list of very broad questions around a single topic (parenting, a visit to the doctor, cooking for the holidays, travel, meeting in a gym class, crafts, places to walk); and (2) reading and discussion of a recent newspaper article about a current event. Role playing could be fun, too: we all find ourselves in a new-to-us situation. How would we introduce ourselves and find out about the other people? I'm currently speaking with two agencies about possibly starting a conversation group, for a maximum of 10 students. I'll let you know how it works out.

The volunteering life {job interview practice}

Long-term commitments and one-off events share space in my volunteering life, and provide the balance I crave. The relationships I've nurtured with two nonprofit agencies that serve immigrants and refugees -- Jewish Vocational Services and International Institute of New England -- ensure that both types of opportunities, from both agencies, cross my desk frequently. Several months ago, during an in-person job interview practice session, I met a young woman who had come to Boston in early 2023. In Haiti, she had worked as an environmental scientist, but here she planned to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, for which there are many openings in the Boston area, so she could be self-supporting and also help her mother and other family back home. After we finished our 45-minute meeting, I gave her my contact information and offered to answer questions or provide any other help she needed as she continued her job search. A few days later, I got a message from her asking if I'd be willing to talk with her once a week, so she could practice her conversational English. And from that time, we've been Zooming for an hour every week, with no particular agenda, just talking and getting comfortable, with gentle corrections here and there. Lately we've been talking about the political situation in Haiti, the safety of her family there, and how we wish the violence would end. We're learning a lot from each other. Oh, by the way, she's found a great new job, too.

Making the impossible possible

Note: This post was written and published before the recent tragic death of seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza.

With the crisis in Gaza consuming so much of our current news from the Middle East, you've probably heard of World Central Kitchen and their effort to bring food to a starving population. You've seen photos of the dock they've built, and the cargo ship that is unloading almost 200 tons of desperately needed food. Nobody can tell WCK's story better than they can, so here is part of the story, in their own words, from their web site:

"Food is essential to life every single day, all over the world—and it is more important than ever in a crisis. Not only is a thoughtful, freshly prepared meal one less thing someone has to worry about in the wake of a disaster, it is a reminder that you are not alone, someone is thinking about you, and someone cares. Food has the power to be the nourishment and hope we need to pick ourselves back up in the darkest times. 

"In 2010, Chef José Andrés, ready to use his culinary knowledge and talent to help, headed to Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Cooking alongside displaced families in a camp, he was guided on the proper way to cook black beans the way Haitians like to eat them: mashed and sieved into a creamy sauce. It wasn’t just about feeding people in need—it was about listening, learning, and cooking side by side with the people impacted by the crisis. This is the real meaning of comfort food, and it’s the core value that José, along with his wife Patricia, used at the center of founding World Central Kitchen. 

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"World Central Kitchen’s team in Gaza offloaded almost 200 tons of desperately needed food that arrived on our first maritime aid shipment to the region. Carried on the Open Arms vessel, the cargo is part of Operation Safeena, our effort to bring as much aid as possible to Palestinians by sea. We have provided more than 37 million meals to families in war-torn Gaza by land, sea, and air since first responding to the conflict. The opening of this maritime corridor allows us to provide millions more meals.

"This first maritime shipment of food, including rice, flour, legumes, canned vegetables, and proteins, was organized alongside the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus. WCK teams built the jetty used to offload the aid so it can reach communities facing starvation as soon as possible."

Please visit WCK's web site to see more photos and read the latest news about this maritime operation, and this amazing organization.

Welcome Blanket, Part II

Sometimes, it's hugely satisfying to put two and two together. Ever since 2017, I've been crocheting Welcome Blankets for donation to refugee and immigrant families coming to the United States, and sending the blankets to Texas or Florida or somewhere along the Southwest border. Last year I learned of a local group of crafters who meet once a month at a library near me in the Boston area to spend an hour working on their Welcome Blankets, and discovered that a nearby neighbor was collecting and storing the blankets at her house. Wouldn't it be great, I thought, if the locally-made blankets could be donated to a local nonprofit organization? After I made a few initial inquiries, it turned out that I wasn't the first one to have this thought (surprise!), and in short order a connection between the International Institute of New England, which resettles refugee families, and our local Welcome Blanket group was cemented. My husband Ted and I provided the transportation for more than 60 blankets from storage to recipient agency. Now the blankets are on their way to new homes, and more blankets are in the works for another collection later this year.

The volunteering life {cooking for homeless teens}

Perhaps it was Volunteer Match that put Community Cooks in front of me. I can't quite remember, but I'm so happy I connected with this organization that coordinates small teams of people to cook a dinner for a local nonprofit agency, once a month. The Community Cooks team for which I signed up creates a multi-course dinner for a wonderful local organization called Bridge Over Troubled Waters, serving homeless youth ages 14-24 in the downtown Boston community. Each month, the coordinator assigns a course -- main meat, main vegetarian, pasta, vegetable or salad, dessert -- of 10-12 servings, that we prepare at home and drop off to the agency (only 4 blocks away!) in the late afternoon. We're careful to mark each dish we donate with ingredients, so nobody risks an allergic reaction, and with instructions to reheat, if necessary. It's fun to think about what young people might enjoy eating, and to cook for them. Last month, my assignment was dessert, and my husband Ted made a big chocolate sheet cake. Doesn't that sound perfect? Check out the web site to see other area agencies that can use a little bit of help.