Refugee Friendship Partner
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Description
Mission: To help a new refugee adapt and
adjust to American life by providing
friendship, advice and companionship.
Time Commitment: Two hours a week for at least six months
Location: Friendship Partners meet on a regular basis in the
refugee?s home. Special outings are encouraged to such places as the library, park, museum, post office, church, and even perhaps Chicago!
- Be a ?cultural broker? for your refugee partner
- Answer questions from your refugee partner about American life
- Help refugee with conversational English (they will also go to ESL class and perhaps may have an in-home tutor)
- Learn about your refugee partner?s culture and background
- Promote self-sufficiency for your refugee family
- Notify World Relief staff of questions and concerns
- Encourage others to volunteer with World Relief
Procedure: - Fill out volunteer application
- Meet with the volunteer coordinator for orientation and interview
- Attend Cross-Cultural and Refugee Issues Training during
your first 2 months of volunteering (held once a month)
- Meet refugee partner with WR staff on the first visit
- Commit to weekly meetings with refugee partner
Requirements
- Agreement with World Relief?s mission, policies, and procedures
- Desire to learn and grow from volunteer experience
- Active listening skills
- Ability to deal with occasional misunderstandings with refugee partner