{"id":115,"date":"2019-05-16T16:51:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T21:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/?p=115"},"modified":"2019-05-22T13:57:11","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T18:57:11","slug":"from-refugee-camp-to-her-own-classroom-a-somali-woman-aspires-to-teach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/from-refugee-camp-to-her-own-classroom-a-somali-woman-aspires-to-teach\/","title":{"rendered":"From refugee camp to her own classroom, a Somali woman aspires to teach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignfull\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"907\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MARY1-907x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MARY1-907x1024.jpg 907w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MARY1-266x300.jpg 266w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MARY1-768x867.jpg 768w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MARY1.jpg 1175w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 907px) 100vw, 907px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From a refugee camp to her own classroom, a Somali woman aspires to teach<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide has-2-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Hamdi Farah lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for the first 12 years of her life before settling in Syracuse with her family. At first, she struggled in school but found a passion for teaching refugee children like herself at the North Side Learning Center.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:75px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:17.5px\">Listen to Hamdi Farah talk about how she found her passion for education by drawing on her own struggles with learning English in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MARYAUDIO_FINAL.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>By Mary Catalfamo<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Hamdi Farah knew in college that she wanted to be a teacher for the younger refugee children in Syracuse\u2019s Somali-American community, but she had doubts about the idea. How could she teach them English, for example, when she wasn\u2019t always sure of correct spellings herself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_01-1024x763.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160\" width=\"512\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_01-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_01-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_01-768x572.jpg 768w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_01.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Farah assists her students with the daily journaling activity. They can write on any topic for 15 minutes every day. (Mary Catafalmo\/NextGenRadio)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlthough I wanted to help kids and teach kids, I was always afraid of saying I wanted to be a teacher because I thought I was never good enough,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She recalled those earlier fears while sitting in the basement of the North Side Learning Center, a couple of floors below her own classroom. Farah is now the lead middle school teacher for girls at the center, which offers after-school programs for youth, along with adult classes in English literacy, as well as skills like sewing and financial literacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Farah, 22, teaches here three days a week, after she is done with her own classes. She graduates from Onondaga Community College in mid-May and plans to pursue her bachelor\u2019s in education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Farah spent the first 12 years of her life in a Kenyan refugee camp, where her parents met after fleeing civil war in Somalia. Farah describes a happy childhood in the camp; her parents worked and there was always food on the table. &nbsp;She wasn\u2019t always as passionate about learning as she is now though; she said her parents didn\u2019t push her to attend school in the Dadaab Refugee Complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlthough I didn\u2019t go to school regularly, my parents did put me in school and I hated it,\u201d Farah said. \u201cSo I would always skip school and nobody would say anything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignfull is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>Farah&#8217;s parents only gave her three months&#8217; notice before relocating to the United States. She envisioned living in a country so wealthy that robots would do her chores. \u201cI was devastated that there were no robots to wash my dishes,\u201d she joked. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Farah\u2019s family, which included eight siblings at the time, relocated to Buffalo, N.Y., in March 2009. There was still snow on the ground when they first arrived in the city. She remembers how unappealing the food was. \u201cThey were offering us these sandwich, and we don\u2019t really do sandwich. And I was like, \u2018Pork! Everything pork!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They found Buffalo isolating without a robust Somali community, which Farah said was a jarring contrast to the strong cultural and social networks Somali refugees have in Kenya. Her mother didn\u2019t feel comfortable letting her play outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt just felt like we were locked in a house when we first arrived. Like back in Kenya, I was used to just walking around, running around, playing around all day,\u201d Farah said. \u201cI was more free in Kenya.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a student in the United States, Farah said she experienced small acts of racism, and was bullied for how she pronounced English words. So her family moved to Syracuse almost two years later and resettled in the North Side, which has one of the city\u2019s highest concentrations of refugees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-17-at-9.25.35-AM-764x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-189\" width=\"382\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-17-at-9.25.35-AM-764x1024.png 764w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-17-at-9.25.35-AM-224x300.png 224w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-17-at-9.25.35-AM-768x1029.png 768w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-17-at-9.25.35-AM.png 1118w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px\" \/><figcaption>Farah tries to help students in academic areas that they may have missed, growing up and resettling as refugees. (Courtesy Hamdi Farah)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The NSLC, a two-story brick building, opened in 2009 to help the community with resettlement efforts and English literacy. It sits next door to the Masjid Isa Ibn Maryam, a former church that the center bought in 2014 and repurposed as a mosque. Farah said the adult students appreciate having a place nearby to pray during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Syracuse\u2019s immigrant and refugee population grew by 42.5 percent between 2000 and 2014, according to a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.newamericaneconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/BuffaloSyracuse_brief_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> that examined economic impacts of that influx. The city\u2019s school district also had the state\u2019s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/1uxzg93r9wfm26lrln198mbd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/05\/Safe-Havens_DIGITAL_5-17.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">third-highest number<\/a> of foreign-born students as of 2017, according to data compiled by the group Safe Havens, which advocates for immigrant children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Cass, NSLC executive director, said that the majority of people who currently use the center\u2019s services are Somalian. He said the center takes a \u201cstrength-based approach\u201d in providing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018Oh, these newcomers don\u2019t have anything and we\u2019re going to give them what they need,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe have all kinds of abilities and experiences and assets that we want to take care of, take advantage of \u2014 in exchange we do provide things they need.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the NSLC, Farah said she found a community of other girls from Somalia and a place where she could get extra help with homework from volunteers and teachers who worked at the center. There also wasn\u2019t as much pressure to speak perfect English. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"711\" src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_06-1024x711.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_06-1024x711.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_06-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_06-768x533.jpg 768w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_06.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>(From left) Students Habso Abdullahi and Rahmo Abdirahman play the UNO card game with Farah during the NSLC&#8217;s after-school program. (Mary Catalfalmo\/NextGenRadio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe other students \u2014 they speak broken English like me. So just being able to speak back and forth to each other without anybody making fun of anyone, was really lovely,\u201d Farah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When she entered college, Farah aged out of many off the classes at NSLC but still wanted to be involved. Cass said she started to volunteer and help with writing grants. Farah also participated in the community organizing workshop Leadership Classroom with her peers, who organized a project to get the NSLC a van for field trips and transportation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cass said he\u2019s seen Farah continue to grow as a leader and in her own goals for the future. \u201cShe\u2019s a terrific example of what we\u2019re trying to achieve,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what this organization is really about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the teaching position for the middle school girls\u2019 class opened, Farah jumped in, despite her doubts. A normal day in her classroom involves giving students activities in math, reading and writing, as well as helping them with homework. She tries to help her students in more basic academic areas that they may have missed out on, growing up as refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started working here and it\u2019s like, you know, you can do this,\u201d Farah said. \u201cMaybe you becoming a teacher will help them set goals that they are scared of maybe to set, maybe dream about dreams that they\u2019re maybe scared about dreaming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_05-1024x716.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-322\" width=\"512\" height=\"358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_05-1024x716.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_05-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_05-768x537.jpg 768w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_05.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Farah discusses classwork with Rahmo Abdirahman. (Mary Catalfalmo\/NextGenRadio)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Farah also asks her students to journal every day. \u201cI feel like that will help them express how they are feeling, maybe leave their day, whatever happened to them at school, whatever that happened to them at home, like, in that journal. And then kind of start out new,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When she looks to the future, Farah thinks of her childhood friends who still live in the refugee camp. \u201cThose students don\u2019t have the same opportunity that I have. It would be unfair if I don\u2019t take advantage of that opportunity,\u201d Farah said. Being the first in her family to graduate college, Farah said she feels a lot of pressure to do well in school and succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo matter how many times I fail, no matter how stressed I am, whenever I come to my classroom and see those girls motivated, see them wanting to do more in life, it motivates me,\u201d Farah said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_04-1024x653.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_04-1024x653.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_04-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_04-768x489.jpg 768w, https:\/\/syracuse2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2019\/05\/MaryCatafalmo_04.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Farah is graduating from Onondaga Community College in mid-May with an associate&#8217;s degree and is planning to pursue her bachelor&#8217;s degree in education. (Mary Catafalmo\/NextGenRadio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hamdi Farah lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for the first 12 years of her life before settling in Syracuse with her family. At first, she struggled in school but found a passion for teaching refugee children like herself at the North Side Learning Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>From refugee camp to her own classroom, a Somali woman aspires to teach - NextGenRadio Syracuse - May 2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hamdi Farah lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for the first 12 years of her life before settling in Syracuse with her family. 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