Planting New Roots!

Last Thursday, we had our graduation ceremony over at the New Roots Farm. Ten women completed the trainings necessary to “graduate” and were given certificates, tools and a piece of paper giving them the right to use one plot for the upcoming growing season. (This includes Khadijo, Halima, Rukia, Isha, and Hawo) Immediately after the ceremony, we got to work!
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been planting, planting, planting. Tomatoes, okra, greens, lettuces, celery, celeriac, peppers, corn and even a banana tree have found their way into our New Roots Farm. I’m excited to see things take root and begin to grow. We are hoping to be selling over at the Brookside Market by the beginning of July.
Today we started bringing the community gardeners over to start planting. Nyakang and Fatumah Mohammed (and 21 other women!) should now expect to be picked up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to work in the garden for a few hours. This is a logistical nightmare, but I’m hoping to hire some additional part time help so I’m not driving all day long J
Please feel free to stop by the garden whenever, just give me a call and make sure we’ll be there!
Mentor’s Gathering

Its time for another Mentor’s Gathering. Has is already been 3 months?

Let’s plan on meeting at the Salsa Grill (the place where we met in December, at 6508 Martway Street, Shawnee Mission) on Thursday, June 26th at 6:00pm.
Let me know if that doesn’t work, and we can pick another day.

Resources in Wyandotte County
Cross Lines Cooperative Council

Provides people affected by poverty with basic services andopportunities that encourage self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
www.cross-lines.org
Cross-Lines offers various programs: youth employment, a community thrift store, back to school fair, hunger relief, emergency food pantry and utility assistance, clothing closet, shower and laundry services. Their facility is located just off of 7th Street in the Armourdale neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas.
736 Shawnee Avenue Kansas City, KS 66105
(913) 281-3388
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We’ve Moved!
Refugee Services is all settled in (well, mostly) at our new home at 22nd and Central. My phone number has changed, and is now 913-621-5255 x. 187. My email is still the same. I’ve been surprised at how quick news travels, and how quickly the refugees have found our new office. If your mentee is still looking for us over at St. Ben’s, send them down the street. Stop by sometime and say hello.

­­­­­­­­­­­­Teaching Non-Violence to Refugee Children
Over the past few months, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of refugee kids that are getting in fights- with other kids at school and with kids in the neighborhood. Many of the older kids are being threatened with suspension and it seems that the younger children are not far behind. I know that many of you mentors are also frustrated.
It difficult to convince children, who have seen violence modeled before them as a successful means of survival, that it is not acceptable. I recently attended a training on “Understanding the Culture of Poverty” by Ruby Payne. Although not specific to refugees, I found the content very applicable. She explained the importance of survival as value of people living in poverty. In poverty, you never plan too far in advance, your energy is focused on making it through today. I find this to be the case with refugee kids, they don’t have too much time to think about the future because they are just trying to make it through the day. Fighting is a way to survive. I have found the language of “surviving” and “winning” helpful in talking with some of the kids. If they fight, they might survive today, but they don’t win in the long run. Talk with them about the likely trajectory of kids who learn to fight (suspended, expelled, in prison, etc.) and compare this with kids who learn to handle their disagreements verbally.
I am looking for resources in the community that address this problem. If you have any ideas, I would love to know about them. Maybe we can talk about this at our gathering on the 26th.

Thank you for all that you do! I really appreciate you.