Language barriers, social anxiety, mental health and poverty are but a few disadvantages faced daily by the Southeast Asian refugee community in Worcester. Often unable to communicate effectively to gain proper employment and display their work ethic, the refugee community can be a stone unturned. With little income, hard living conditions and limited access to city resources, they stay unnoticed in the shadows of a second chance at life.
How can people looking for a greater purpose and sense of autonomy have the opportunity to do so when there are so many differences among the cultures and the priorities of the community? Thousands of area residents are of Southeast Asian ancestry, including many of fairly recent arrival.
Coupled with cultural differences and sometimes devastation faced in their countries of origin, this population indirectly yearns to obtain a voice of their own. The coalition administers a program that gives kids a broader sense of belonging. Often individuals struggling the most in all facets of their life as a Southeast Asian living in Worcester are between the ages of 10 and Some of the children Sawyer references are of Cambodian and Vietnamese heritage and are tied by the responsibilities of their culture to take care of, at times, three generations of family members in one household.
These children are looked upon as a vessel for their family to obtain a better grasp of life in America. They work before and after school, take care of siblings starting at the young age of 12, and stand by their family as a guide through everyday life. The expectations are high and we provide specific programs for our youth that can allow them to turn their specific skill sets into a life-changing career.
These children have a talent that many cannot evaluate, and that is the language and cultural knowledge of their people. Now, what if an organization embraced these children, gave them hope, autonomy and a career?
