Life’s struggles come at every turn, often when we least expect them, and often when we are least capable of dealing with them. To make it through these difficult times, we must rely on others to lend us a helping hand. iACT hopes to offer a helping hand to refugee children and adults in the ways that matter most. Whether that help comes by teaching English and cultural skills, or by helping to foster new, inspiring friendships, we are here for our refugee brothers and sisters.

iACT’s Refugee Youth Program, iLearn, teaches English to newly arrived refugee children for 7 weeks in summer. In addition to the excitement of seeing bright young minds absorb the mysteries of the English language, we get to see friendships and connections grow between kids, sometimes from opposite sides of the world.

Esperance, 9, and Reem, 10, met in our summer program in July 2016. Both had only been in Austin for 3 months and even though they could barely communicate verbally with each other, that did not hinder a friendship from forming. Today, the two go to the same school and live in the same apartment complex, visiting each other regularly.

Esperance from the Democratic Republic of the Congo speaks Kinyarwanda, and Reem from Iraq speaks Arabic. When they are together, English is their common language. They are still learning to express themselves fluently in English, but a big motivation is the prospect of sharing more and enjoying each other’s company better.

Join iACT as we support our refugee neighbors in their efforts to make new, happy lives in Austin. Your donation to iACT will benefit hundreds of refugees in our service programs. By supporting iACT, you support our mission to lend a helping hand to refugees such as Esperance and Reem as they try to make the most of their new lives in the US.