A Perspective Changing Summer Camp 🌍
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Episode 112 Description
Did you know that there are youth around the world in refugee camps? 🗺️ Learn about a very cool program run by Hello Future, an org that connects refugee teens with resources and education. 🏫 Meet Yousif, a Syrian teenager living in a refugee camp in Iraq, and Ella, a teen living in Los Angeles, California. 🤝🏽 The teens participated in Hello Future's global summer camp. 💻 Hear about their experience and how it changed the "single stories' they had in their heads. 📰 From the headlines: Extreme floods and a COVID update. ✅ And test your knowledge in today’s Trivia on the Ten! 🧐
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TRANSCRIPT:
Various Voices 0:00
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:06
I'm Bethany Van Delft. And this is The Ten News where we get the low-down on what's up in the world. It's Thursday, July 22. Earlier this month, we talked about the process of becoming a US citizen. Welcome to the United States. There are lots of reasons why people choose to emigrate or move to another country. But sometimes people don't have a choice. People who are forced to leave their homes are called refugees. And there are millions around the world. In today's episode, we're talking to two teens, Yousif from Syria, and Ella from the US who met last summer in a program run by the Hello Future Organization. Let's dive in.
Bethany Van Delft 0:54
You may have heard the words refugee crisis in the news. That's because there are more people who have been displaced from their homes than ever before. Over 82 million people. Why do people leave? Throughout history, many people have been forced to flee their homes for many reasons, either from wars, climate disasters, or to escape religious persecution. Today, there are many countries currently facing refugee crisis like Venezuela, Myanmar, Somalia, and Syria. Syria's people in particular have been struggling due to a long and brutal civil war that has been happening for about a decade. Because of it, the country is experiencing the world's largest refugee crisis in modern history. But, where do people go when they have to leave their homes? Many people try to get to safer countries. There, some live in refugee camps until they can be resettled. We learned about an amazing group called Hello Future that works with kid and teen refugees. The organization provides education and skill-building opportunities to help refugee youth have a path to a strong future. Last summer, Hello Future put together a unique virtual summer camp. Here to tell us more about the organization and talk with two teens who participated in the program is Tracy Leeds Kaplan, the executive producer of The Ten News.
Tracy Kaplan 2:23
One of the things that I love the most about producing The Ten News is hearing about organizations that are helping young adults around the world. I was introduced to Hello Future by Charlie Grosso, one of the founders of the organization. Founded in 2016, Hello Future provides education and skill building opportunities to refugee youth and helps them build a path for a strong future. Last summer with COVID lockdowns in place, Hello Future created a unique virtual summer camp that brought together US teens and global refugees. It was an opportunity for teens to connect across the world and build community and connection during a difficult time. Two teens, Ella and Yousif, participated in the program and spoke with us at The Ten News.
Ella Jacobs 3:06
I'm Ella Jacobs. I am 15 years old and I live in Los Angeles, California.
Yousif 3:15
My name is Yousif. I'm 18 years old and I'm from Damascus, Syria. And I live in a refugee camp in Iraq.
Tracy Kaplan 3:25
The summer camp was an opportunity to break down misconceptions, or single stories, the story you assume about someone based on a stereotype and really get to know each other as individuals.
Ella Jacobs 3:37
The first day actually, which I was surprised we did this on the first day because it was like a very heavy conversation. We talked about the conversation problem, I think it was just like, what our preconceived notions about the other half of the students, right? Their stereotype basically for Americans, is that we're very entitled, and like wealthy and stuff. I think that was the main thing they were expecting. And a lot of us like, a lot of the American students were picturing them living in tents. For some reason we all had an image in mind that was just I think, someone described it as dirty. And they had an image in mind, that we were just not like, nice people, like very entitled. And I think that makes sense. Because I mean look, like, if we're going to have an image in mind that's dirty. Like that's, that's obviously rude. That's like looking down on them almost. And, that is like a higher place to come from. I guess like, and I don't know, it's very it's, it's it was very condescending as like, as we realized quickly in like meeting the other students. I guess our image of them was dehumanized. We thought more about their situation than them as people. But we have this single story that, for a lot of people is just completely inaccurate. About like, the stereotype that is just ridiculously ingrained into our brains, right? It can be, it can be enforced in everything from stereotypes you see in the movies you watch, the shows we watch, books we read, a lot of media has power over that. But, any stereotypes kind of come together to create one story in our mind, right? It can also be something as simple as like, assuming a girl would want to play with dolls or boy would want to play sports. And yeah, I think that it's really important to realize that everyone is an individual person. And, everything we go through we see in different ways. And so, you really need to get to know a person to understand their life. You can't do that without meeting them.
Yousif 5:43
I was expecting that it's going to be kind of fun and helpful. And it was, and I was so happy to be a part of the program. This program helps to know a lot of other peoples from around the world, and to know, different cultures. At first, I thought that they were not so engaged and not so interested in the program. But then, it was the opposite. There was a lot of teamwork.
Tracy Kaplan 6:22
While the teens were limited to Zoom to get to know each other, they were able to discover shared interests and participate in activities that allowed them to connect across cultures, languages and time zones.
Yousif 6:41
There was the activity, and sometime, the teacher would select two students randomly, and they should draw each other. My my partner was a girl, who she drew me, but when I drew her, the drawing was so bad, so I decided to not share it with the others.
Ella Jacobs 7:04
There is one assignment where you couldn't talk and you just had to look at each other in the zoom meeting. And we would like look into the other person's video. And then it was kind of like, not like Simon says, but it's like you were acting like a mirror, right? So the other person raised their hand, you had to raise your hand, and you were acting like the reflection. And that was really interesting. I remember there are a few groups that really connected after that. Because, first of all, there was no language, the only barrier that really did come into play was sometimes language. But, that one exercise really helped us understand that like, that wasn't the most important thing to human connection.
Tracy Kaplan 7:40
Now that the program is over a number of the teens continue to connect us in WhatsApp and Instagram. And the program has had a lasting impact on Ella.
Ella Jacobs 7:49
I mean, it completely changed my perspective on the world. I definitely had an understanding of privilege to be, like safely, living my home and like feel accepted my whole life. And, we talked about that single story a lot. I don't think I've made an assumption about someone based off of like one trait they have or one situation that they're in there since that program. I think that people have so much to them and I understand that so much more after this program.
Tracy Kaplan 8:18
And what's next for Yousif? He will have a busy fall. He is participating in Hello Futures first small business incubator program. In that program, he will learn skills needed to start his own business. But, before he starts on this path to entrepreneurship, he has some advice to share about learning more about other people in his situation.
Yousif 8:38
The first thing I would say that you should look at a person as he or she, not as the whole country. And the second thing is try to be part of programs that contain people from around the world to learn more about the culture and person.
Bethany Van Delft 9:06
If you'd like to learn more about Hello Future and how you can help visit www.hellofuture.io. Now, let's check in on some headlines.
Bethany Van Delft 9:27
In pandemic news, COVID cases are rising again in the US. The CDC is warning unvaccinated Americans that the Delta Variant continues to spread especially in communities that have low vaccination rates. Some places are taking action. Los Angeles has re-instituted a mask mandate indoors, whether you're vaccinated or not. As a surgeon general called on social media outlets and news organizations to call out vaccine misinformation when they see it. In Germany and Belgium late last week, severe flooding gushed through the streets and homes as an extreme downpour overwhelmed the nation's flood systems. Experts say it was the worst flooding in possibly 1,000 years and is a direct result of global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. That's bad. And finally, what would you do if you found 160 bowling balls under your house? That's what happened to one man in Michigan when he started some home renovations. Is anyone wondering how 160 bowling balls got under his house? Maybe he should build a bowling alley. Coming up next...
Sound Bit 10:44
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 10:47
Trivia on The Ten. Refugees from all corners of the globe have made important contributions to lots of different fields like art, music and science. Which one of these famous scientists was actually a refugee? Was it? A) Neil deGrasse Tyson, B) Marie Curie, or C) Albert Einstein.
Bethany Van Delft 11:17
Did you guess it? The answer is C) Albert Einstein. The Nobel Prize winning physicist fled from Nazi Germany in 1933. By then, Einstein was already a famous scientist for his theory of relativity. But, the regime was persecuting Jewish people and his life was in danger. Einstein made his way to England, where for a time he had to hide in a secret location in the countryside. Eventually, he moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.
Bethany Van Delft 11:54
Time's up. But before we sign off, we have more questions for you. We've got 10 super important questions we would love for you ten-ners to answer. Grab a grown-up and click on the link in the show notes to participate in our listener survey. We'd love to hear about how you think we're doing and what you want to hear more of on The Ten News. And bonus, participants will be entered into a raffle to win an Amazon gift card. Now, here's a quick note for the grown-ups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. You can go deeper into today's stories by visiting www.thetennews.com. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and the Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is getting out there bowling shoes and includes Kate Hill, Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto and Andrew Hall. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Now go to the website and answer some of those questions. We can't wait to read your answers.
Sources for this episode:
UNHCR https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html
Hello Future www.hellofuture.io
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/16/covid-cases-rising/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/18/world/europe/germany-floods-merkel.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/15/science/jeff-bezos-oliver-daemen-space.html
https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-oddities-michigan-a704d378d028d00d273337d88936cec3
https://time.com/5684504/einstein-england/
