Community Cooking!

On Sunday April 1, the IRC in Silver Spring’s Cultural Orientation Program hosted an afternoon of cooking and community fora group of recently resettled refugees from Eritrea. Together with a group of volunteers from SPACIOUS,a DC-based community organization, we met at a local apartment complex, played a few games to get to know each other, grocery shopped together, and  then cooked and ate the meal for the day: lasagna!

                                                                                                                                 Photo taken by IRC Volunteer                                                                                                                    
 
Did you know that there’s a way to cut an onion without crying? Could you explain the difference between a green pepper and jalapeno to someone who doesn’t speak English? Do you know how to say “hello,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome” in Tigrinya, a commonly spoken language in Eritrea? How about the process for naming children in Eritrean and American cultures – is it the same or different? The event proved that everyone had something to teach and to learn. 

Photo taken by IRC Volunteer

The Cultural Orientation program at the IRC in Silver Spring provides training opportunities for refugees and asylees served by the partner agencies making up the Suburban Washington Resettlement Center. Cultural Orientation program trainings strive to give refugees and asylees the information and they need to begin their lives in a new country, while also creating space for them to express feelings, share experiences and make connections with one another and members of their local communities. Special events such as the community cooking day are particularly suited to supporting newly arrived families in this way.
 
There are always ways to be involved in this work – from checking out our internship and employment opportunities to serving as a family mentor or ESL volunteer (email volunteersilverspring@rescue.org for more information). Like many of our programs, the Cultural Orientation program relies on the support of volunteers and the local community. If you have ideas for events or ways to be involved, please contact  Katherine Rehberg, our Cultural Orientation Coordinator, at Katherine.Rehberg@rescue.org.