FEATURED PROGRAM FOR
JUNE 2003

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Georgia Mutual Assistance Association Consortium Summer Of Understanding & Learning (S.O.U.L.) Program

Administering Organization
Georgia Mutual Assistance Association Consortium, Inc. (GMAAC)

Program Objectives and Unique Needs Addressed
The S.O.U.L. summer program seeks to provide refugee children and youth in the DeKalb County, Georgia, area eight weeks of intensive and fulfilling education and fun.

Program Description
S.O.U.L. is a hands-on educational summer program focusing on topics such as cultural awareness, community, team building, and cross-cultural friendships.

GMAAC designs activities specifically for children and youth from kindergarten to high school, and works closely with area schools. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers refer students to the program.

Every summer children can participate in intellectually stimulating activities, such as field trips to parks and museums, guest speakers/presenters from the community and other cultural organizations, and a wide variety of art projects. Weekly themes include “Self, Friends and Family”; “Community, Culture and Beliefs”; “My Education”; “My Career”; and “Dreams of the Future.” Each day, students learn one to three new "words of the day" which correspond to the weekly theme.

S.O.U.L. spotlights one individual every week, such as Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, and the students learn about the individual while reading excerpts by or about them. Staff and volunteers follow a themed curriculum designed and updated every year by Americorps Volunteers In Service To America (VISTAs).

Four to five VISTAs schedule field trips, stock supplies, and recruit volunteers and inspiring guest speakers. Past speakers have included representatives of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," physical trainers, local police and fireman, magicians, steel drummers from Africa, and martial arts instructors.

This free program is held in three locations, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm five days a week, and includes lunch. The students participate in groups sorted by age.

S.O.U.L. employs three high school student refugees to work at each site during the summer. They help with day-to-day activities, such as housekeeping and gathering supplies, and assist with group activities.

Groups Served by Program
S.O.U.L. is open to multi-ethnic children and youth grades k-12. Their places of origin include Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sudan, Somalia, Vietnam, Burundi, Iraq, Ethiopia, Ghana, Croatia, Sierra Leone, and Laos.

Program Funding
S.O.U.L. is funded by a year-to-year contract with the Georgia Department of Human Resources Refugee Program.

Program Staffing and Required Staff Training
The program utilizes one site supervisor per site, and two to five Americorps VISTAs. The Program Director and two other site supervisors are paid GMAAC staff. More volunteers are always needed; their assistance is welcome. Typically there is one volunteer per ten participants; S.O.U.L. considers one-on-one tutoring ideal.

Volunteers attend a pre-service training/orientation. Pre-service orientation involves a site tour, viewing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) video "To Be a Refugee," reviewing handouts about GMAAC (history, mission, etc), and learning about the countries the program’s refugee students come from. The orientation also covers program sustainability through community involvement and direct service opportunities. The pre-service orientation is provided by VISTAs and/or site supervisors.

Americorps requires all its VISTA volunteers to attend two AmeriCorps orientations. Workshops cover volunteer recruitment, fundraising, sustainability, project development, and grant writing. They also address issues of poverty and indirect/direct service opportunities.

Defining Program Success
GMAAC defines measures S.O.U.L.’s success in the students’ gains in cultural awareness, community, team building, and cross-cultural friendships, both during and upon completion of the program. GMAAC also tracks students’ graduation and grade advancement in school, and keeps in close contact with the children’s ESOL teachers.

Program Outcomes
The program started in 1998 with one site which served 30-35 students. As of 2003, three sites serve over 200 students.

GMAAC has found it to be a great success. Staff and volunteers feel students accomplishments in school reflect their experiences in S.O.U.L, and express pride in the children for staying in school and working towards high school and college graduation.

Program Contact
Program Director

Program Dates
This program began in June 1998; it is still operating.

You can find more programs and information about this and other organizations by searching the BRYCS Clearinghouse.

Learn about the Georgia Mutual Assistance Association Consortium, Inc. (GMAAC) and its other programs.

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