Welcoming Families From Around the World

ANOTHER FUN BLOG ASSIGNMENT :0)

FACT:

• About 195 different countries exist in the world today.
• According to the U.S. census bureau, the United States’ population includes individuals and families from 150 different countries.
• It is certain that as an early childhood professional we will encounter children from diverse backgrounds whose families may have come from different countries. 

For this assignment, imagine:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

In order to complete this assignment, first choose a country you know nothing about as this family’s country of origin then post:

• The name of “your” family’s country of origin
• At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family
• A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family

------- MY STORY -----------


My name is Sonja Deprie, and I work in a children's hospital here in Seattle.  Each of us care representatives have a ward here and we specialize in early childhood education.  Although a child has to be here because of some unforeseen circumstance does not mean their precious little minds have to go without nourishment.  I'm used to dealing with the same cultures Black, White, and Spanish and I can warm up to the children easily and have and instant repore with them.  I haven't had the privilege to work with any other culture as of yet.  But today, we received noticed from our superiors that within the next couple of days, soon to arrive are three triplets aged 4 from the country Montserrat and their lives have been devastated because of a volcano eruption.  I know nothing about Montserrat.  I haven't the faintest Idea about the people or their customs. But there are at least five ways that I can prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards the family and their children when they arrive.


The first thing I can do is research the country.  And it turns out that Montserrat is a part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies and is 10 miles long and 7 miles wide and has about 6,000 inhabitants. It was named by Christopher Columbus in 1943 during his second voyage and has the nickname the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, both for its resemblance to Ireland's coast and for the Irish ancestry of its inhabitants. The country itself may not be very big  but it doesn't mean it isn't big on culture.  And I find out that the country is comprised of Blacks, Whites, Mulattos, and Creoles. The island's population is mainly a mix of British, Irish and Africans with other minorities. And their religions are much like they are here in the states: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations.


The second thing I do make sure the cross hanging in the play room is polished nicely, and request that one be placed in their room. This way they'll have a comfort knowing that we do identify with their religion and will feel a little more at ease.


The third thing I do, is print some pictures from the internet taking from the country.  I print some pictures of their plants, flowers and wildlife and have the hospital turn them into posters and I hang them up in the play room so the children can look up at them as they play.


The fourth thing I do, is get some games in the play room that the children are use to.  And it seems that Cricket is a popular sport in Montserrat.  So I get elements from that game to the hospital and begin teaching the other children already here how to play, so that when the triplets, the kids will have no problem getting right into play.


The fifth thing that I do is try to get the hospital to serve some Irish and Carribean inspired snacks on the day that they arrive since it is largely inspired by Irish and Carribean culture.  Maybe if they have a little taste of home it will help with the transition.


I hope that these five things will benefit the family transition into their new lives and ease some of the anxiety about what has happened to them and them being force to uproot their lives and leave.  And I know it will benefit me because I won't be totally in the dark about their culture and it will help open the door for me to learn more.