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Julia Hughes, center, working with Bhutanese refugees sorting cilantro to sell to Healthy Living Market.

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by Julia Hughes, CVU senior

Imagine growing up in a hot, dusty, dry desert village. You live through your plants and animals; you know the secrets of when to plant, how often to water and when to harvest. Then, violence sweeps over your village and the next thing you know, you are flying from the continent of Africa to the United States. You know nothing about the language, the people, the culture, or how to survive in this new, foreign place. Your whole life has been swept out from under your feet. But then, you find a community. You find a stable group of people who not only help you survive, but they also teach you how to live again.

For my graduation challenge at CVU, I am working with a program called New Farms for New Americans run by the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV). This program teaches and helps refugees by giving them garden plots where they grow vegetables to eat and sell. These vegetables are sold at farmers markets and also to local restaurants and supermarkets. We teach refugees when to plant, how often to water, how to take care of their plants and when to harvest. We try to teach them everything they should know about gardening in Vermont.

When I go to the farm, I help farmers weed their carrots, tie up tomato plants, plant onions, and sort vegetables for selling. On a more personal level, I also play with children while their mothers work, learn a little bit of Somali and eat lunch with refugee women.

The first thing that struck me about the refugees was their appreciation. I helped one Bhutanese woman sort her green beans into two piles - those that she would take home, and those that could be sold to a local restaurant. It was an easy and simple job, and I enjoyed our attempt at our conversation despite our obvious language barrier. When we finished, she gave me an apple from her small lunch, to thank me for my help and friendship. On a different day, a Somali woman shared her lunch with me after we weeded her carrots. In their cultures, it is disrespectful to not accept these offerings, so I could not refuse - although I was aware of how little they have. It is because of these experiences that I have truly begun to feel that I can make a difference in someone's life.

You can make a difference too. First of all, welcome these residents into your community and interact with them. More tangibly, help them by donating money or time to the AALV to support transition programs for refugees, or donate gardening supplies to New Farms for New Americans (a wish list follows). Ultimately, it really is about caring for others.

Wish list for New Farms for New Americans:
- wheelbarrows
- garden gloves
- spades and other garden hand tools
- harvest knives and scissors
- hoses
- garden hoes
- child care supplies in good condition
- car seats in good condition
- lawn mower
- weed wacker

To make any type of donation, please contact Josie Weldon at josieweldon.aalv@yahoo.com or (802) 343-7007. Used or new donations can be brought to the Association of Africans Living in Vermont 72 N. Champlain St., Burlington. Thank you, or as the Somali women would say, "Mahad sanid!"