By Steve Clark, Crescent Hill Baptist Church CBF Field Personnel Partner | December 27, 2024
“Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.”
While this old adage is true, many situations faced by the refugees we serve beg the question, “How many times is this person going to have to catch this kind of fish?”
When we assist families, we often have to decide if this is a singular obstacle to get over and move on or if it is a problem they will face again. If the former, we accompany them to get “a fish” and we all move on. If the latter, we get out the “rod and reel” and “tackle box” and start teaching.
Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a Karen high school graduate how to “fish.” This young lady was in another state for the spring and summer and hadn’t applied to Louisville’s community college. When she and her parent asked me to help, the deadline for admission was fast approaching.
She and her father met me at the local Chin church so I could assist her as she applied online. It didn’t take very long, and when she finished, we worked out a list of the steps she would need to take to complete the admissions process, get financial aid and register for classes.
First, she had to get a cell phone so the school could contact her and so she could use the school’s app to receive notices. Next, she needed to go to the school with certain documents to apply for financial aid, then submit proof of residency documents along with a particular form. After being approved, she would need to see a counselor to sign up for classes, making sure the counselor offered her some credited courses her first semester. Even if she still needed non-credit English as Second Language (ESL) classes, I knew there were several options for credited classes that wouldn’t require college-level English proficiency.
I encouraged her to be bold and persistent while pursuing these things. After all, you can’t cut bait and go home just because you hit a few snags.
By the time we finished putting together the list, she received the email that she was accepted! With list in hand, she didn’t waste any time getting started. Over the next few days, she texted me (on her new phone) if she hit a snag or had a question, and she worked through the list quickly.
She missed passing the English proficiency test by a hair, so she enrolled in ESL classes. The counselor didn’t give her any credited classes when she first registered, so I encouraged her to go back the next day to see the counselor again and ask for credited classes she could take with ESL.
Now, she’s in the middle of her first semester of college and doing great! She’s receiving financial aid and taking a full complement of classes that will build credits toward her associates degree while she works through the required ESL classes. Starting college for high school graduates is always a test of persistence and boldness, lessons I learned my first semester of college and lessons I always enjoy helping new college students learn each year. Those are lessons that will help “feed them” for the rest of their lives.
Steve Clark and his wife, Annette Ellard serve as ministers for refugees from Burma here in Louisville, Kentucky. Steve and Annette welcome the Karen, Chin, Karenni and others from Burma while encouraging others to build relationships with these refugees and partner in ministries to meet their spiritual and physical needs.
