Learning English with CBC

Lesson 99: Self Study Edition Level: CLB 6 and up Learning English with CBC Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts April 22, 2014 Topic: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Language Skills and Functions: Listening listening to a short interview for detail Speaking asking questions to find out information Reading reading a text for detail Writing writing questions to ask for information; writing definitions using an online dictionary Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence Language Tasks: Answer questions about foreign aid Use an online dictionary to find vocabulary definitions and identify parts of speech Use new vocabulary in context Listen to a short interview with one of the founders of a preschool project in a Kenyan refugee camp for details Read the Manitoba Memo about specific types of foreign aid and complete a diagram Read information about how Humankind International got started for detail Write questions to ask for information about a mentorship program and practise speaking by asking questions Essential Skills: Reading text, working with others, oral communication, writing Appendices: Transcript of the podcast Text: Our Story (from the Humankind International website) Answers to Worksheets Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 1 of 20

Manitoba Memo What is foreign aid? In simple terms, foreign aid describes a process where rich, industrialized countries give assistance to poorer, developing countries. Foreign aid can be given as cash, goods or services. In 2012, the Canadian government spent about 2.5 percent of the federal budget on foreign aid. The concept of foreign aid had its beginnings in the years following the Second World War. After the war, the United States sent resources to war-torn Europe to help countries rebuild. This policy, known as The Marshall Plan, was very effective. European countries and economies recovered quite rapidly. With the lessons of this experience in mind, Western leaders decided to give assistance to newly independent countries in Asia and Africa. The leaders thought this aid would help the economies in these countries develop at a faster pace and help their people live better lives. There are different forms of foreign aid. Governments can give aid directly to a country (for example, in money, goods or services). This is called bilateral aid. Or governments can give aid to international bodies, such as the World Bank or the United Nations. This is called multilateral aid. When a government gives money to support specific projects, it is called tied aid. Another form of foreign aid is non-governmental aid. This kind of aid was traditionally handled by churches and charities. The initial purpose was emergency relief, for example, providing food, water, clothing and helping families. Today, NGO s (non-governmental organizations) like the Red Cross receive money from government to provide emergency relief. Some NGO s also promote local economic development and self-reliance through long term aid projects. Sometimes, an individual or a small group of people will start their own independent aid project. This is called project aid. It usually involves private fund-raising from people who support their idea. For example, immigrants and refugees have started aid projects to help people in their home countries or communities of origin. Over the years, political and economic considerations have influenced decisions about how much aid a country provides and what kind of aid they provide. Aid for specific goals, like AIDS treatment and the eradication of diseases like smallpox and polio, has been very effective. Foreign aid has also clearly led to economic growth in countries like South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. These countries are now able to provide foreign aid to others. Despite these accomplishments, foreign aid continues to be a controversial topic. Some critics say it creates dependency in countries which receive aid. Others don t think a country s responsibilities go beyond its own borders. Still others argue that in tough economic times, countries can t afford foreign aid because so many of their own people don t have job or live in poverty. Whatever your view of foreign aid, it is difficult to argue that developing countries no longer need assistance. Extreme poverty and the challenges that come with it still exist in many corners of the world. Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 2 of 20

Background 1. Answer questions about foreign aid This CBC interview is about an organization that raised money to start the first ever preschool in the largest refugee camp in Kenya. Think about foreign aid projects like this that might be established in your country. Or if your country doesn t receive foreign aid, think about how your country might provide aid to another country. How would you answer the following questions? 1. What kinds of programs or projects are needed the most in your country/other countries? e.g. clean water and schools 2. What kinds of foreign aid programs have been set up in the past in your country/other countries? 3. What political challenges do aid agencies face as they try to help? e.g. government corruption or other barriers 4. What physical challenges do they face? e.g. very mountainous terrain with poor roads 5. Do people ever feel that self-interest is sometimes a motivating factor when a government or organization decides to provide foreign aid? e.g. economic interests or political interests 6. Do you think wealthier countries have a responsibility to provide foreign aid to assist developing countries? Why or why not? Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 3 of 20

2. Use an online dictionary to find definitions Can you use an online dictionary to help you find the meaning of some of the words you will hear in the podcast? The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English can be found online at www.ldoceonline.com/. Use the online dictionary to help you complete the chart below. If you have the DVD-ROM that accompanies this dictionary, you can listen to how each word is pronounced. If you don t have the DVD-ROM, you can still listen to example words. They are the words on this list that begin with s. To listen, click on the symbol for those words when you find them in the online dictionary. Vocabulary Word Vocabulary Word in Context Identify the Part of Speech Write the Dictionary Definition raise to raise money verb to collect money that you can use to do a particular job or help people motivated to be motivated to do something for others shocked to be shocked by a situation assessment we did an assessment of the needs structure children need structure in their lives touch he can touch people emotionally with his story generous people are being very generous with their time Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 4 of 20

3. Vocabulary definitions Here are some words you need to know to understand the CBC interview. Vocabulary a former refugee a preschool to raise money to be motivated to do something to respond to something to provide something tremendously to make an assessment A refugee is a person who is forced to leave their country because of war, or due to their political or religious beliefs. A former refugee is a refugee who has settled in a new country. A preschool is a school for young children. Attending preschool prepares young children for learning. When we say someone is raising money for something, we mean that they are collecting money or donations to do a particular job (e.g. build a school in a developing country) or to help people (e.g. support a charity). If you are motivated, you are very keen to do something or accomplish something, especially because you find it interesting and exciting. When you respond to something, you react to something by taking action. For example: The students responded to the need they saw in their community for warm clothing for winter by organizing a collection of warm coats and boots. When you provide something to someone, you give something to them, or make it available to them, because they need it or want it. This adjective is used to describe something or someone that is very big, fast, powerful etc. For example, we sometimes talk about a person being tremendously wealthy. If you make an assessment, you undertake a process in which you make a judgement about a person or situation. The actual judgement itself can also be referred to as an assessment. For example: I have assessed her language skills. She needs extra help with her English before she applies to college. Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 5 of 20

to be completely opposite to be shocked by something an investment a critical age to have structure stability good nutrition a caring environment Refugee Day the grassroots When we describe someone or a situation as being completely opposite to another person or situation, we mean they are completely different. For example: Carlos and Jane are complete opposites. He likes to travel and she likes to stay close to home. If you are shocked by something, you feel very surprised or upset by it. It s very unexpected and hard to believe. An investment is something you do or spend money on that will be useful or beneficial to you later. For example, people invest in retirement savings so that they will have money to spend when they are older and no longer in the workforce. A critical age is a very important age in a person or child s development. What happens to you at that age affects your future. For example, the early years in child s life are critical or very important to their future development. We often talk about how activities or learning is structured. This means that activities and tasks are carefully organized and planned. Stability means to be steady, to not change. For example, children like stability because they like routine. They like an environment where things don t change a lot. Good nutrition means that people are getting enough of the right foods for good health and growth. If you are in a caring environment, you are in a place where the people around you care for you and make sure you have what you need. World Refugee Day is proclaimed by the United Nations and celebrated on June 20 th every year. On that day, people plan events which honor the spirit and courage of millions of refugees and recognize the contributions of refugees to their community. This idiom is used to describe ordinary people or average people in a community, country or organization. A grassroots movement or organization is one that is started at the bottom, or at the roots, by ordinary people. Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 6 of 20

a grant to touch someone (emotionally) to contribute to be unique to be generous A grant is an amount of money that is given to someone or to an organization for a particular purpose. Most grants come from government. When we talk about touching someone, it can mean we touch them physically (e.g. by placing a hand on their shoulder) or that we touch them emotionally (e.g. by telling a story that they respond to on an emotional level). When someone is touched on an emotional level, they are likely to feel sympathy or sadness. When you give money, help, ideas etc. to an organization or cause, we say you are contributing to it. Something or someone who is unique is special or one of a kind. Someone who is generous gives time, money etc. to help others. Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 7 of 20

4. Use your new vocabulary in context Learning vocabulary before you listen helps you understand the podcast. Can you match each vocabulary word or phrase with its meaning? You can use an English Language Learner s Dictionary to help you. The first one is completed for you as an example. Vocabulary Word Meaning 1. _f a refugee a) an idiom used to describe ordinary people in a community or organization 2. a preschool b) spending money on something because you think it will benefit you later 3. to raise money c) to do something in reaction to something that has been done or said 4. to be motivated d) to be very surprised or upset by something 5. to respond e) to collect money or donations 6. to provide f) a person who is forced to leave their country because of war, or due to their political or religious beliefs 7. an assessment g) a series of carefully organized activities and tasks, e.g. in a classroom 8. to be shocked h) to make someone feel sympathy or sadness 9. an investment i) to give your time, money etc. to help others 10. a critical age j) a school for young children 11. structure (in education) k) to give more of something, e.g. money or time, than is seen as necessary or expected. 12. stability l) an amount of money, usually from government, that is given to a person or organization for a particular purpose 13. the grassroots m) to be very keen to do or accomplish something; to be excited about doing it 14. a grant n) to give something to someone or make it available to them 15. to touch someone (emotionally) o) a very important age; an age that affects a child s future development 16. to contribute p) to be special; to be one of a kind 17. to be unique q) when something is stable and does not change very much 18. to be generous r) a judgement made about a person or situation; a determination of someone s skills Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 8 of 20

5. Can you predict what the interview is about? In this podcast, former refugee Muuxi Adam talks about how he helped start an organization that has brought a preschool program to the largest refugee camp in Kenya. He says it is his way of giving back. What do you think might have motivated Muuxi to give back in this way? Here are some examples: Maybe he was motivated by his own experience as a refugee. I wonder if he was motivated by his strong belief in the importance of education. Perhaps he was motivated by a story someone told him about the needs of the young children in the Kenyan camp. I m really not sure what would have motivated him. 6. Get ready to listen In this podcast, you will hear two speakers. You will hear: Marcy Markusa host Muuxi Adam a founder of Humankind International and a former refugee Listen to the podcast for the first time. After-listening activities 1. Review pre-listening predictions Were you able to predict what motivated Muuxi to give back? Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 9 of 20

2. Listen to a short interview for details After you have listened to the CBC interview between Marcy Markusa and Muuxi Adam, read the list of questions below for each section of the interview. Listen to each section of the interview, stop and then answer the questions before you go on. Listen as many times as you need to. Do you have the listening skills to hear the details that you need? Section 1 Marcy s Introduction 00:00 00:53 1. What country is Muuxi from? 2. How old was he when he came to Canada? 3. Where is the preschool that Muuxi built? 4. How many kids will be enrolled in the school by June? 5. How many kids in total are there in the camp? Section 2 Muuxi s response to Marcy s First Question 00:58 01:45 1. How does Muuxi feel about being able to help the community? 2. What group did Muuxi originally plan to help? 3. What group did the community ask him to help? Section 3 Muuxi s response to Marcy s Second Question 01:51 02:52 1. How does education benefit children? 2. Why is preschool education important? Section 4 Muuxi s response to Marcy s Third Question 02:55 03:13 1. How has Muuxi raised money to support the preschool? 2. What kind of fundraiser is being planned? Section 5 Muuxi s closing comments 03:16 03:50 1. What is Muuxi s approach to fundraising? 2. Who benefits when one child is helped? Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 10 of 20

3. Read the Manitoba Memo for specific information Can you locate specific information in a text? Read the Manitoba Memo on page 2 of this lesson. The topic of the Memo is foreign aid. The Memo talks about different types of foreign aid. Find examples of different types of foreign aid and write them on the diagram below. One example is provided for you. bilateral aid Foreign Aid Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 11 of 20

4. Read information on a website and answer detail questions If you want to know more about an organization, it is always helpful to go to their website. The Humankind International website has information about the organization and its projects. In the section About Us, you will find a page that tells the story behind the organization. You can read the story on the website, or you can find it in Appendix 2 of this lesson. As you read, look for information to help you decide if each statement below is true or false. The website link is: humankindinternationalinc.org/ Statement 1. Humankind International was started over coffee at Tim Horton s in Winnipeg. True/False T 2. Three Somalian refugees started the organization. 3. Two of the refugees had just returned from Ethiopia. 4. The friends talked about children in Ethiopia who were living in poverty and had no school to go to. 5. All three men wanted to help the children. 6. They immediately knew what they would do to help. 7. The men decided to start a school in Ethiopia. 8. Two of the men had lived in the Dadaab refugee camp. 9. The men decided that building a preschool for children in the Dadaab refugee camp would become a priority in their lives. 10. They formed an organization to make this happen. 11. The organization s name means that people of different tribes or backgrounds can become friends. Questions to think about: a) Do you think Humankind International is a good name for the organization? Why or why not? b) Do you find the story of how the organization began inspiring? Why or why not? c) Can you see yourself working with a group of friends to accomplish a project like this? What kind of personality traits do you need to be able to work to make something like the Kenyan preschool project happen? Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 12 of 20

6. Ask for information about a Mentorship Program Muuxi has found a way to give back to the broader community. There are many ways a person can give back. One way is to volunteer as a mentor for newcomer youth at N.E.E.D.S. Inc. or a similar agency that works with newcomers and refugees. Think of the language you would need to approach an agency for information about their mentorship program. Practise your speaking skills by writing and asking the questions that you would need to ask if you were interested in becoming a mentor. 1. You would like to know how a mentor at N.E.E.D.S. helps newcomer youth. Question: How does a mentor at N.E.E.D.S. help newcomer youth? 2. You would like to ask what kinds of training opportunities are available to newcomer youth. Question: 3. You wonder if there is contact between the mentor and the youth s school. Question: 4. You need to ask if there is training available to mentors before they start. Question: 5. You d like to know who the contact person is at N.E.E.D.S. Question: 6. You don t know where the agency is located. Question: 7. You need the phone number. Question: Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 13 of 20

Appendix 1: Transcript 1 March 16, 2014 (broadcast date) Speaker Podcast Line Marcy (00-0:53) Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English with CBC. Muuxi Adam is a former Somali refugee who came to Canada at the age of sixteen to start a new new life. He now considers it his job to help other refugees in Africa. In 2008, Muuxi and two other former African refugees started an organization called Humankind International. The organization raised money to start the first ever preschool in the largest refugee camp in Kenya. By June of this year he hopes to have 150 children enrolled but the need is much higher. There are over 100,000 kids in the camp who are the right age for 5 10 preschool. So Muuxi is working to raise more money so more children can attend. Muuxi was recently in Kenya to open the preschool and he s my guest today. Marcy What motivated you to open this school Muuxi? Muuxi (0:58 1:45) Well I think I was just responding to what the community wanted, and I think, you know, listening to the people, what they want and just being able to provide that I think is is just tremendously ah a good feeling. Ah when when we did the assessment in back 2008, I had a different plan, I was trying to help the youth because that s the only way, or the only thing that I know very well is to work with youth, and so I was trying to do something for youth, then I listened to the community needs and what they wanted and it was completely the opposite. Ah they wanted something for preschoolers because there was none ah at all and I was quite shocked. 15 20 25 Marcy What kind of a difference do you hope that at least giving giving some of these kids a school experience will make in their life? 1 For the complete interview or other recent CBC Information Radio podcasts, go to: www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/mbinforadio.xml Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 14 of 20

Muuxi (1:51-2:52) Marcy Muuxi (2:55-3:13) Marcy Muuxi (3:26 3:50) Well like you know ah I think it s it s gonna make a big difference that you know, simple reason is that education is you know for all and education provides kids with you know opportunities that otherwise that wouldn t exist and I think that is the same reason why we send all our children here to go to school and and to learn is because they are the future of tomorrow and they are an investment and I think when we provide some sort of ah education for these kids in refugee camp, you know, especially in this critical age, where they re so active, when they want to learn and their, you know, brain is developing and they are young and I think just to expose that, some structure and stability with the good nutrition, some sense of love and a caring environment and and when you provide that it will just help for them ah you know have a better future. How have you been raising the money Muuxi here? I ve been going to different schools, I ve been going to you know ah events. Ah we just raising ah you know we have a a June 20 th dinner or a Refugee Day dinner and this is the kind of ah thing that we ve been doing as a fundraiser. Really grassroots. Just the grassroots, we haven t got any grants or anything like that but ah our goal is just to you know ah people touch you know connect people because there are a lot of good people in Winnipeg that really want to make a difference and when they see you know that they can help and they can contribute I think that s what s what you know makes us unique in our province. We re generous people, we like to help, because we know that when we help one kid we re helping the whole community in general. 30 35 40 45 50 55 Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 15 of 20

Appendix 2: Our Story 2 The story of how Humankind International began It all started in a Tim Horton s. In April 2008 Abdi Ahmed, Abdirizak Adam and Muuxi Adam, three Somali- born refugees who met in Winnipeg, sat together at a common Canadian meeting place the local Tim Horton s coffee shop to talk about an important event in Muuxi s life. He had just returned from a trip to Ethiopia where he was reunited with his mom. His two friends who had become Muuxi s substitute family, were curious and eager for details. After sharing news of the happy reunion, the conversation changed when Muuxi talked about all the kids he had seen living in poverty with no school to go to. These kids were sad and bored. The three men felt strongly that this was not right, but were unsure what they could do to help. They decided that although it would be very difficult to help they needed to do it anyway. Abdi, Abdirizak and Muuxi all believed strongly in equality and human rights for all. They felt a large part of this was the right to education. They wanted to put their beliefs into action and find a way to make a difference together. They chose to focus their efforts on building a school for the children of the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya because it is close to the Somali border and a common destination for many Somalis who have fled. The camp has become severely overcrowded. Both Abdis had lived in Dadaab for a period in their lives and knew it well. They agreed to make their commitment a priority regardless of their other responsibilities like family, school and work. They knew from prior experience working at Oxfam and UNHCR that they wanted a grass roots approach. They investigated how to formalize an organization and when they learned that just three people were needed, they felt it was a good sign. The three friends were each from different ethnic groups in Somalia a place that has been torn apart by tribal-based violence, yet they had a close friendship. They wanted a name for their organization that reflected their friendship. They chose Humankind International. 2 From the Humankind International website: //humankindinternationalinc.org/about-us/our-stor/ Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 16 of 20

Want to know more on this topic? Background for the Manitoba Memo is primarily from: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/foreign-aid/ The website for Humankind International is: humankindinternationalinc.org/ To watch a video of Muuxi speaking about his life and the preschool project, go to: vimeo.com/65745134 For information on N.E.E.D.S and its mentorship program, go to: http://needs.imd.miupdate.com/ CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 17 of 20

Answers to Worksheets Use an Online Dictionary Vocabulary Word Vocabulary Word in Context Identify the Part of Speech Write the Dictionary Definition raise to raise money verb to collect money that you can use to do a particular job or help people motivated to be motivated to do something for others adjective very keen to do something or achieve something, especially because you find it interesting or exciting shocked to be shocked by a situation adjective feeling surprised and upset by something very unexpected and unpleasant assessment we did an assessment of the needs noun a process in which you make a judgment about a person or situation, or the judgment you make structure children need structure in their lives noun a situation where activities are carefully organized and planned touch he can touch people emotionally with his story verb to affect someone's emotions, especially by making them feel sympathy or sadness generous people are being very generous with their time adjective someone who is generous is willing to give money, spend time etc., in order to help people or give them pleasure Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 18 of 20

Vocabulary Match 1. f 2. j 3. e 4. m 5. c 6 n 7. r 8. d 9. b 10. o 11. g 12. q 13. a 14. l 15. h 16. i 17. p 18. k Listen to a Short Interview for Details Answers may vary. Section 1 1. Somalia 2. 16 3. a refugee camp in Kenya 4. 150 5. over 100,000 Section 2 1. tremendously good 2. youth 3. preschool Section 3 1. it provides opportunities 2. it helps children have a better future Section 4 1. by going to schools and events 2. a Refugee Day dinner Section 5 1. to ask the grassroots to donate 2. the whole community Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 19 of 20

Read the Manitoba Memo for Specific Information Any of the following answers are acceptable: tied aid multilateral aid non-governmental aid long term aid project aid aid for specific goals emergency aid Read information on a website for detail 1. T 2. T 3. F 4. T 5. T 6. F 7. F 8. T 9. T 10. T 11. T Ask for Information about a Mentorship Program Answers may vary. 2. What kinds of training opportunities are available to newcomer youth? 3. Is there contact between the mentor and the youth s school? 4. Is there training available to mentors before they start? 5. Who is the contact person at N.E.E.D.S.? 6. Where is the agency located? 7. What is the phone number? Self Study: A Former Refugee Finds a Way to Give Back Learning English with CBC Page 20 of 20