As Karenni refugees are being resettled, it's a great comfort for them to be able to access foods that are familiar to them.  A .pdf file is attached with a list of foods that they enjoy as well as items that are not appropriate.  The Karenni eat rice twice a day with a curry topping and some soup. Most have never had hamburger, spaghetti, pizza or ‘typical’ American foods.  Coming to America means that they will be exposed to quite a variety of food, and children will need to be encouraged to try all kinds of food at the school cafeteria! Bringing them to a McDonalds, or inviting them to share a meal with your family is an important part of their adaptation to America. Just be aware of how stretching it can be to adjust to so many new things  all at once!

RICE RICE RICE!!  You can never give Karenni people too much rice.  Before food stamps are available to them, try to provide large bags of rice and check at least weekly to see if they have run out or are running low.   The Karenni can be timid so it's important that you take the initiative to check their cupboards and refrigerators during those initial weeks to make sure they have adequate rice, vegetables, fruits, meat and snacks.   Don't be afraid to help them understand what can and cannot go in the refrigerator. 

If it's possible, connect the Karenni to the closest Asian food store where they can buy the special things that they love. The Karenni will be thrilled and the Asian food store owners will love you!  In one location, the Asian food store owner picks a group of Karenni up to shop at his store and then drops them back off with all their Asian comfort food.

We translated this document so that one of the Kayah who previously worked in the camp clinic could conduct the necessary pre-immunization questions with each family before they got ALL those immunizations.  The questions and answers are in both English and Kayah.  The form could be filled out prior to going to the doctor or while at the doctor's office.  You can download the file below.

The following website's purpose is to help volunteers learn how to resettle refugees.  It includes a place to sign up for the future release of a refugee resettlement "how to" guide.  www.resettlementsupport.com

In the refugee camp, water is boiled to purify it before drinking.  In America, we can drink the water right out of the faucet and don't need to waste our money buying plastic bottles of water.   Resettlement workers and volunteers should take the opportunity to explain this and demonstrate this inexpensive freedom by drinking a cup of water right from the faucet.

Here are some ideas for things you (and your kids) can do even if you can't communicate together in a common language.  The Karenni need to be listening to English and creating new experiences.  Though the Karenni may seem a bit quiet, they can have a great sense of humor.  To keep things moving so that you are not sitting there all staring at each other, here are some suggestions:

Play soccer with the kids or men
Play badminton, throw a frisbee
Teach them how to shoot a basketball
Teach them how to play baseball
"Concentration" is a great memory game for learning English
Teach Card games, and easy board games like Candyland
Do an easy puzzle (i.e. a puzzle of the United States so they can learn the State names)
Take little children to a park with playground equipment
Play "Simon Says” with simple English words
Go to the zoo together
Take a family to McDonalds to try their first hamburger or hot fudge Sundae and play in the play area
 Encourage your kids to come up with ideas of where to go and what to do.
Take them fishing—they love to fish, but have likely never used an American fishing pole
Go see fireworks on the 4th of July
Play miniature golf

-Refugee Resettlement Organizations are overwhelmed with the huge amount of work it is to settle refugee families.  They desperately need reliable volunteers to help them with:
1. Donating Food and Furniture
2. Helping to setup and decorate apartments and homes
3. Applying for Social Security cards
4. Signing up for Food Stamps (and teaching them how to use them)
5. Immunizations
6. Doctor and Dentist Visits--huge task!!
7. Setting up English classes in homes/offering to teach (especially w/women who are home with kids)
8. Setting up donated TVs/antenaes/convertor boxes
9. Taking people to DMV to get IDs or licenses or teaching refugees to drive
10. Driving people to church
11. Finding jobs
12. Setting up bank accounts
13. ETC.

Don’t be shy about teaching Karenni people how we do things in America. They are quick learners and will appreciate any help. But, don't just tell them what to do, involve them through demonstration and practice.  So many things are different for them, and a kind word of explanation or demonstration is all that is needed to help them succeed. You might notice them doing something that seems unusual to you, but is normal for them. The things that they do, they have always done in Asia  . Some things they will be able to continue doing (eating a lot of rice!), other things might not work so well here in America (like using a mortar and pestle to make a "hot" sauce early in the morning or gluing pictures on the wall), and they will need to learn a new way of living.

One helpful way that Volunteers can assist refugees to make the transition to American living is through the simple act of passing on your cleaning skills:
1. form a team and make a list of cleaning supplies necessary for every apartment or house (get your Sunday school class to make a donation)
2. buy the cleaning supplies (prepare to donate them after you finish cleaning each home, and do not use special products but cheap ones they can easily buy themselves in the local store)
3. go from home to home teaching each refugee family through demonstration and practice how to clean the following areas:

CLEANING CARPETS:
-The Karenni are used to living in bamboo homes using brooms to keep things clean.  They would be quite happy to have a simple wooden floor because they know how to keep that clean.  So, what do you do with all that wall to wall carpeting?  Unfortunately vacumbs are not cheap and resettlement agencies do not provide every home with one.  It's an impossible situation!  Try to get donations of $45 bagless vacumbs at Walmart and teach them to use the vacumb and ask them to share it with a few other refugees in their apartment complexes.

KITCHEN COOKING AND CLEANING:
-Pretend this is your kitchen and you need to clean all the counters and sink and even fridge.  Demonstrate using the appropriate products and then let them practice.
Of special note:
-The Karenni have never had formica countertops, so teach them to cut on a cutting board (not on the counters).
-They cook over charcoal every day inside their homes. They will need to understand how to use a stove and that we never use fire/charcoal inside the house!
-Leftover rice for the Karenni is given to the chickens to eat. They need to know to put food they don’t want into the trash, not down the drain where it will plug up the drains.
-They have always burned their trash outside on the ground. They will need to learn to not throw trash on the ground, but use a trash can.
-Don’t let cooking oil get all over, use a cleanser and sponge to clean it up.
-They have never owned a refrigerator. They need to learn what can be kept in a fridge: eggs (they don’t put eggs in the refrigerator in Asia. If an egg isn’t washed, it can stay outside the fridge, but in America, the eggs are all washed before they are sold), meat (cover any open meat), vegetables.
 
BATHROOMS:
-The refugee camps have squatty potties that are in outhouses.  I HOPE that resettlement agency case-workers are demonstrating to the men how to use the toilet so that the seats stay clean.  If there is evidence to the contrary, grab a male and have him grab the males in the house and demonstrate appropriately.
-Demonstrate how to clean the shower, baths,  sinks and toilets.
-Suggest they clean the bathrooms at least once a week.

MISC.
-Tell them to always lock the door when they leave the house and even when they are inside (in some areas).
-In Asia, most people leave their shoes outside of the house, because they are considered to be too dirty to bring in but in America, a nice pair of shoes might go missing.
-Lock up your bikes or keep them in the house. Children should were bike helmets.
-Swimming requires proper attire--no swimming in your underwear, even for kids