When Bikeyombe arrived in the U.S. earlier this year, he was eager to get started — but learning English was his first mountain to climb. At 20 years old, he had to jump right into working full-time to help support his family, taking a job at a laundry factory in the afternoons and evenings. Even with a full schedule, he didn't give up on his dream of learning English. Almost every week, Bikeyombe would show up at the GoTEN Training Center, phone in hand, with a family member ready to help translate. "Is there a spot for me yet?" he would ask — and when one finally opened up in February, he didn’t waste a second. 

Today, Bikeyombe comes to class faithfully, showing up 15 minutes early most days, smiling, and greeting everyone he meets with a confident "Good morning!" and "How are you?" — a huge transformation from the shy young man who once barely spoke a word of English. Thanks to his hard work (and his amazing volunteer teacher, Meredith), he’s already mastered the alphabet, colors, numbers, days of the week, and months of the year — and he never leaves class without a heartfelt “thank you.” Meredith shared, “Bikeyombe is incredibly grateful. He’s too old for high school, not quite ready for college, but he’s eager to learn. And there aren’t a lot of services available for someone in his situation. This class is a lifeline.”

August is here and school is in full swing for eager learners like Bikeyombe. Students are excitedly attending classes at our training center, ready to learn, but also ready to connect with an American friend. We are so thankful for people like Meredith who regularly give their time to not only help facilitate an effective learning process, but also bring hope and positivity to the lives of unreached people in the community. In the next month, GoTEN is hosting three First Serve events, aimed at teaching you about the heart of GoTEN, providing an educating picture of the demographic of refugees in our city, and equipping you to connect with a refugee friend! Join us at our training center for one of our upcoming First Serve events and get started on making a difference locally today!