Combating Summer Slide in Refugee Youth

The weather is warming up - a sure sign that summer is just around the corner! Soon children will set aside their books and papers and soak in the lazy days of summer. While summer is a well deserved break from school work, students of all ages often experience a loss in retention of many of the concepts learned over the year. Summer can be especially difficult for refugee children who tend to struggle both academically and socially. The biggest impact is often on their English skills. Most refugee students speak their native language while at home, so it’s easy to lose some of the skills and knowledge they’ve gained if they aren’t practicing English everyday.

To help combat this, Inspiritus’ Savannah office offers a day camp program for school age refugee children. Last year was our first year offering the program to the refugees we serve, and we received positive feedback from the children’s teachers. The camp is held mornings June 3 through July 25, and this year we are expecting around 20 children from various countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.

At summer camp, the children are able to improve their English as they connect with other kids who are experiencing many of the same struggles they’ve gone through. Throughout the summer, the kids take part in journaling exercises, fun hands-on science lessons, math problem solving games and other activities designed to keep them learning while having fun. We also have many fun field trips planned throughout the summer The kids will be visiting the African Art Museum, where they’ll view art from many of their home countries, Butter Bean Beach, the Crab Shack on Tybee Island, Oatland Island, the Fire Station and more.

Last year’s campers cooling off on a hot day.

Be sure to follow our Facebook page for updates throughout the summer!