Looking back, it seems like so long ago that I was sitting on that last flight to Vietnam from Seoul, trying to figure out how to deal with the creepy guy next to me, exhausted, and so excited for this experience. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was just really excited to experience life in a new place and learn more about other people, myself, and the world. These four months have been filled with real challenges (trying to find my place in the EAP group, trying to find ways to communicate with people despite language barriers, eating a lot of new food that I wasn't familiar with, facing people looking at me like an outsider every day, negotiating and communicating when working in groups, trying to figure out what's culturally appropriate to do and say...) and real joys and successes (improving my Vietnamese to the point where I can joke around with people and bargain well, getting closer with HANU students, new non-HANU Vietnamese friends, and new EAP friends, learning to forgive myself when I make mistakes, really feeling a connection to Vietnam that makes me want to come back...).
Beyond the life lessons I have learned and will take with me from this trip, here are some ways that I can stay connected to UCHANU and Vietnam:
-continue taking Vietnamese at UCLA if possible
-look into scholarship and jobs opportunities in Vietnam that I could do after I graduate
-stay in touch with my new friends on skype and facebook with all my new friends, and in person with the UC students
-look back on pictures, blog entries, and journal entries from my trip
-really reflect, as I get ready to leave, on what this experience has meant to me and what I have learned.
Ultimately, I know that things always change when you go back to your home country, but I hope that doing the above things will help me maintain a lifelong connection to Vietnam.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Service Learning: Interest
Being receptive to the Xa Mẹ kids' interest is something we've struggled with during the course of this semester. Earlier on in the semester, we tried to keep a really organized schedule at XM--making detailed plans of English lessons and activities for every day we were there. Things started to change a little when the kids started losing interest in the English lessons. Less and less children would participate, and we eventually made the decision to stop doing the lessons basically because this would mean that we were focusing our attention on a few kids rather than spreading our attention and efforts out over as many kids as possible. Our plan was to help the kids learn English when they asked for it--either for their homework or their own interest. After we discontinued the English lessons, we brought in some magazines and encouraged the kids to cut out things they liked and didn't like and write about the collages they made. They kids were really into making collages with the magazines, and we continued bringing them in on and off for a couple weeks. The kids have also been pretty receptive to our profile project--all but a few kids put time into their pages.
Ultimately, this semester I've definitely learned the importance of being receptive to the interest level of the people you are trying to help. There is no use planning an English lesson that no one wants to be at--it's just not going to be effective. Basically I've found that you need to maintain a balance planning something that will interest and engage the kids and planning out your time and effort in a way that will end up having the biggest and most positive impact. Another challenge is planning activities that will interest the most kids. This is really hard because of the big age range of the children--6 to 18 years old. Some activities interest more kids than others. For example, it's usually the younger kids who want to play games like duck duck goose and elbow tag. Our interactions with the older kids are usually limited to homework help, talking, and watching TV together. At XM we usually spread out, so it's often the case that one of us will be helping a kids with their homework, another will be watching TV with them, and another might be playing cards with some kids upstairs. One challenge that comes with us spreading out and participating in the interests of the different kids is that is can be more difficult for us to communicate with each other during our time at XM. Ultimately, though, this has been a really effective way of trying to be accessible to as many kids as possible.
Finally, I think it's really significant that we show the kids our own interest and love for them. It's important to remember that almost all of these kids are living away from their parents and families. At night, there are really no adults giving them any attention or showing much interest in them. When we talk to the kids and ask them about themselves, we show them that we care and that they matter. Even just showing up shows the kids that we care. I think that this is really something Xa Mẹ is missing in terms of how the children are taken care of. Who are the people there to help the kids develop positive self esteem and a feeling of worth when they are at home?
Ultimately, I've really learned the importance of tuning in to the interest level of the people you are trying to help while making it clear that you care about them, are interested, and want to be there. Essentially, it takes both sides of a volunteer project to be engaged to have a real positive impact.
Ultimately, this semester I've definitely learned the importance of being receptive to the interest level of the people you are trying to help. There is no use planning an English lesson that no one wants to be at--it's just not going to be effective. Basically I've found that you need to maintain a balance planning something that will interest and engage the kids and planning out your time and effort in a way that will end up having the biggest and most positive impact. Another challenge is planning activities that will interest the most kids. This is really hard because of the big age range of the children--6 to 18 years old. Some activities interest more kids than others. For example, it's usually the younger kids who want to play games like duck duck goose and elbow tag. Our interactions with the older kids are usually limited to homework help, talking, and watching TV together. At XM we usually spread out, so it's often the case that one of us will be helping a kids with their homework, another will be watching TV with them, and another might be playing cards with some kids upstairs. One challenge that comes with us spreading out and participating in the interests of the different kids is that is can be more difficult for us to communicate with each other during our time at XM. Ultimately, though, this has been a really effective way of trying to be accessible to as many kids as possible.
Finally, I think it's really significant that we show the kids our own interest and love for them. It's important to remember that almost all of these kids are living away from their parents and families. At night, there are really no adults giving them any attention or showing much interest in them. When we talk to the kids and ask them about themselves, we show them that we care and that they matter. Even just showing up shows the kids that we care. I think that this is really something Xa Mẹ is missing in terms of how the children are taken care of. Who are the people there to help the kids develop positive self esteem and a feeling of worth when they are at home?
Ultimately, I've really learned the importance of tuning in to the interest level of the people you are trying to help while making it clear that you care about them, are interested, and want to be there. Essentially, it takes both sides of a volunteer project to be engaged to have a real positive impact.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
UCHANU: group work
With UCHANU and Service Learning, I've had a lot of experience with group work this semester.
UCHANU:
I feel like our project team (Fantastic Năm) has worked really smoothly as a group this semester. This has in large part been because our personalities mesh well and we all have the same goals--to put geniune effort into our work and to learn something. One thing that has really helped us work together has been our division of labor and organization. We have pretty much always had the same process, so it goes really smoothly: for each interview, one person transcribes it (Phương or Khương), one person translates it into English (Katie or Vĩ), and one person does final edits to make sure everything sounds good and makes sense. Also, I have the role of sending out emails about due dates, etc. when appropriate.
Service Learning:
One consistent challenge for the Xa Mẹ team has been issues relating to language. Me, Kristine, John, and Thuy Linh (who joined our group part-way through the semester) all have different levels of Vietnamese ability, and we have been working on effectively dealing with this challenge all semester. A major issue earlier in the semester was Kristine feeling overwhelmed about the role she was put in as the most fluent Vietnamese speaker--we just depended on her too much to do too much. I received feedback from both John and Kristine that I should try to handle situations on my own more, instead of always looking to them for translation help. Kristine in particular has really pushed me to push myself in terms of taking the initiative to learn what I need to know and to communicate on my own. Over the course of the semester, as my Vietnamese has improved, this has become a lot easier. I now ask John and Kristine for help pretty rarely, and communicate with the kids and deal with problems on my own whenever possible. This situation has pushed me to think more creatively about how to communicate, and has given me a lot of motivation to improve my Vietnamese. The communication issue is always a challenge, and I think we've worked really hard together to give feedback and work on finding a good balance over the course of the semester. It's been a long process--not something that was "solved" after one conversation or meeting. Our discussions about issues relating to communication have really helped me to understand how important really listening to group members and valuing their thoughts and feelings is. Even though we've faced a lot of challenges and things have not always gone smoothly, I really appreciate having this opportunity to develop group work skills.
Reflecting on myself:
Because I have a personality where I like to be in control and tend to feel strongly about doing things a certain way, my main challenge in working in a group is to step back, listen to other people's ideas, and compromise. I really feel like I have gotten a lot better at doing this this semester. The fact that my Vietnamese is so limited has put me in a more following and conceding role than I would have felt comfortable with in the past. But, this has definitely been a good thing because the situation has really forced me to allow other people to take control more and have more leadership in different situations. I have found that, of course, my ideas are not always the best ones, and that I'm not always right. It has definitely been healthy to get used to doing things the way other people prefer and seeing what happens.
I also think it's been really useful to think about what my strengths are and how I can be useful in a group, especially when speaking Vietnamese is so important in both of my group situations. I've learned that when you put thought into it, there's almost always a way to divide up work to make things easier for everyone as a whole. It's also really important that everyone has a voice and that a group continues to communicate and negotiate until everyone feels as comfortable as possible with their roles and what's expected of them.
UCHANU:
I feel like our project team (Fantastic Năm) has worked really smoothly as a group this semester. This has in large part been because our personalities mesh well and we all have the same goals--to put geniune effort into our work and to learn something. One thing that has really helped us work together has been our division of labor and organization. We have pretty much always had the same process, so it goes really smoothly: for each interview, one person transcribes it (Phương or Khương), one person translates it into English (Katie or Vĩ), and one person does final edits to make sure everything sounds good and makes sense. Also, I have the role of sending out emails about due dates, etc. when appropriate.
Service Learning:
One consistent challenge for the Xa Mẹ team has been issues relating to language. Me, Kristine, John, and Thuy Linh (who joined our group part-way through the semester) all have different levels of Vietnamese ability, and we have been working on effectively dealing with this challenge all semester. A major issue earlier in the semester was Kristine feeling overwhelmed about the role she was put in as the most fluent Vietnamese speaker--we just depended on her too much to do too much. I received feedback from both John and Kristine that I should try to handle situations on my own more, instead of always looking to them for translation help. Kristine in particular has really pushed me to push myself in terms of taking the initiative to learn what I need to know and to communicate on my own. Over the course of the semester, as my Vietnamese has improved, this has become a lot easier. I now ask John and Kristine for help pretty rarely, and communicate with the kids and deal with problems on my own whenever possible. This situation has pushed me to think more creatively about how to communicate, and has given me a lot of motivation to improve my Vietnamese. The communication issue is always a challenge, and I think we've worked really hard together to give feedback and work on finding a good balance over the course of the semester. It's been a long process--not something that was "solved" after one conversation or meeting. Our discussions about issues relating to communication have really helped me to understand how important really listening to group members and valuing their thoughts and feelings is. Even though we've faced a lot of challenges and things have not always gone smoothly, I really appreciate having this opportunity to develop group work skills.
Reflecting on myself:
Because I have a personality where I like to be in control and tend to feel strongly about doing things a certain way, my main challenge in working in a group is to step back, listen to other people's ideas, and compromise. I really feel like I have gotten a lot better at doing this this semester. The fact that my Vietnamese is so limited has put me in a more following and conceding role than I would have felt comfortable with in the past. But, this has definitely been a good thing because the situation has really forced me to allow other people to take control more and have more leadership in different situations. I have found that, of course, my ideas are not always the best ones, and that I'm not always right. It has definitely been healthy to get used to doing things the way other people prefer and seeing what happens.
I also think it's been really useful to think about what my strengths are and how I can be useful in a group, especially when speaking Vietnamese is so important in both of my group situations. I've learned that when you put thought into it, there's almost always a way to divide up work to make things easier for everyone as a whole. It's also really important that everyone has a voice and that a group continues to communicate and negotiate until everyone feels as comfortable as possible with their roles and what's expected of them.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
UCHANU: the bus
I take the bus a lot here--at least 6 times per week--and there are a few things that have really caught my attention.
First of all, you have to run to get on the bus--even if you're standing right in front of the door. If you don't, there's a good chance it will leave without you. Over the last few months I've seen several people get caught in the doors of the bus. Also, you have to rush to get out of the bus before the doors close, and I have definitely missed my stop before because I was too slow in elbowing and pushing my way past people to make sure I got out. From what I've heard, it seems that the reason for this is that bus drivers have a monetary incentive to get through their route faster than is possible to do so if they waited longer at stops.
Another thing that really strikes me about Hanoi buses is the safety features. Almost all of the safety information is in English, but some is in Vietnamese. Even more confusingly, some is in English that appears to be translated imperfectly from another language. Also, while one of the stickers says to break the window with a hammer in an emergency, I've never seen a hammer anywhere on the bus...Noticing all these things really makes me want to learn more about 1) how the bus system is managed, and 2) where the buses are produced and how safety precautions are managed (if at all). I'm sure that the answers to these questions would show some interesting things about the development and management of public transit in Vietnam. To be honest, it's just surprising and frustrating to me that the government can organize and clean up so much for the 1000 year celebration, yet buses don't even have stickers with important safety information in Vietnamese. It seems to me that here, in contrast to more "developed" countries like the U.S., everyone knows that you really have to be alert and watch out for yourself all the time--when driving, walking, eating, etc. You can't assume that laws and regulations ("the man"?) will protect and take care of you.
However, there's one thing I really love about the buses in Hanoi, which is that the passengers are usually really nice. People will often strike up conversations with me, and one time a girl went way out of her way to help me when I was lost. Just the other day a guy offered me his seat, and when I politely said I was fine, he gestured to my huge (heavy) backpack and insisted that I take his seat. I recognize that I'm probably getting special treatment as a foreigner, but it's still nice to have these friendly interactions with people.
Ultimately, I really want to learn more about the bus system in Vietnam. Hopefully my Vietnamese will eventually be good enough to allow me to pursue the answers to my questions and learn more about this topic.
First of all, you have to run to get on the bus--even if you're standing right in front of the door. If you don't, there's a good chance it will leave without you. Over the last few months I've seen several people get caught in the doors of the bus. Also, you have to rush to get out of the bus before the doors close, and I have definitely missed my stop before because I was too slow in elbowing and pushing my way past people to make sure I got out. From what I've heard, it seems that the reason for this is that bus drivers have a monetary incentive to get through their route faster than is possible to do so if they waited longer at stops.
Another thing that really strikes me about Hanoi buses is the safety features. Almost all of the safety information is in English, but some is in Vietnamese. Even more confusingly, some is in English that appears to be translated imperfectly from another language. Also, while one of the stickers says to break the window with a hammer in an emergency, I've never seen a hammer anywhere on the bus...Noticing all these things really makes me want to learn more about 1) how the bus system is managed, and 2) where the buses are produced and how safety precautions are managed (if at all). I'm sure that the answers to these questions would show some interesting things about the development and management of public transit in Vietnam. To be honest, it's just surprising and frustrating to me that the government can organize and clean up so much for the 1000 year celebration, yet buses don't even have stickers with important safety information in Vietnamese. It seems to me that here, in contrast to more "developed" countries like the U.S., everyone knows that you really have to be alert and watch out for yourself all the time--when driving, walking, eating, etc. You can't assume that laws and regulations ("the man"?) will protect and take care of you.
However, there's one thing I really love about the buses in Hanoi, which is that the passengers are usually really nice. People will often strike up conversations with me, and one time a girl went way out of her way to help me when I was lost. Just the other day a guy offered me his seat, and when I politely said I was fine, he gestured to my huge (heavy) backpack and insisted that I take his seat. I recognize that I'm probably getting special treatment as a foreigner, but it's still nice to have these friendly interactions with people.
Ultimately, I really want to learn more about the bus system in Vietnam. Hopefully my Vietnamese will eventually be good enough to allow me to pursue the answers to my questions and learn more about this topic.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Service Learning: Society
I think the notion of society is really important in regards to our work with the kids at Xa Mẹ. (Excluding the children of the woman who cooks), it seems that all of the children at the orphanage come from very poor backgrounds. I don't know of any of the children who are orphans in the traditional sense, in that both of their parents have died. Anyways, in a country in which family is so important (in political, cultural, and social terms), I often wonder how the children's living situation affects their lives. Do they get teased in school? Is it hard for them to respond to questions about their parents and families?
I also often think about the place in society that the children will inhabit in the future. There are some children I'm really not too worried about at the moment. They listen, do their homework, and seem to be doing well in school. This past week several of the children were working really hard on class projects for teacher's day. For multiple days they were carefully drawing and coloring posters for the occasion. I imagine these kids continuing to do well in school, and hopefully ending up in college. There are other kids who seem to be struggling--they get really aggressive with other children, and I don't see them doing homework as often. I'm not sure where they will be in 20 years, and I'm not sure what resources (if any) the organization provides them with to make sure that they succeed.
It's also challenging for me to think about how I--as someone who is not a member of Vietnamese society--can really help these kids in the long term when I'm only here for a few months and barely speak the language. I can't really help them with their homework, I can't listen to their stories like Jon, Thuy Linh and Kristine can, they can't really ask me for advice...so I've pretty much come to the conclusion that they best way I am capable of helping them is by just being there and working hard to think about and plan ways that we can be most effective as the XM team.
Going off topic, I've found that even more than other group projects I've been involved in, this service learning experience has showed me how important it is to listen, compromise, and work well with other people in order to achieve a goal. This has been especially true since I have depended on Kristine, Thuy Linh and John so much in terms of translating and actually taking the lead in implementing stuff that we do. I have also really tried to step up my efforts to handle challenging situations and communicate with the kids on my own whenever possible. As my Vietnamese has improved, this has gotten much easier. I hope that I will continue to feel that I can do more on my own and be more effective in the next few weeks that we have with the kids.
I also often think about the place in society that the children will inhabit in the future. There are some children I'm really not too worried about at the moment. They listen, do their homework, and seem to be doing well in school. This past week several of the children were working really hard on class projects for teacher's day. For multiple days they were carefully drawing and coloring posters for the occasion. I imagine these kids continuing to do well in school, and hopefully ending up in college. There are other kids who seem to be struggling--they get really aggressive with other children, and I don't see them doing homework as often. I'm not sure where they will be in 20 years, and I'm not sure what resources (if any) the organization provides them with to make sure that they succeed.
It's also challenging for me to think about how I--as someone who is not a member of Vietnamese society--can really help these kids in the long term when I'm only here for a few months and barely speak the language. I can't really help them with their homework, I can't listen to their stories like Jon, Thuy Linh and Kristine can, they can't really ask me for advice...so I've pretty much come to the conclusion that they best way I am capable of helping them is by just being there and working hard to think about and plan ways that we can be most effective as the XM team.
Going off topic, I've found that even more than other group projects I've been involved in, this service learning experience has showed me how important it is to listen, compromise, and work well with other people in order to achieve a goal. This has been especially true since I have depended on Kristine, Thuy Linh and John so much in terms of translating and actually taking the lead in implementing stuff that we do. I have also really tried to step up my efforts to handle challenging situations and communicate with the kids on my own whenever possible. As my Vietnamese has improved, this has gotten much easier. I hope that I will continue to feel that I can do more on my own and be more effective in the next few weeks that we have with the kids.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
UCHANU: milk, Saigon, vacuum cleaners, dancing, Holland...I swear this relates to our class!
So we're in Saigon. And a group of us find ourselves exploring this crazy "Dutch Lady" commercial fair where various activities were set up relating to milk, Holland, and the Dutch Lady company. It was frankly really bizarre--with an area where people could put on Dutch lady costumes, a game where kids "milked" cardboard cows, and stands where you could insert your face into Dutch related scenes. And I guess the Dutch Lady company is somehow associated with the Phillips corporation. So we're walking around and happen upon a bizarre scene where a bunch of young people in costumes are dancing onstage with Phillips vacuum cleaners. And not just any dancing--there was some serious choreography going on here. At some point they ask for volunteers for something, and, of course, as probably the only white person raising my hand, I end up on stage. And find myself learning ridiculous choreography, performing onstage to roaring crowd of around 150 people, and winning an apron. So, obviously, this was a memorable experience....
Apparently the people onstage were encouraging people to have fun while vacuuming (with a Phillips vacuum cleaner of course!). And this whole fair seemed to be oriented towards developing in people warm and fuzzy feelings for these corporations and their products. Brand familiarity and loyalty. Anways, I'm not sure what this experience says about Saigon (or my judgement...), but it seems like there's got to be something about this place that would attract this kind of event. I mean, I really can't see this happening in the States. It just seems so blatantly corporate and commercial--just really over the top. Why did the Dutch Lady corporation choose to have this promotional event here?
I wonder how people at the fair responded to it? I mean, it looked like everyone was having a really great time. I mean, we were having a really great time! So, who knows what effect this fair had on everyone.
Will there soon be similar events in Hanoi? Are there already similar events here? Are these (expensive!) promotional events actually paying off for companies? I'm curious about the answers to these questions.
Apparently the people onstage were encouraging people to have fun while vacuuming (with a Phillips vacuum cleaner of course!). And this whole fair seemed to be oriented towards developing in people warm and fuzzy feelings for these corporations and their products. Brand familiarity and loyalty. Anways, I'm not sure what this experience says about Saigon (or my judgement...), but it seems like there's got to be something about this place that would attract this kind of event. I mean, I really can't see this happening in the States. It just seems so blatantly corporate and commercial--just really over the top. Why did the Dutch Lady corporation choose to have this promotional event here?
I wonder how people at the fair responded to it? I mean, it looked like everyone was having a really great time. I mean, we were having a really great time! So, who knows what effect this fair had on everyone.
Will there soon be similar events in Hanoi? Are there already similar events here? Are these (expensive!) promotional events actually paying off for companies? I'm curious about the answers to these questions.
Service Learning: Self and Identity
I has been so wonderful to experience and get to know the unique personalities of the kids at Xa Mẹ. Each week I feel like I get closer with a lot of the kids. For example, it's so nice to see a kid who was once ambivalent about my presence give me a huge, excited smile and enthusiastic wave everytime we arrive at XM. It's really hard for me to think about us having to leave in a few weeks.
Anyways, one of our main goals has been to help the children express themselves and feel good about who they are as individuals. One way that we are implementing this is through our profile project. (Almost) all of the children have had their pictures taken, and the plan has been for them to write about themselves on a piece of paper with their picture on it. The final pages will be compiled as part of our yearbook that we will give each kid at the end of the program.
Today we brought in pictures of the children, taped them on white sheets of paper, and told the kids to write about themselves and/or draw pictures. This was definitely our most successful activity yet. A good chunk of the kids participated (12), and the kids really seemed to enjoy having their own individual pictures and expressing themselves through their pages. I found it interesting when I saw one boy drawing on a girl's page. He didn't seem to be doing it in a mischievious way--it was more like he was just adding details to his own. Jon told him to stop, but this observation really stuck with me. Many times in the past I have also seen kids drawing on and taking each other's papers and turning them into paper airplanes if we weren't paying close enough attention. This observation made me think that maybe the children really don't have that much personal property or much of a feeling of having ownership over things in their lives. It is also possible that I have been witnessing some aspect of a more "collective" culture in contrast to the generally more "individualistic" cultural norm that I'm used to in the United States. Maybe this kind of thing is common among children everywhere in Vietnam?...
But, anyways, as I have mentioned in the past, I think that the personal property and space that the children have in the orphanage is really limited. I don't know of any other activities the children are regularly able to do where they are encouraged to think about who they are and express themselves creatively. The fact that so many children participated (even older kids who usually don't participate!), and that they seemed to really enjoy working on their profile pages, makes me feel that our activity was successful. I think this activity was really aimed at valuing each kid as an individual with a unique identity and perspective that we care about, and I hope that the kids felt this. It was also nice to notice today that the children still use the individual folders we gave them. Those folders are another way for the children to feel a sense of ownership and individuality within a very communal space.
Overall, I hope that our work is helping the kids to have a positive sense of self, and to feel good about expressing their unique identity.
Anyways, one of our main goals has been to help the children express themselves and feel good about who they are as individuals. One way that we are implementing this is through our profile project. (Almost) all of the children have had their pictures taken, and the plan has been for them to write about themselves on a piece of paper with their picture on it. The final pages will be compiled as part of our yearbook that we will give each kid at the end of the program.
Today we brought in pictures of the children, taped them on white sheets of paper, and told the kids to write about themselves and/or draw pictures. This was definitely our most successful activity yet. A good chunk of the kids participated (12), and the kids really seemed to enjoy having their own individual pictures and expressing themselves through their pages. I found it interesting when I saw one boy drawing on a girl's page. He didn't seem to be doing it in a mischievious way--it was more like he was just adding details to his own. Jon told him to stop, but this observation really stuck with me. Many times in the past I have also seen kids drawing on and taking each other's papers and turning them into paper airplanes if we weren't paying close enough attention. This observation made me think that maybe the children really don't have that much personal property or much of a feeling of having ownership over things in their lives. It is also possible that I have been witnessing some aspect of a more "collective" culture in contrast to the generally more "individualistic" cultural norm that I'm used to in the United States. Maybe this kind of thing is common among children everywhere in Vietnam?...
But, anyways, as I have mentioned in the past, I think that the personal property and space that the children have in the orphanage is really limited. I don't know of any other activities the children are regularly able to do where they are encouraged to think about who they are and express themselves creatively. The fact that so many children participated (even older kids who usually don't participate!), and that they seemed to really enjoy working on their profile pages, makes me feel that our activity was successful. I think this activity was really aimed at valuing each kid as an individual with a unique identity and perspective that we care about, and I hope that the kids felt this. It was also nice to notice today that the children still use the individual folders we gave them. Those folders are another way for the children to feel a sense of ownership and individuality within a very communal space.
Overall, I hope that our work is helping the kids to have a positive sense of self, and to feel good about expressing their unique identity.
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