Cultures Coalesce at Neighborhood Networks Centers

08/09/2001

“It is difficult to develop programs for people who only speak one language other than English,” says Gaye Freed, director at the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly Computer Center. “Especially when the languages are Hebrew, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.” To resolve the cross-cultural issue, the Brighton, Mass., Neighborhood Networks center bridged the cultural divide with a communal Passover Seder, inviting residents to share in the feast that annually marks the Jewish Passover holiday. This was no ordinary Seder, though. The Haggadah, the book that traditionally is read at a Seder and tells the Passover story, was written in four languages so residents with culturally diverse backgrounds could follow it. The program subsequently won a Jewish Programming Award from the Association of Jewish Aging Services. “This shows the success of developing programs to serve all residents, regardless of native language,” Freed says. Such programs are becoming increasingly important as the number of non-English speaking U.S. residents grows. According to 2000 figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 10.5 million U.S. residents said that they speak little or no English. That is up from 6.5 million in 1990. Neighborhood Networks centers across the country are offering programs to serve culturally diverse residents. Centers Develop Multilingual Programs In Greeley, Colo., more than 98 percent of the HUD residents served by the Grove Neighborhood Network speak Spanish. The rest speak Korean, Thai and English. “Many residents want more than ESL [English as a Second Language] classes, so we have to adapt our programming,” says Thom Mahoney, technical online services coordinator at the center. “We set our computers to Spanish language specifications, offer many Web site resources in Spanish and have many Spanish-English tutorials available.” A partnership with Ames Community College provides Grove with a Spanish-speaking ESL instructor. “For those residents who speak neither English nor Spanish, we try to find language programs or Web sites that work with their needs,” says Mahoney, describing a program that teaches English by asking users to identify pictures. At the Haddington Elderly Neighborhood Networks Center, Philadelphia, Pa., Qin Gao uses the center to read the daily editions of China News in her native language. “I am able to keep up my [native] language skills and learn about [news in] my country,” says the 70-year-old Gao. “It makes me feel closer to home.” Youths Learn About Their Native History Flora Olrun, director of the Bethel Neighborhood Networks Center, Bethel, Alaska, saw a cultural generation gap between senior residents and their grandchildren who use the center. “Many elders of the community know information about the history of the Yup'ik people and the culture of Bethel,” says Olrun of this indigenous Eskimo group who use the center. “The problem is that most of the elders only know these stories in their head.” To preserve native history, the center developed an oral history program in which youths interviewed seniors for a year and recorded their stories. “We have found this to be a great way to record and preserve the history of the Yup'ik people in Bethel,” Olrun says. “We even have some of the students starting to learn the native language spoken by their elders.” Cultural Programs Include American History Besides creating cultural programs, some Neighborhood Networks centers also teach American history. The Prince Hall Apartments Neighborhood Networks Center, San Francisco, Calif., developed programs for February, which is Black History Month. “One program sent residents to Allentown [California], which is a town founded by a freed slave,” says Velma Landers, center administrator. “The residents were able to learn more about their culture and heritage.” Steven Fulton, director of resident services of the Glen Burnie Neighborhood Networks Center, Glen Burnie, Md., says that historical dates and months provide a great way to teach children about cultural history and basic computer skills. “For Columbus Day, we had the children do Internet research to discover the two sides of the debate on whether or not the country should celebrate Columbus Day,” says Fulton. “It was a great program. It taught the children a piece of American history and culture, how to recognize two sides of an argument and how to conduct basic Internet searches.” For more information on culturally diverse programs, contact the Neighborhood Networks Information Center at 1-888-312-2743.

Author:	Mark Himmelsbach
Scope:	National

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