The Arabic version of Rosetta Stone Language learning software.
On a spring Sunday, Andy Silver and I delivered some much-needed clothing and a TV, provided by members of the Shomrei community, to a Syrian refugee family in Elizabeth, NJ. Bara’a and Tammam seemed tired when we arrived. That, of course, is understandable — being a refugee means once again being in a foreign land, not speaking the language and, for the most part, at least for now, being dependent on strangers. In addition, Bara’a and Tammam have two small children and are expecting a third and our visit came in the middle of the daily Ramadan fast!
The TV we brought enables the family to immediately gain a window into our culture and language. They cannot afford cable, but Andy was able to buy an inexpensive over-the-air antenna with the funds raised by Shomrei’s Refugee Assistance Group, and they can now watch 30 stations with no monthly cost.
We spent over an hour with them trying to install Rosetta Stone (to help them learn English) onto their cell phone, which has all Arabic text. We tried and tried and finally downloaded the program, but alas we couldn’t get it to work. We’ll try again next time.
Andy and I started Shomrei’s Refugee Assistance Group with the intention of providing our members with an opportunity to make a difference with newly arrived refugees. I can’t imagine anything more satisfying; we welcome Shomrei members to join the more than 45 people who are part of our group. Feel free to ask Andy or me any questions you may have.
Nick Levitin: email hidden; JavaScript is required
Andy Silver: email hidden; JavaScript is required
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