For the Goizueta Business Library’s Amanda Adams (library specialist), the Global Village Project (GVP) answered her need to serve.
Housed in the Decatur Presbyterian Church, the GVP is a scholastic program designed to equip recently arrived refugee girls with the academic and social knowledge needed for success in a high school or equivalency program. Amanda is volunteering for the GVP’s summer Book Club, where she is helping the girls learn English.
The students are from all over the world, including war-torn regions of Africa and the Middle East. There are around 50 girls in the program, all between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The students enter the program through a nomination process. Most of the girls live with families in Clarkston, GA, which has become a refugee destination in recent years.
“Being new to the area, I wanted to get a better feel for the community,” said Amanda. “They are doing fantastic work on a shoestring budget at GVP. There is an army of volunteers.”
Amanda finds the work very rewarding. She works with girls at varying reading levels. In addition to the volunteers, presenters and special guests from the community often come in to read to the girls.
“The girls have all been wonderful and excited to have us there,” said Amanda. Once the school year starts, Amanda hopes to continue her volunteer role in the after-school learning study hall.
For more information about GVP, go to http://globalvillageproject.org.
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