Check out one of the following exciting programs!
- Join us for our weekly Table Talk program, featuring a potluck dinner & informal conversation;
- Connect with a refugee through our Face to Face mentorship program;
- Learn about our exciting Storybook Project, which creates books from the stories of refugees;
- Serve as a teacher during one of our daily English classes;
- Visit us at the PLACE, our new refugee-focused multicultural community center; or
- Book our Translation Services to meet an upcoming translation need.
Learn more about how these programs get us to our vision of the flourishing of refugee communities.
Refugee Language Project exists so that individuals from refugee communities in the Amarillo area are increasingly flourishing as they confidently interact with the world around them, enabling them to honor God with their lives. RLP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Amarillo, Texas. Launched in 2017, we became a standalone organization in 2020. We are funded primarily by monthly recurring donations, alongside generous one-time gifts and strategic grants. Learn more about our team here.
Understand the broader context from our 2021 Amarillo Refugee State of the Union.
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and you can find some videos on our YouTube channel.
Yes it's hot...yes we will still be having Table Talk...yes, there will be water balloons tonight! 💦
Join us at 6 PM at Margaret Wills Elementary School park by the playground. Bring dinner for your family and come sweat with your neighbors 😎
17 students, 22 kids for English class today! We are rapidly outgrowing our classroom... Any guesses on the ethnicities represented in this group? Drop your guesses below in a comment!
Picnic mats, a few balls and some food is all it takes to connect sometimes! Table Talk is in the park this summer, every Tuesday night at Margaret Wills Elementary School starting at 6. Last week we had an impromptu volleyball game, last night was can jam and soccer while littles hit up the playground. Come join us!
Our staff spent today hanging out with a fabulous group from @iladrohingyaprogram at @theplaceamarillo
Our discussions centered around learning from each organization's unique approach to language classes, volunteers, cultural barriers and a myriad of other overlapping topics. We had so much to learn from this fellow small organization, and hope to implement some ideas and methods into our own programs!
A great and encouraging way to spend a Friday!
Did you know that we send out a physical newsletter by mail twice each year? The next one is slated for June 2022. If you would like to sign up to receive those, here's how:
1. Go to refugeelanguage.org
2. Click on "Resources" then "Newsletters"
3. Enter your preferred mailing address
4. Wait patiently by your mailbox...
Ok, maybe you should do other things while waiting, but go ahead and send us your information in order to stay in the loop!
Wrestling with the Silence - Check that inbox! If you didn't get our e-newsletter, you can always sign up on the website or click the link in bio to read May's news. It's all about a clearer picture of what we need to do going forward, 6 months in to The PLACE experiment!
We also send out a printed newsletter twice a year, with our mid-year report hitting your mailbox in June. If you want to be on the list, go to refugeelanguage.org and find "Newsletters" under the "Resources" tab. You can give us your info there! As always, past newsletters are posted online for you to read at any time.
✨To all our Muslim friends, Happy Eid! ✨
We always have dessert, but sometimes, just sometimes, we arm wrestle next to it. You never know who shows up to Table Talk and what will happen...
Remember to email Jen if you are wanting to attend Monday night's mentor training! This is a great chance to take the next step in getting connected with a new friend in our city. We walk with you every step of the way!
Friends of refugees in Amarillo! Please tell your friends that there will be FREE haircuts given this Friday, April 22nd beginning at 10:30 AM at the PLACE. A woman will be cutting hair in a private room, so women with head coverings will be able to get their hair cut in a safe environment. Spread the word!
If you've been wanting to get involved with our mentorship program or have already expressed interest but haven't gone through the training, then this announcement is for you! Our Mentorship Coordinator will be hosting a group training event on April 25th at The PLACE. You must email her to sign up ahead of time at jennifer@refugeelanguage.org. The training will be from 6-7:15 at The PLACE. No childcare is available, so make plans now!
We played a game of charades tonight at Table Talk with some of the young Afghan boys that are familiar faces at The PLACE. Charades is a great example of how much language we DON'T need to communicate! You can connect non-verbally in important ways, enhanced by tools at your fingertips like Google Translate and image searches to help explain!
Have you been by The PLACE yet? If you haven't brought your refugee friends to check it out, make a point to stop in some day and explore the resources and opportunities that exist in our new community center.
The PLACE is open Monday-Thursday 9-5 and Fridays from 9-12.
You can read more about available resources and materials in this month's e-newsletter. Link in bio!
Our monthly e-newsletter hit your inbox this morning! If you didn't read it yet, you can click the link in bio to catch this month's inspiring story of Grace, a Congolese refugee(pictured middle) who is using her passion for education to help other refugees get their foot in the door of community college.
Ramadan Mubarak to all who celebrate!
These are the final days to grab a delicious Matador and support RLP in the process over at @palacecoffee. We have been honored to partner with a coffee shop that not only has scrumptious drinks and lovely gathering spaces, but with people who care about so many corners of the community they are in.
So, in honor of the end of the first quarter of 2022, grab a drink and raise a toast to RLP and all the fine folks at Palace Coffee - cheers to all that has already come to pass and all that still lies ahead! ☕ 🎉
We talk a lot about community for and with refugees, but we are also passionate about another kind of community. For those that volunteer with us in our mentorship program, it's not simply a matter of pushing you through the door of a refugee's home and wishing you good luck! Our entire staff works to equip each mentor, providing support, resources, cultural training and more. We connect all of our mentors with Slack, a messaging app that gives mentors access to one another to share ideas, ask questions and encourage each other as they step into cross-cultural relationships.
Last night we hosted a dinner for current mentors to celebrate the growth we have seen in this flagship program of RLP over the past year. Since Jennifer, our Mentorship Coordinator, has come to work for RLP, she has grown that program from 14 mentorships to over 50! These are all relationships meeting throughout the week, in various homes in our city, practicing English, working towards goals, and connecting in ways that bridge important cultural gaps both ways.
What a joy to see mentors meeting each other for the first time last night, realizing that their new friendship with a refugee from Myanmar or Afghanistan is not an isolated anomaly that they are forging alone, but a pattern of hospitality echoing down the streets of Amarillo.
"What's your name?" This is one of the first questions we usually ask new people we meet. When meeting an immigrant or refugee for the first time, make a point to learn the right way to say their name. Take the time to write it down (or ask them to do it!), learn to pronounce it as accurately as possible, and practice saying it before seeing them again. One idea is to ask your friend to record a short video clip of them saying their name. Offer to do the same for your name too! Don't try to shorten a long name or assign a nickname just to make it easier for yourself. You won't pronounce it perfectly, and that's okay. The point is to show effort and care, which conveys value and respect. That's something that comes through loud and clear in every language!
Happening today at The PLACE: English class taught in Persian! (Photo cred @dkdorman)
The things taking place today were unknown needs a year ago. What an honor to witness communities helping themselves through such a unique collaborative space. @squaremilecommunity @wefindinlove
This helpful graphic from the @nytimes using data from the @refugees (UNHCR) puts into perspective the number of refugees that have fled Ukraine over an 18 day period. That number is represented alongside various other countries' largest increase in refugees over a one year period.
