United Way, Heartland Family Service and the YMCA are working together to make sure little ones are ready-to-learn on the first day of kindergarten! 

Parents go out their way to protect their children. Sometimes that means a journey of thousands of miles. Ner Clay had spent 30 years of his own life in a camp for Burmese refugees in Thailand. It was safer than his homeland, but the camp provided little opportunity or hope for his young family: wife Paw Tha and daughters Victoria (7), Gloria (5) and Julia (3).

"School" in the camp consisted of many children in a small space with few supplies or books. Even if they could return home to Burma, few in their Karen** culture ever learned to read and write. These parents wanted something better for their daughters.

Ner Clay and Paw Tha were granted refugee status by the United Nations and they made their way to the U.S. and Omaha in 2008. In his role as pastor of Omaha’s Karen Christian Revival Church, he and Paw Tha feel responsible for their flock’s spiritual wellbeing and their cultural adjustment in their new homeland.

Both talk about the daunting language barrier that refugees face – and how they fear for their children’s educational future all over again. But Ner Clay and Paw Tha are happy to connect their flock with a program that’s giving their own daughters a great start.

It’s the School Readiness program, funded by United Way donors in collaboration with Heartland Family Service and YMCA. In its first year, the team has reached out to Omaha’s refugee community – from Sudan, Somalia, Burma/Myanmar, Burundi. Instead of asking transportation-challenged refugees to visit the agencies, the program goes to their homes, apartment complexes and churches including Ner Clay’s. It focuses not only on the pre-kindergarten children, but their older siblings who often babysit them.

Toys, song and playtime give the refugee children a fun environment in which to learn English, learn to count, and become familiar with stories that American children already know when they start kindergarten. In many cases, the youngsters have little or no experience with things like crayons or puzzles, and that alone can distance them from other kids at school. As an added benefit, the parents and older siblings learn while the little ones practice their new skills in class.

3 year old Julia Clay is catching on fast. She loves to play with the legos and puzzles the educators bring, and she’s already becoming bi-lingual, much to the delight of her parents. Big sister Gloria got a great start at school with the program too, and 7 year old Victoria is leading the way.

Paw Tha says her family is happy and proud to host the SR programs in their home and church, because it helps other refugee families learn more about their new community. It helps them feel more connected to other Nebraskans and Americans. It empowers them to become more involved, to be better able to contribute to the success of their family and their new homeland.

Most Americans’ families have come to the U.S. from other lands. They, like Ner Clay and Paw Tha, want their children to succeed and become good citizens. Thank you for making this possible for Julia, Gloria, Victoria and hundreds of other metro area children who benefit from United Way youth and education programs!