Welcoming Families From Around the World

The following assignment was presented:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

My family is coming from the country of Uganda. 

I would prepare for the new child and his family to be a part of our childcare program by determining to what degree the family speaks English.  A translator would be invited to attend the initial meeting to ensure clear and effective communication.  I would also do some research on Ugandan social practices in an effort to engage them in a way that is familiar, and hopefully avoid unintended offense.

Once they have arrived, I would give them a tour of our facility to introduce the child and their family to the learning environment.  The child’s name and space would be prepared and I would acknowledge their language by having “Welcome (child’s name) in English and their native language.  Parents and family would be invited to visit the school and/or classroom to share their skills and cultural information about Uganda when convenient.

During the course of the visit I would listen to any concerns and provide information regarding additional resources they might need-- particularly cultural organizations that may be available to assist in their transition.  Ideally, arrangements would be made to have a tutor, familiar with the child's native language, available for scheduled visits to facilitate instruction as well. 

I hope my preparation would make the family feel welcome, aid in connecting them with community resources that they may need, and initiate a relationship in which they feel valued, respected and an integral part of their child’s learning.  Hopefully, a partnership aimed at developing learning environments that foster their child’s social and academic growth in their new culture while learning about and maintaining their family’s culture would be established.       

The school and its students would benefit by from the increased diversity and the unique skills that the new student’s family brings to the program.