My Summer Experience at Tusome Pamoja

As you all are aware, I am one of the co-founders of a 501 c-(3) nonprofit called Tusome Pamoja that specializes in promoting refugee education through teaching immigrant children literacy and numeracy skills. Recently, I, along with the other co-founders, organized Tusome Pamoja's summer session.

The Summer Session is a two-week summer camp that is welcome to refugee children of all education levels and matches them with volunteers/mentors who alternate between teaching these children math and English. This year, Tusome had 36 volunteers serving over two weeks enrolled in the session and more than 20 students present. Compared to last year, Tusome's 2023 summer session experienced a significant increase in both the number of volunteers and students present.

However, what stood out most to me was the invaluable experience I gained from co-leading this program. Through the course of this program, I was able to adapt to uncertainties and develop numerous leadership skills that I otherwise would not have gained from doing this. On the first day of the program, I was unsure of what to expect from both the students and volunteers. At the time, my leadership skills were not thoroughly developed, and I was hesitant to address the group on the first day and spearhead the program. Despite this, I forced myself to take up the challenge and step out of my comfort zone. This initially felt somewhat awkward; however, as time gradually progressed, I felt an immense transformation taking place- I was finally able to develop a sense of self-confidence that had been dormant all this while. Moreover, co-leading this program enabled me to deal with adverse circumstances. As a co-leader, I had to deal with the logistical issues associated with such a program like ensuring lunch was served to every volunteer and student and fulfilling the needs of transportation for every student enrolled.

Overall, if you are a motivated student looking to make an impact in the local community, Tusome is the right place for you. At Tusome, you're more than just a volunteer- you make a difference in public education one child at a time.