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Tech Camp for Refugee Kids

It’s the weekend, the kids have all their soccer stuff on, and they’re ready to play their soccer match. They look like any other kid you see around town, but they’re not, they are much more. These kids are refugees from places like Iraq and Afghanistan, places that most of us hear about on the news but have never experienced. Some of these kids have scarring memories, from when they were less than 8 years old, of bombs exploding, loved ones dying, and being forced to flee their homes. Despite all these hardships, you would never know the pain and suffering that they and their families have endured because they are some of the happiest people you could ever meet. A big reason for their happiness is that they are a part of a non-profit organization called YALLA, based in San Diego. YALLA uses soccer as a hook to get young immigrants to participate in special, supplemental academic programs that focus on improving their English skills so that they have the tools to go to college and be a contributing member of society. Their parents understand how important their kids’ education is and ensure their kids go to the academic programs. The kids and parents at YALLA have worked incredibly hard to get where they are today and have found a new life in America.

                Unfortunately, moving to America is not enough to achieve success. While the refugees at YALLA have all put in an immense amount of work to learn English as their second language, they will likely always be at a disadvantage in English-heavy subjects in the Humanities. The goal of this fundraiser is to spark their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and expose them to topics like computer science and programming not usually covered in school. We want to raise enough money to purchase a class set of Raspberry Pi and necessary peripherals like monitors, cables, memory cards, etc., so that we can teach them more about STEM. The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit card sized computer that is designed for kids to explore computing and learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python.

We plan to teach the kids the programming language Python through the online resource Codecademy and the fun game of Minecraft. The kids will be partnered up so that there will be two kids at each Raspberry Pi and they will work together to apply computer science concepts that they have learned on Codecademy by making mods to the game of Minecraft. They will learn essentials of computer science such as syntax, strings, functions, lists and dictionaries, and loops. The use of Minecraft will ensure that the kids have fun coding while also seeing that a collection of simple commands to a computer can create a complex game. We will also use this as an opportunity to teach the kids about computer design and create a clear picture of what a computer really is, including the necessary components of a computer and what each component does.

While a Tech Camp may not seem like much, it will provide more opportunities to explore STEM and inspire them to do more. Our goal is to use the camp to supplement their education by teaching them about computers and inspire them to explore computer science and STEM. By teaching them about computers and how to program, they will have the tools to create new programs that help other people. The items we get will last for many years and allow us to help many refugee kids through numerous Tech Camps and coding workshops. With each Raspberry Pi only costing $35, a small donation can go a long way in ensuring this Tech Camp will be a success.

Organizer

Brian Friedenberg
Organizer
San Diego, CA

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