Since 1993, Washington English Center in D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood has served more than 50,000 immigrants and refugees
Some use cellphones to join class from as far away as Algeria, Bolivia, Chad and Myanmar. Afghan refugees log on from camps in Albania to pass the time as they wait to come to the United States or Canada.Those online learners, plus an additional 200 who joined in person this fall in D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood, have come from 98 countries. Together, they’re all working to learn English at the Washington English Center with the help of dozens of volunteers.
said teaching an online class was not easy at first, but it was much needed during the pandemic and important to keep the classes going when people were feeling isolated. “Every person offered me help and was asking, ‘What can I do for you?’ ” said Stelmakh, 41, who eventually made it to family members in D.C. “It was very amazing, very touching. It meant so much to me.”
For Amina Bot, 39, of Bethesda, the classes helped her parents who came to live with her from their home country of Algeria. They not only learned English but also made friends.When her father, Charef Bot, became ill two years ago, she said her parents’ teachers checked on them and occasionally brought her mom — Khedidja Hadj Henni, 69 — books and assignments if she had to miss classes.
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