By Kathleen McAleese
Managing Editor
Walking into the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association [CMAA] in Lowell is like stepping into a different world. The beat of “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson is half hummed and half sung by about 40 kids aging from five to 18. Almost all of them are laughing and smiling, and hardly any of them are in the seat they are supposed to be in.
While some of the kids speak English, others are new to the United States and speak no English at all. It is hard to believe that such an establishment is less than 20 minutes away from where Westford Academy students attend school every day, and the WA English Literacy Outreach Club [WAELO] helps to bridge this educational gap.
Lowell contains one of the highest concentrations of Cambodian individuals in the United States, many of which fled their country after the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in the 1970s.
The Cambodian and Burmese students at the CMAA are assisted weekly by a group of several WA students with homework, reading, writing, spelling, and even SAT preparation for the high school level kids. This group of students are involved with WAELO.
Many of the students that are being helped have had their education delayed. In Cambodia, some students’ education is halted at second grade, and once they arrive in America as refugees, their education is both delayed and underdeveloped.
But with the help from WAELO co-presidents and juniors Julia Kinney, Kristy Westerhoff, and Nicole Huang, they are making huge strides in the advancement of their own education. Still some of the high school aged kids are studying at an elementary level.
Weekly, a group of WA students who attend the CMAA help students by explaining abstract ideas or vocabulary words that they wouldn’t have been exposed to.
Kinney came up with the idea of WAELO at the end of freshman year, and through the help of club adviser Amy Bailey, whose second language is English, was able to solidify her plans by the start of her sophomore year.
“It sounded like a really good idea and it’s […] one of those clubs that actually makes a huge difference and we are really doing something impactful by going there,” said Huang.
By volunteering with WAELO, members are able to gain insight into a completely different culture and experience the significance the club makes in this community.
“The more I started doing it, the more I realized how I was making an impact on peoples lives who necessarily didn’t have a fair chance or a fair start,” said Westerhoff.
Many of the students are first generation Americans and are not even able to speak English at home due to their parents’ illiteracy in the English language. One child brought in a form to register for food stamps, because her parents were unable to fill out the forms. These children live less than 20 minutes away but some of them encounter hardships that some WA students will never face in their lifetime.
“It’s something most kids in Westford would only see in movies, but it’s a reality 15 minutes from home,” said Huang of the CMAA and the Lowell Cambodian community.
Through the CMAA tutors and WAELO, the Cambodian and Burmese students have been given the opportunity and resources to progress their own education. By coming to the United States, they are able to have access to public education past the second grade, and some may even get the opportunity to continue on to college after they complete a high school degree.
“Once you really meet a lot of these kids and see how hard working they are and how bad they want it, some of them are so driven just to do the things we all take for granted,” said Kinney.
