Every year, the Center for New Americans does wonderful things for people who have just come to this country. Just this month, I know (because I heard Nirvani Williams' report on NEPM), they are helping recent arrivals from Afghanistan, providing language lessons and helping them get permission to work. What could be better than helping those new to our community?
I lost my favorite immigrant, my mother, this fall. When she was 20, Mt. Holyoke wrote to her university in England, looking for a female honors biology student to TA classes and get a Masters' degree. She was the only female honors biology student, and when her plane landed in Boston, she could not understand what anyone was saying (the Boston accent--or her Yorkshire ears). She thought she could take a taxi to Mt. Holyoke. A very kind woman showed her to the bus station and put her on the right bus.
So in honor of that kind woman, and in memory of my mother, I would like to help other immigrants find their way.
