The Global Impact Initiative (Gii) recognized this need and established a pilot program to help refugee children transition to school in the US.

Gii’s academic support and mentoring pilot has been running since October 2021 and we already are experiencing success with assisting 83 students primarily in Austin, Texas, both online and on-site. From 6:00 to 8:30 pm CST, Monday through Thursday, a team, with a background in education, tutors and mentors refugee students online/on-site. The tutors/mentors provide them with language instruction, socio-emotional support, help bring their academic skills and knowledge up to par, make them aware of the behavioral expectations in U.S. classrooms, help retain a positive ethnic and cultural identity, and encourage them to stay engaged, which is essential for their integration: 

• The instructors teach and mentor participating students, boosting their studies and delivering remedial instruction as necessary. In addition to coursework, they function as mentors: providing encouragement at a stressful time, offering guidance for specific difficulties the children may experience, and smoothing the transition to new homes and lives. 

• There are 83 Afghan and Ukrainian refugee children currently taking advantage of this service, and new students continue to join every week. We have received requests from other cities, and in addition to Austin, Texas, we are working with students online in Salt Lake City and Boston.

• Gii has qualitative and anecdotal evidence from parents, teachers, and educational administrators that the tutoring support is accelerating students’ successful adjustment to U.S. schools.

We are proud to announce our new partnership with Schoolhouse.world. Through this partnership, our two organizations will work together to bring free education and tutoring services to individuals most in need. Starting this January 2023, Gii’s student clients will use Schoolhouse to get free online math and test prep tutoring through their trained peer tutors.

The families expect that their new future will be anchored by education, continued opportunity, and stability. However, the children often experience steep and monumental challenges. It is very difficult for them to keep up with their academics and adjust to their new lives. The parents often don't have the skills or the time to help.