The Reclamation Project

Just over a year ago, Adam Dirksen and I met with Kristie and Angie over a coffee to discuss how the Reclamation Project could contribute to our class at IPFW exploring Burmese refugee integration in Fort Wayne.  Throughout the following winter semester, 17 students had the opportunity to meet with a wide variety of international, national, and local refugee actors in the classroom to explore the public policy and inter-cultural challenges and opportunities of refugee integration.   Outside of the classroom, students visited the Reclamation Project and other offices at Catherine Kasper place, enjoyed Burmese food, visited the Mon Buddhist Monastery, and participated in some of the Burmese cultural celebrations.  

Students also worked together on projects focused on the wider community in an effort to contribute to ongoing efforts to make Fort Wayne a welcoming home for newly arrived refugees.  Projects explored issues such as improving health care, increasing refugee students’ participation in extra-curricular activities, a film screening and educational event at IPFW, a public service announcement, research on funding for non-profits working with refugees, and research to improve cooperation within the city on refugee assistance.  

Through these projects and conversations with refugee service providers and policy makers, the students personally engaged with the practical, cultural, and legal aspects of the refugee integration process. 

In July 2011, I presented the course and the students’ projects at a conference hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the US State Department in Geneva, Switzerland. Representatives from refugee receiving countries from around the world were impressed by the level of community engagement in Fort Wayne that made the class possible, and requested advice about how they could replicate a similar university course in their countries. 

With the Catherine Kasper Place facility closing, individual volunteers and friendship between Americans and newly arrived refugees will become even more important.  I wonder if the enthusiasm and personal engagement of the students still lingers, inspiring Fort Wayne to continue to reach out and welcome new members of the community. 

Hannah Entwisle - TRP friend