Impact of COVID-19 on Refugee Student Education (in progress)

Consalata Shabani, 37, Famo Musa, 30, and Merie Sindayigaya, 38, each spent years in refugee camps outside of their native countries.

Shobani’s eight daughters were born in refugee camps. Lately, Shabani says it has been very difficult being home. She is up and ready before 8 a.m. so that her children are ready for online classes. When their school day ends in the afternoon, Shobani’s day begins. Shobani takes ESL (English as Second Language) classes, which are also remote. Despite language barriers and long days, she attends as many evening educational support meetings for her children as possible. Shobani looks for any sign of when the pandemic will end. Covid-19 will never stop her from being open and taking initiative to continue learning, she says.

Like Shabani, Musa and Sindayigaya are prioritizing education. Musa came to San Diego as a refugee from Somalia at age 14 and is now obtaining her bachelor’s degree at UCSD with two elementary school children of her own. Sindayigaya lost her job in childcare because of COVID-19, he now stays home with her five children, whose ages range from newborn to high school senior. Her eldest daughter, a freshman in college, moved away to university last fall.

Although these families are no strangers to limitations on their movement and education, the pandemic has presented unexpected challenges with effects that may be long lasting.

This essay gives a glimpse into these three families and their virtual learning experiences in an already under-resourced education system. It highlights their intergenerational commitment to education by finding support within their homes and communities. Their story is one of perseverance in a changed, digitized education system. One that has left certain families as an afterthought.

USA, San Diego, CA, December 1, 2020. Famo, 31, and her daughter Sadiya Musa, 7, picnic on their porch with lunches provided by San Diego Unified School District. The family picks up meals for a chance to take a break outside after the children’s classes and before Famo’s afternoon class at UCSD where she studies literature. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, October 26, 2020. Consolata Shabani, 38, attends a Zoom ESL class from her living room. Shabani says it’s more difficult to understand the class on Zoom and feels more comfortable asking questions in person. Originally from The Congo, Shabani immigrated from a refugee camp in Tanzania with her brother and seven of her eight daughters whom she lives with. In the evening, she studies, attends parent meetings, and often video calls her oldest daughter in Australia. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, December 1, 2020. Daniel Nyamangah, a Community Organizer at Parent Student Resident Organization (PSRO), delivers diapers and school supplies to Musa at dusk. They met when Musa was a high school student and became involved in PSRO. Nyamangah brought supplies to all 3 family homes throughout the workday. Musa was his last stop. PSRO acts as a liaison between educators and families, holding meetings in 7 languages: Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Kizagua, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. While each group is culturally different, their experiences with online learning and concerns about supporting their children are similar. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, October 26, 2020. Mwanini Shabani, 15, draws a model from her Instagram feed. Shabani says art is her escape but doesn’t show many people. After finishing homework, she often draws from 7 to 11 p.m. The International Rescue Committee gave Shabani a sketchbook when a worker noticed her artwork. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, November 5, 2020. Sadiya, 7, and her cousins Nuriya, 7, and Safiya, 5, take and pose for photographs after class. In the midst of her indigenous literature Zoom class, Musa notices the girls outside and quickly calls them back in. Nuriya and Safiya are 2 of Musa’s sister’s 9 children. Musa watches the children most weekdays while her sister works. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, December 1, 2020. Sadiya Musa, 7, pretends to sew a mask on her porch. After class, she takes a break outside with her mother and brother, Osman, 10. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, October 26, 2020. Over dinner, Edina Shabani, 20, works through an U.S. Fish crossword puzzle while her mother, Shabani attends a school district meeting for ESL parents. The meetings aim to foster feedback on distance learning. Shabani says she has seen a big difference in her abilities to support her children because of these meetings. “Getting involved, learning from other parents, It's a give and take.” Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, December 1, 2020. Nyamangah talks with Shabani in her doorway after dropping off school supplies and diapers. Nyamangah is a community organizer for Parent Student Resident Organization (PSRO), where he met Shabani. PSRO acts as a liaison between educators and families, holding meetings in seven languages: Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Kizagua, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. While each group is culturally different, their experiences with online learning and concerns about supporting their children are similar. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, October 27, 2020. Denis Sindayigaya, 3, watches his father Desire Ndayisenga, 40, select ingredients for dinner from the family’s storage freezer. After spending the day preparing food as a chef at BJ's Brewhouse, a restaurant in an upscale neighborhood of San Diego, Ndayisenga makes dinner for his family. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, October 19, 2020. Photographs Musa shot of her sister’s wedding. Musa was previously married and later divorced at 19. When she arrived as a refugee from Somalia at age 14, Musa fell in love with photography. Her family had no photographs before coming to the US and her work behind the camera offered a means to tell stories before learning English. Prior to pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at UCSD she earned two associates, one in photography. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, November 5, 2020. In the bedroom that she shares with her children, Musa sorts through notebooks and class materials for her UCSD indigenous literature course. With two elementary school children of her own, Musa also navigates online learning at UCSD. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, November 5, 2020. After class, Musa’s niece, Nuriya, 7, changes her surroundings by sitting beside the door and watching YouTube. Nuriya has eight siblings and Musa watches most of them while her mother is at work. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, December 1, 2020. Musa, Osman, 10, and Sadiya, 7, walk to a San Diego Unified School District campus down the street from their home for free lunch distribution. “Even if we have food at the house, the kids still want to go. It’s something for them to do outside,” Musa said. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020

USA, San Diego, CA, October 27, 2020. After returning from work, Desire Ndayisenga, 40, checks on his newborn daughter. His wife Merie Sindayigaya, 38, says she’s thankful for Ndayisenga’s job after losing her own because of COVID-19. After fleeing Burundi, the family lived in a Tanzanian refugee camp and immigrated to San Diego in 2015. The resettlement agency placed them in a one-bedroom apartment which went against their cultural beliefs of teens and parents sharing a bedroom, the couple said. They soon realized it was up to them to find a new apartment. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2020