Nepal

Young refugees have to adapt quickly once they arrive in Pittsburgh. Although they often come from difficult circumstances, many are able to learn English and make friends quickly. As part of a five-part series from WESA, four young people from Iraq, Tanzania and Congo share their stories of transition.

Hussein Zangana, 15, now lives in Brookline. He said it’s very different from Iraq, where fighting forced his family to flee. “Something is wrong,” he said.

The Wilkinsburg School District is undergoing changes. It’s putting resources toward renovating the district’s two elementary schools. In addition, our guest , acting superintendent Dan Matsook is seeking an education partner to take the district’s middle school students. He sits down with guest host Kevin Gavin to address the challenges facing the Wilkinsburg school district. 

Matsook talks about the possibility of partnering with neighboring school districts, and the benefits it has over merging: 

“The plan we set in motion was to meet with representatives from the districts and to talk about the pros and cons of what this partnership could potentially be. What would be the hurdles? And what would be the questions you want answered?” - Dan Matsook 

Also, a program at LaRoche College keeps students globally-minded after events like the devastation in Nepal and the Green Apple Day of Service connects local people and organizations to non-profits. 

The Nepalese-Bhutanese community is the largest refugee group in Pittsburgh. In the aftermath of last weekend’s devastating earthquake in Nepal, we’ll discover how members of the local Nepalese-Bhutanese community are reaching out to aid their homeland with Bibhuti Aryal President / Co-Founder Rukmini Foundation.

Aryal tells how the actions of aid hope to raise awareness and support the people of Nepal:

"We need help from all our neighbors far and wide and we hope we can get a strong Pittsburgh community to come and mourn with us but also help us with the rebuilding efforts. It's part educational to show the scale of the damage and how much it is effecting our country and our people here as well but also to provide some hope that there is something we can do as a global community to make a difference. - Bibhuti Aryal

Also in the program,  Michael Kobald of the Soarway Foundation had several employees caught in the earthquake. Sasha King explains how networking doesn't have to be an overwhelming process, and Founder and CEO of Belt Publishing Anne Trubek describes how Belt is choosing to anthologize Pittsburgh.