TNKR quietly began operations in March 2013, as a hobby of the co-founders, holding the first matching session at a business meeting center. Since then, almost 400 refugees and more than 800 tutors have participated in the program. We have had many people suggest the millions of ways that we could expand as an organization, but we have resisted many suggestions, building slowly with a foundation under us at each step. We have so much going on day-to-day that it is difficult to keep track.
I went through more than 1,000 photos we have yet to post. Seeing them, I had one main thought: TNKR really looks like an education center for North Korean refugees. We have planning meetings, entry interviews, feedback sessions, tutoring and coaching sessions, plus many refugees drop by to say hello to drop off gifts or even donations.
I’m sure there are many better funded organizations with better facilities that don’t have refugees dropping in to see them and some of those organizations even struggle with getting enough refugees to participate in their activities. How do I know that? Because they still contact us asking us if we can recommend (in some cases, if we can “send”) refugees for their activities.
This post highlights some of the day-to-day activities going on at our office.
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The “Steak” of TNKR: English Tutoring
The speeches and forums featuring North Korean refugees naturally get the most attention from people. But the heart of TNKR is still English tutoring. We have now had more than 800 tutors and coaches volunteer with TNKR since March 2013.
One day we hope to have a larger center so it will be much easier for more students and tutors to visit our office. We build better relations with both and learn more about ways that we can develop TNKR so it can be a better experience for everyone. Here’s our Building Fund.
https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/TNKR
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The Sizzle: Speech Coaching
It is always delightful when refugees give speeches telling their stories or talking about some aspect of North Korea. Before that can happen, however, they must apply, go through an orientation, choose coaches, then work with them. I seem to be picky about this, but this comes from going to events featuring refugees and seeing that many of them felt stress from speaking.
We want to make sure they are prepared, that they have had opportunities to practice. We do have some struggles with some coaches who naturally want to rewrite speeches. We try to make it clear that it is a process, and that refugees need to go through that process so that the speech is really theirs. It is better for them to go through trial-and-error rather than relying on someone else to write a speech for them.
We could use some help with this part of TNKR, especially someone with some background in public speaking, but also has the ability to cooperate with me and recognizes that we do things a certain way for specific reasons.
***
Is this what a study center looks like?
A great thing about having our own office is that refugees often come to visit. All students joining TNKR must come in for an initial interview with the co-directors, then join an orientation.
It is hard to stay in contact with everyone, but we do try.
The result is that we have refugees who come to visit to say hello, other times it is to talk about their studies, sometimes to bring us gifts, sometimes to get counseling and discuss about opportunities. We have an open door for them and consider it to be an achievement when they come to visit us. In the last week, we have had a range of refugees come visit us, such as one student who first joined us in 2014 and wanted to give a financial donation. Another student first joined us in 2014 when he was preparing for law school–he is now in his second year of law school. And then there are the students who are now waiting to join us after going through the initial interview.
It isn’t always serious when the students who have been with us long-term come to visit, as you can also see from the photos. www.lovetnkr.org/donate
I went through more than 1,000 photos we have yet to post. Seeing them, I had one main thought: TNKR really looks like an education center for North Korean refugees. We have planning meetings, entry interviews, feedback sessions, tutoring and coaching sessions, plus many refugees drop by to say hello to drop off gifts or even donations.
I’m sure there are many better funded organizations with better facilities that don’t have refugees dropping in to see them and some of those organizations even struggle with getting enough refugees to participate in their activities. How do I know that? Because they still contact us asking us if we can recommend (in some cases, if we can “send”) refugees for their activities.
This post highlights some of the day-to-day activities going on at our office.
***
The “Steak” of TNKR: English Tutoring
The speeches and forums featuring North Korean refugees naturally get the most attention from people. But the heart of TNKR is still English tutoring. We have now had more than 800 tutors and coaches volunteer with TNKR since March 2013.
One day we hope to have a larger center so it will be much easier for more students and tutors to visit our office. We build better relations with both and learn more about ways that we can develop TNKR so it can be a better experience for everyone. Here’s our Building Fund.
https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/TNKR
****
The Sizzle: Speech Coaching
It is always delightful when refugees give speeches telling their stories or talking about some aspect of North Korea. Before that can happen, however, they must apply, go through an orientation, choose coaches, then work with them. I seem to be picky about this, but this comes from going to events featuring refugees and seeing that many of them felt stress from speaking.
We want to make sure they are prepared, that they have had opportunities to practice. We do have some struggles with some coaches who naturally want to rewrite speeches. We try to make it clear that it is a process, and that refugees need to go through that process so that the speech is really theirs. It is better for them to go through trial-and-error rather than relying on someone else to write a speech for them.
We could use some help with this part of TNKR, especially someone with some background in public speaking, but also has the ability to cooperate with me and recognizes that we do things a certain way for specific reasons.
***
Is this what a study center looks like?
A great thing about having our own office is that refugees often come to visit. All students joining TNKR must come in for an initial interview with the co-directors, then join an orientation.
It is hard to stay in contact with everyone, but we do try.
The result is that we have refugees who come to visit to say hello, other times it is to talk about their studies, sometimes to bring us gifts, sometimes to get counseling and discuss about opportunities. We have an open door for them and consider it to be an achievement when they come to visit us. In the last week, we have had a range of refugees come visit us, such as one student who first joined us in 2014 and wanted to give a financial donation. Another student first joined us in 2014 when he was preparing for law school–he is now in his second year of law school. And then there are the students who are now waiting to join us after going through the initial interview.
It isn’t always serious when the students who have been with us long-term come to visit, as you can also see from the photos. www.lovetnkr.org/donate
