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Henry Gusick

Prof. Anyango

Seminar in Composition: Diversity

10 April 2023

Live Source Report

First and foremost, I would like to discuss the process by which I gained my interview and the

lackluster responses I received while attempting to make contact. In my fieldsite proposal, I determined

the best organization to assist me in acquiring the proper information was the JFCS, or Jewish Family and

Community Services of Pittsburgh. I was the first in our seminar to reach out to an organization and I

received zero response or feedback from this source. I then revised my interview questions and chose to

reach out to the Hello Neighbor organization. I had higher hopes of receiving a response from this source,

but unfortunately, to my surprise, no response or feedback was reciprocated. Classmates were already

finishing their interviews, and some were even getting information or interviews from close friends in the

greater Pittsburgh area. Desperate for answers, I searched LinkedIn to pay somebody for valid

information. No qualified individuals existed, so I was left without any progress once again. My friends

and classmate experienced similar issues, and they recommended that I try and reach out to the Keep it

Real organization. I sent them an email requesting an interview, and they responded shortly. After

scheduling an interview and revising my interview questions once again, I thought I was finally ready.

With the interview approaching, I waited patiently to receive a phone call. I never received a phone call. I

then sent another email to confirm our time, and I was completely ghosted after a few short emails. This

did not deter my pursuit because I do not like to quit when faced with adversity. Once again, I reached out

to the Keep it Real organization, but this time I used my secondary email. A girl by the name Archisha

assisted me and I had an interview scheduled for the next day.

Fifteen minutes after the time of the interview, I finally received a phone call. My first question

was, “What kind of feelings are most prominent in refugees that the Keep it Real organization takes into

counsel? And are these feelings of confusion or ubiquitous feelings of loneliness?” Archisha answered to
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my disappointment that the Keep it Real organization does not actually consult refugees who have

experienced direct traumas from their displacement. These are children from elementary schools who

have little to no idea of what challenges their parents or grandparents had to undergo to evacuate their

home country. These are capable children who have not experienced any direct trauma. Archisha then

said that many of these children in care are actually descendants of Somali refugees who escaped the

Horn of Africa. This I found to be deeply groundbreaking because the research PowerPoint I created in

our seminar was directly related to the crisis surrounding Somali Refugees. The Al-Shabaab would burn

villages and villagers and the droughts in the horn of Africa created a scarce market for resources and

food. For these reasons many individuals became displaced. Now I am discovering that some of these

refugees are located in Pittsburgh and their children are being tutored by the Keep it Real program.

Though my question hadn’t been answered, my world view had been altered. This was a valuable lesson

for me.

My second question became unnecessary to ask because it pertained to common traumas and

post-migration and pre-migration traumas. To replace my second question, I asked another question

asking if the children ever talk about experiences or traumas, especially post-migration traumas such as

discrimination and racism at school. Archisha answered seemingly redundantly, saying that the

organization isn’t trained to ask those sorts of questions because their main goal, again, is to tutor the

children in Math and English. She reaffirmed to me the values of the program and its specific

significance. This was not a counseling service, and these children were not tormented by trauma, for as

far as they knew. Archisha then finished answering the second part of my question pertaining to

discrimination and racism in elementary schools. Archisha stated that since they were only elementary

school students, she would not expect such instances to occur. She also said she never heard of any such

instances since the time she started with the program. Archisha then referred me to some organizers

within North View Heights. After the interview, I called and received no response, for the reason I

presume was related to a recent shooting in the area. Now back to the interview.
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My third question was a variation of my actual question, which was originally, “Have incidents

occurred where counseling has proved ineffective and patients stopped returning to the program for

treatment?” From this, I stemmed a new question, which was, “Have incidents occurred where tutoring

has been proven to be ineffective because of the student's inability to cooperate?” Archisha’s answer was

that the Keep it Real organization is not responsible for choosing and deciding which students are eligible

and they also do not assess their performance on top of that. Cooperators in North View Heights transport

the students in school buses to the Keep it Real organization where they are tutored in Math and English.

If issues regarding the students arise they play games and go out for walks. Issues with tutoring the

children have never become serious because of the stress-relieving activities they have within the

curriculum.

My Fourth and Fifth Questions related to the age group and gender of refugees that are taken in

by the Keep it Real organization. The answer to this question was simple and straightforward. The Keep it

Real organization takes boys and girls from elementary schools who may need help from grades 1st to

6th.

My next question was what different possible methods or paradigms are used and are there

multicultural approaches that must be taken to avoid making any westerner assumptions. Archisha

elaborated further into the training requirments to become a tutor for the organization and that

psychological approaches were not necessary in assisting these children. Though tutors would make small

talk and entertain the children, they were dissuaded to speak on any topics that might bring angst to the

children. This way they could create an inclusive environment that fosters learning and collaboration,

which are factors that are much more important to the Keep it Real program.

My other interview questions had all pertained to the following: PTSD, the affects of having

friends and family back home in great danger or emergency, symptoms of traumas, and secondary

traumas, such as natural disasters or unfortunate events that may reawaken or trigger PTSD responses.

These questions of course could not be answered by Archisha because as before she made it clear that the

Keep it Real organization is not specialized in treating disorders or illness, nor do they run a counseling
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service for refugees. One of my questions could be answered though as it pertained to accumulated

resources and support for refugee children.

My question was, Does the Keep it Real program help fulfill basic refugee needs and help them

achieve an optimal mental state? And what kind of services and information is provided to them

specifically? Archisha mentioned that the organization helps despaired children from refugee homes learn

to stay active in school. The program establishes an important relationship with peers and education to the

children that will positively benefit their lives in the future. Tutoring is a very important job for the

betterment of refugees. Archisha even told me that most of these families have 4 to 7 children so extra

help and assistance from outside organizations can be very beneficial. Online Zoom meetings were also

provided during the time of Covid-19 and they are still being used as a resource to support these

disadvantaged children. Archisha not only stresses Keep it Real’s significance, but also their partnerships.

Keep it Real has a partnership with a non-profit organization called BCAP. BCAP is also known as the

Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh. They specialize in the resettlement and insurance of a

“high quality of life for all members of the Bhutanese community in Pittsburgh.” Bhutanese refers to the

people of Bhutan, a landlocked country in South Asia. Archisha also mentioned programs such as

ARYSE, and elementary schools within the greater Pittsburgh area.

What I have learned from my live source report is the struggle of these refugee families.

Sometimes members of these families must balance multiple jobs at once just to provide for all their

children. Such a responsibility can make it almost impossible to nourish these children and many of them

drop out of school so they can support and feed their brothers and sisters. It is extremely important to

create inclusive environments that welcome all students from all around the world so that we can share

our own cultures and experiences while benefiting from eachothers unique lives. In order to have a fair

and just society we must not only prevent neutrality on racism and discrimination, but we must uphold

ideas of equality. It is essential that we not just to be anti-racist, but to also support ideas and concepts of

equity. Non-profit programs such the Keep it Real organization help us as a community to strive further
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in reaching equity for all persons, even refugees. By supporting these organizations we are advocating for

equity and justice, promoting a diverse and equitable society for all.