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Refugees Living in Salt Lake CityIn Utah Since 2019 |
Currently seeking adult volunteers in the Salt Lake City area! Do you love music, love kids, have some Tuesday nights open, and want to change the world? Contact us!
The Shropshire Music Foundation opened its first-ever program in the United States in 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Local teenage volunteers in the pilot program dedicated many hours of training before launching their first class at Granite Park Junior High. They provided nearly one-on-one instruction to enthusiastic refugee youth. After a COVID hiatus, a new group of volunteers is launching another round of classes at Granite Park Junior High once again!
The program is being managed partially by our director, Liz Shropshire, but predominantly by our Utah Volunteer Director, Alisa Broadbent. Alisa has donated hundreds of hours to identifying classroom locations, teaching, supervising classes and recruiting both volunteers and participants. She has been involved with the refugee and immigrant population for many years and has previously served as Volunteer Coordinator for The Refugee and Immigrant Center- Asian Association of Utah (RIC-AAU) and The Good Samaritan Foundation. She also spent time in the English Language Classroom (RIC-AAU) helping teach English to students of many diverse cultures.
These refugees, new Americans, and other students are receiving opportunities for creative expression, social growth, trauma relief, anxiety reduction and academic achievement. This type of engagement is crucial for children making the long transition into a new country and culture, and in dealing with the effects of past hardships and trauma.
Our next phase of the program will be an expansion into the Bud Bailey Complex in Millcreek, a community with a wonderfully high percentage of refugees. SMF is currently recruiting volunteers. Contact us to volunteer!
Kosovo
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Peace Through Music Kosovo
The war in Kosovo ended in 1999, but the affects of this war --Poverty, Intolerance, Segregation, Racism--are experienced every day, especially by children raised in camps and those living in minority communities. SMF is working with the children and teenagers of Kosovo to develop self esteem, tolerance, and a love of peace through music.
Uganda
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Peace Through Music Uganda
Northern Uganda is recovering from a brutal civil war in which 20,000-200,000 children were abducted and forced to become child soldiers. Over 1 million people were forced to live in IDP camps, where they experienced malnutrition and extreme poverty. Many people continue to live in these camps even though they are closed. SMF is working with children, teenagers, and young adults who were child soldiers as well as children born while their mothers were abducted, building tolerance, peace, and especially self worth through music.
Northern Ireland
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Peace Through Music Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland continues to be 95% segregated between Catholics and Protestants. Bombs explode or are discovered weekly, and riots take place monthly. Murals of men wearing balaclavas and holding guns are on homes and businesses everywhere. Children and adults alike suffer from low self esteem as they experience anger and violence daily. SMF is working to bring children together from both sides of the community, forming life-long and life-changing relationships through music.
Refugee Camps in Greece
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Refugee Camps in Greece
The war in Syria is at the root of the worst refugee crisis since WWII. Children are being both targeted and recruited, and families have left Syria by the millions. SMF is building a program not just for Syrian refugees, but also Kurdish, Afghan and Yazidi children and teenagers-- all in Greek refugee camps. The program is providing structure and much-needed opportunities for acheivment and self expression.
Bangladesh
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Serving Street Children & Rohingya Refugees
Bangladesh is home to approximately 1.6 million Rohingya Refugees, living in some of the largest Refugee camps in the world. Bangladesh is also one of the poorest countries on the earth, with over 31% of its population living below the poverty line, with limited access to any type of education. SMF has the potential to make a significant impact in the lives of both Rohingya and Bangledeshi children.
Utah
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Refugees Living in Salt Lake City
More than 60,000 refugees or "new Americans" live in Utah. Young people must make a difficult adjustment-- learning not only a new language but a whole new way of life. With the help of an incredible group of teenage volunteers, our program Salt Lake City program is reaching young people at Granite Park Jr. High and the Bud Bailey Community.
Arizona
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Rescued Afghan Refugees
As the Taliban conducted their swift take-over of Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled for their lives. A large group of refugees is living in temporary shelters in the Phoenix area as they await more permanent housing. Our program is providing ukulele lessons up to four times a week for women and children caught in this limbo.
