Building Bridges

Building Bridges with Multicultural Literature: African Refugees

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Brothers in Hope

Sharing our stories helps us to understand our common humanity. Whether there is a picture book to peer into or a voice that brings the action to life, children of all ages long for a story vividly told.

The week before Thanksgiving 2011, I had the pleasure of visiting the Macedonia Family Resource Center (MFRC) in High Point, NC  which helps underserved refugee parents in the area improve their literacy and life skills while also assisting their children for success in school through structured tutoring sessions.  

During that tour of the MFRC,  I met four children ages 7 – 11 who came to America from war-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East.  I chose these books with those youngsters in mind with the hope of sharing the stories with them upon a future visit to the Community Center.

However, High Point, NC is not an isolated area where families such as these are in need of assimilation skills and support. The lessons I am including here are for students in Grade 3. 

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

Mary Williams (Author)

R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Publisher:  Lee & Low Books

Copyright:  2005

Reading Level : Ages 7 and Up

ISBN-10: 1584302321

Coretta Scott King Award Winner

Summary:  This is a fictional story  about Garang, an eight year old boy who tends cattle for his father in Southern Sudan.  One day while tending the herd, Civil War breaks out and Garang’s village is pummeled with bullets.  He runs to hide under the cover of the forest.  After the shooting stops, Garang returns to his village and finds everyone gone.  He begins to wander the road away from his home and meets other boys who could not find their families. Many, many boys were on the road; the oldest were fifiteen.  They had to learn to care for one another as they left Sudan and crossed into Ethiopia for safety. Many boys did not survive the journey.  They were lucky to find a refugee camp to stay for a while, but then war broke out in Ethopia and they were forced to walk into Kenya. The boys grew older in the camp in Kenya, but life was hard there too.  Finally, the United States offered the 3800 Sudanese Lost Boys a home.

Response:  The fact that we have so many displaced families who have fled wartorn countries in our own communities is enough reason to share this book with students.  The author is careful to word the facts of death in such a way that will not scare the young, but will open a discussion about the trials and suffering those in the situations face. Some students may feel compelled to share their own stories.  But as the title says, this is a story of hope; it is also a story of faith, courage, and love.  In Garang’s father’s words: “Your heart and mind are strong. There is nothing you cannot do.”  This story will open opportunities to talk about how education, faith, determination, and hope in the future are a part of all our lives.

Suggested Use in the Classroom: This book fits nicely as an interdisciplinary lesson in social studies and language arts as illustrated below: