Miry’s List focuses on the physical, emotional, and social needs of people resettling in the United States after fleeing violence or persecution. As families across the country continue to arrive for resettlement, many have few opportunities to meet their new neighbors, integrate into their new communities, practice English, and make American friends.
SANAH (Supporting American Newcomers at Home) is a home learning program for participating New Arrival families at Miry’s List, led by devoted volunteer tutors trained by Miry’s List to support their adjustment to new life in the United States. SANAH provides resettling individuals with opportunities to build confidence through connections with a new American friend on a weekly basis.
To address the isolation and social detachment that resettling individuals and families experience, Miry’s List launched SANAH in 2021 to provide families with a virtual ESL class from home and a laptop, and a trained volunteer English tutor. Many participants of the SANAH are parents with multiple young children, some of whom have since used these provided devices to engage in local community college courses. SANAH was created to offset the isolation and social detachment that resettling refugee families experience upon arrival to the United States.
SANAH Offering
SANAH Home Learning, a virtual Social-Emotional Learning program, for resettling individuals and trained peer volunteers support social interaction and community building for new arrival families.
The program focuses on providing a mechanism for social engagement between newcomers and their new American neighbors.
The SANAH supply kit includes a laptop, noise-canceling headphones and other accessories, credit for home internet access, practicing conversational English, developing confidence and skills, and building friendships.
Weekly 1:1 lessons with students for 12 weeks (1.5 hours) with provided curriculum, conversation starters, and activity framework.
Friday group sessions (2 hours): Participants work in larger teams to complete tasks, group activities, weekly ice breakers, share one thing they like about themselves or something they learned this week
SANAH 12 Week Tutoring:
Offered 3 times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring) a New Arrival student is paired with a volunteer American friend/tutor to meet and share about each other’s culture and customs
Miry’s List families benefit from the regular SANAH lessons and English practice from someone who can answer questions and explain about the American way of life, such as: enrolling children in school, going to the doctor, riding public transportation and obtaining driver’s licenses, etc
SANAH Summer for Students:
Offered during the summer, a New Arrival child (ages 6-14) is paired with a volunteer high school tutor/mentor
Program focuses on SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and fun activities
SANAH Workshops & Video Library:
Volunteers create workshops (and/or presentations) with topics that are important for New Arrival families to explore and learn. These workshops are recorded and made available to Miry’s List families.
Workshop/Video Examples:
Local Library Services (presented by Sacramento Library System)
Understanding Medical Insurance
Food & Housing Support
US History & Citizenship Information
Who inspired this?
Sanaa Subaih, of blessed memory, 2016-2020
“The world needs all the light that we can muster,
Each moon and star and comet in the sky,
We add to all the world our special luster,
So shine on friends and never question why.”
Sanaa Subaih, of blessed memory, 2016-2020. She was the light of her family’s lives.
SANAH is named for a member of our Miry’s List community who passed away at the young age of 4 from a rare form of cancer. She was the light of the lives of everyone who ever met her, especially her parents and little brother, Yosef. Sanaa means shine, brightness or radiance in Arabic… and our Sanaa, in her short 4 year, shined brightly.
Nour and Miriam, Sanaa's parents, grew up as neighbors in Damascus, Syria. They fled with their families to Jordan during the Syrian civil war. At that time, Nour was unfortunately caught in crossfire and was shot by snipers. Nour spent months in a hospital on the border of Jordan and Syria with his family having no idea where he was. Eventually he was reunited with his family and ultimately his childhood neighbor, Miriam. Both families filed for refugee status with UNHCR, and eventually Miriam, Nour and Sanaa would be the only family members awarded resettlement in the U.S. Miriam and Nour were married and had a baby girl, Sanaa. They arrived in the US in late 2016 in Rialto, CA. Shortly after their resettlement Sanaa was diagnosed with a rare form of stage 4 cancer. She spent months in Los Angeles Children's Hospital fighting until there were no options left. Sanaa spent her end of life in Loma Linda and passed on Feb 4, 2020, surrounded by her parents. Sanaa’s mother Miriam dedicates her life to learning English in honor of her daughter.
Miry’s List dedicates this program to Sanaa and her family. We hope this will be a great and memorable experience for our volunteers and new arrivals.
