The Chinese and American Cultural Assistance Association (CACAA), a non-profit organization created to help Chinese families acclimate to Southeastern Connecticut, has reported a growth spurt.
Started over a year ago by area business John Wong and community and business leaders from Montville and Norwich, the organization threw a celebratory picnic for its members at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park in Norwich on Sunday, August 24.
By the end of the day organizers estimated membership is close to 1,000 people who are interested in bridging Chinese and American cultures and strengthening the local community. The organization had grown to about 700 members since it was formed over a year ago.
It’s been a great event,” said Kenny Chen, of Chen’s Buffet in Montville, one of the picnic committee organizers. Although he didn’t have a firm headcount of attendees, he knew that the 400 donated hamburgers and 260 hot dogs were all gone.
CACAA membership is free, Wong said, so the non-profit organization’s activities are made possible by contributions and volunteers.
“When I first formed this organization, the whole goal was to reach out help the people who need help,” he said. So far, CACAA has started English as a Second Language classes for Chinese speakers, as well as a Chinese language course that is popular with area businesspeople and Montville town leaders. It also has had discussions with town officials and business leaders, many of them CACAA members, to address the range of needs of local workers at the casinos, including adequate housing, transportation and safe walking paths.
One of Wong’s dreams for the association is to build a cultural center that can serve as a place to gather and to share with the rest of the community. It would be a place where Asian families could get information about legal, medical and immigration matters, as well as have a day care center, a game room and fitness area.
Meeting room space also could accommodate the language classes, which the association has been holding at the Three Rivers Community College campus in Norwich.
Wong said the organization is looking at an undeveloped parcel of eleven acres on Gallivan Lane, which would provide space to build up to 60 town homes, as well as the association or community center.
“Our primary focus for now is to let people be aware that we have this organization,” said Robert Thorn, CACAA publicity. “Its sole purpose is to help the transition for people who are new to this country, everything from jobs to housing or other areas where they might need assistance. The association is there with resource people available to help.”
New London County has per capita the largest Chinese population in New England, Thorn said, with some estimates as high as 10,000 Chinese families living in the area.
“A lot of the people here had professional jobs and education in China. But when they moved here, because of certification requirements and their English language abilities, they have had to go into a different occupation,” he said. This often includes medical professionals and educators who accept custodial jobs in the casinos.
“The people are usually being underemployed, based on the qualifications they have. I’ve seen that time after time with the parents of the students coming into the Montville public schools,” said Thorn, who is the English Language Learner (ELL) coordinator for Montville’s school district.
Another misperception people may have, he said, is not realizing the exhaustive immigration process the Chinese immigrants have been through to get visas to come here, as well as documentation that the casinos require for employment.
“These are people who have to have the resources and education in order to get through the process,” he said. “They also are committed to their children doing well in our schools.”
Connecticut has about 2100 ELL students, according to Thorn, who is president of Conn TESOL, the state chapter of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Montville reports about 150 students in the ELL program, he said, most of them Chinese-speaking, but also some Spanish speakers. But the total number is more, he said, because students are graduating out and new ones are coming in.
What he sees different in Montville is the large percentage of students who become proficient in English well ahead of program expectations.
“Part of this is operating in their values; the students’ desire to learn the new language. Another significant factor is the support of their parents and the family, and the knowledge of the sacrifices made by their parents to get here.”
He has seen students at Mohegan Elementary School, where the primary Chinese population is, exiting the program in two to three years, because of the educational support around them.
“Teachers in Montville are exceptional, modifying their core curriculum to adapt it to the needs of English language learning students.
At the high school level, he said tutors fluent in Chinese and Spanish are working with students to help them in chemistry and science classes, helping them with English terminology.
The picnic also hosted some adult Chinese students who are in Connecticut for six months. For several years now, the Shandong Province has partnered with the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) U.S.-China Business Center, bringing delegations of high ranking municipal and provincial officials to the state.
“They come for two reasons, to get classroom exposure in business English and business practices in the United States, and then to intern in various businesses or offices,” said Thorn.
This year’s group of about 30 municipal leaders from the province had toured area businesses and government offices in July. They are preparing for the second half of their stay, the internship experiences.
Mr. Yu Wei Jie of the Weifang Municipal Tourism Administration in Shandong Province, appreciated the opportunity to observe a wide range of businesses and government agencies at work and to compare practices with both his Chinese and American counterparts.
For more information about CACAA, see www.chineseamericancaa.org For more about ConnTESOL see http://www.conntesol.net/