“Festa Felt Too Good to be True”

"My parents moved to the US from Syria and I was looking for a way to help them learn the language and build friendship, and to help them understand American culture. At that time, I was doing a Master degree in executive presence and I had a two-year-old. My mom took care of my baby. When I was introducing the idea for them to join the Festa program, she said, “We cannot go because we need to take care of your daughter.” We were astonished when we learned Festa has childcare. So I was able to sign up my parents and my daughter. She went to the children’s program while they were in class, and after I dropped them, I would stay in the Mill Run neighborhood, do my homework there, then come back and pick everyone up. 

"It was very empowering. It not only helped with learning the language, it helped learning the culture and making friends and feeling a sense of belonging. It really helped me having a place for my daughter, too.

"My parents, they speak more English, and the Festa teachers helped them pass the citizenship exam. And my dad, he's a writer, and he likes to write books. He was very interested in writing in English, and his teacher, Pam, was able to proofread for him. He was able to publish his first book in English! This was a milestone for him. But he couldn't get it done without Festa’s help, because writing in Arabic and English, it's totally different. Everything is different - grammar is different, the structure for the sentence is different. He wrote it from an Arabic perspective, and Pam helped to put all his thoughts together in English.

"My dad would always ask, “Why was Festa doing this? What's the point? What do they need from us?” He always thought there was no way that you are doing all this for people for free. They give so much and volunteer, and they're not looking for anything back? What's the catch? Festa felt too good to be true for him. 

"My parents have stayed connected with Pam and her husband. They send happy birthday, holiday and Ramadan cards. I remember they came to visit us once, and my parents went to visit them in their house. They came to the citizenship ceremony as well. My daughter made a lot of friends in the program, too, and she still has these friends. It's a lasting connection."

—Hoda, a Festa mom