By Ellie White
Lina moved with her family to Chicago from Iraq when she was eight years old.
She notes that, when she moved, “everything was just so different and strange and bizarre […] I didn’t know the language. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know anything about where I was. I was scared to do anything and everything.”
After a horrible first day of school, Lina spent her time either at home or in class – she was lonely. Leaving the house, even with her family, made her feel uncomfortable.
This experience of isolation and overwhelm is a reality for many kids and families who are resettling into a new country. Lina’s story shows how valuable it is to remove barriers and promote access to community connection and welcoming outdoor experiences for refugee youth.
Lina’s world started changing when she began having regular time in nature with other kids in a way that honored her background and experiences.
A few years after that first day of school in Chicago, with her mom’s insistence, Lina started participating in REACH (Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge), an outdoor adventure program for refugee youth.
Through REACH, Lina saw the joy and discovery that was possible in the outdoors. She had opportunities to face her fear of heights through a ropes course, share stories with friends around a campfire, learn kayak rescue skills, and go on an all-day mountain biking trip. She started enjoying getting out of her comfort zone and trying things.
“Until I got involved with REACH,” she says, “I didn’t know anything about swimming, hiking, kayaking, camping, and the other things that we could do in life and outdoors. […] I felt way more comfortable going out with REACH because they showed us things that I wouldn’t have known about by myself or just with my mom.”
By easing into outdoor activities with other refugee youth, Lina saw a big transformation in her comfort and overall outlook in this new place. Now Lina likes being out in open spaces, where she feels like she can do whatever she wants and she doesn’t have a care in the world.
Proud. Relaxed. Calm. In control. Positive. These are some of the words that Lina uses to describe how she feels when she’s in nature.
She says that when you’re in nature, you can communicate with people, learn about others, make great friends and memories, try new skills, and learn things about nature that you never knew before.
