Ukelele lessons for Angolans and Congolese
“Strummers in the city: Ukulele program gives Portland immigrant students head start” (The Forecaster):
PORTLAND [Maine] — Two dozen students filed into a classroom at Portland High School Monday for a ukulele lesson, strumming with determined fingers as part of a program to help them acclimate to the coming school year after emigrating to the city.
The students are housed at the city’s shelter for homeless families and are participating in a five-week-long Portland Public Schools’ summer program designed to give them a head start on school success and connect their families to school and city resources.
The theme this year, its second, is “Summer in the City.”
Most students are from Angola and the Republic of Congo, and communicate through interpreters during their time in the program.
Customers at Tony’s Donuts thought that ukulele skills would be useful: “They’re probably going to be on welfare for their entire lives so they need something to keep busy.”
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