Asha’s Refuge will be taking our refugee clients, students and their families to the Memphis Zoo, Friday, June 8, 2012. This will be in a continuing education effort for our refugee ladies and will serve as a fun outing for their children. We hope to help teach our friends about the many zoo animals in addition to helping them understand their surroundings in an attraction park. It will be good to discuss their understanding of things such as waiting patiently in line for a ticket, purchasing a ticket, understanding a map, knowing how to ask for things such as where the restroom or water fountain is and understanding rules and proper behaviours and etiquette when at places like the zoo. We will certainly be able to practice our English Conversation at the zoo.

It’s going to be challenging to get everyone bussed to the zoo and all paid up to get a ticket in. We are asking our refugee friends to pay a portion of their zoo ticket, $5 per person. This ensures their true interest in going and helps them with responsibility. Most of our refugee families want to save their money and help pay for themselves and their children to go to the zoo, while other refugees may truly struggle to collect the money necessary to go. Zoo tickets are $15 per adult and $10 per child plus our 20% discount, but again, we are asking refugees to pay only $5 of their tickets. Asha’s Refuge will cover the remaining balance which could be more than $300 by the time we unload three passenger busses at the zoo. (Thanks New Bethel’s Mr. Mac for your willingness to drive us to and from the zoo!) By the way, yes, we know there is a free day Tuesday late afternoon but this time doesn’t work out for our transportation or regular English learning class schedule. Tuesday afternoons are also often packed and we are hoping to have less of a crowd to have to juggle while we have a large group of our refugee friends learning at the park.

So here is a need we have. We need volunteers (who are willing to pay their own way into the zoo) to help us lead groups through the zoo. If you want to do this, please let me know!

We also would appreciate any zoo donations! Your donations will offset the amount Asha’s Refuge is trying to cover for these families to be able to go to the zoo. Your donations can be made through PayPal online or feel free to mail us a check. Contact me at jamie@ashasrefuge.org for our mailing address or for additional details.

Thank you to all the volunteers thus far for your willingness to help us at the zoo! Be sure to bring a backpack with some snacks and water bottles for yourself as it could be a hot day. If you want to ride down with us on the bus and save on the additional $5 parking fee per car, let me know. The bus will leave New Bethel in Germantown at 8:30AM Friday, June 8.