03/01/2024
IS:3012 Students Collaborating with the Newly-Opened International Rescue Committee office in Iowa City!
“Community Engaged Learning with Refugees and Immigrants in Iowa” is taught by UI lecturer in the International Studies Program, Peter Gerlach, who is also the executive director of the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council.
Currently, the class of around 20 students is working on researching past, present, and potential future political environments and presidential administrations regarding their views and policies on immigrants and refugees, Gerlach said.
This research will then be communicated to the International Rescue Committee to help give them ideas on how they can adapt to these landscapes, he said.
Each student is also required to volunteer for at least 10 hours with the committee, Gerlach said. This requirement could include helping do administrative tasks in the committee’s office or moving refugees into their new homes, he said.
The International Rescue Committee, a global organization that rehomes refugees, is helping settle around 100 refugees in Iowa City over the next couple of months after opening an Iowa City office late last year. The International Rescue Committee Sarah Terlouw said the organization has a Des Moines...