“If you can read with a child, we have a place for you,” reads the BIP Paw website. That child is a refugee who fled or whose family fled from Southeast Asia to the United States to seek refuge from rebel violence and civil conflict in an area that lacks basic human rights. And Milwaukee-area REALTOR® Robert Heffernan is ready to help.
Heffernan created a cultural immersion program more than a year ago to help Asian refugees to live a normal life. Heffernan’s group, the Burmese Immersion Project, is known as BIP Paw, with “Paw” meaning “beautiful flower” in the Karen language. BIP Paw is operated solely by volunteers who serve as cultural mentors and academic tutors to the community of Burmese refugees residing in and around Milwaukee. Approximately 90 percent of the Burmese refugees do not meet State of Wisconsin proficiency standards for 10th grade students, in spite of having the highest attendance rate of any group in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Primarily serving the South Side of Milwaukee, BIP Paw provides twice-a-week tutoring sessions held at a local church as well as tutoring sessions at home for stay-at-home moms with infants and toddlers who are unable to get to an English As A Second Language (ESL) program.
By profession, Heffernan is a landlord and provides affordable housing to low-income families. He began BIP Paw with his Burmese tenants over a year ago and has since expanded the organization to offering tutoring services to other refugees in the Milwaukee area. Students benefiting from BIP Paw come from several ethnic backgrounds, such as Karen, Karenni, Burmese and Malay, and speak a variety of different languages, such as Burmese, Malay, Thai and more. Heffernan and his volunteers help refugees of all ages, from toddlers to adults. Most adult learners work full time and/or take ESL courses. School-age refugees are enrolled in MPS.
“Bob deserves recognition because this community service goes beyond the Code of Ethics and embraces the aspirations of a professional organization aware of its unique leadership role in the community,” said Scott Bush, VP of Operations with the Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS®, of Bob’s commitment to BIP Paw and his students.
In addition to tutoring and ESL, BIP Paw also provides cultural mentoring, such as field trips to Independence Day firework shows, pumpkin-carving events and more. Last month, more than 50 Burmese refugees attended a Christmas event with cookie decorating and a visit from Santa. Several BIP Paw volunteers act as cultural mentors for families to help with whatever may be needed — from visiting the DMV to obtain a driver’s license or communicating with the children’s teacher at school. Right now, BIP Paw is collaborating with other community groups to develop a plan to eradicate the community-wide bedbug problem that many refugees currently face.
Would you like to learn more about BIP Paw? Visit www.bippaw.wordpress.com to learn more about the organization and about volunteer opportunities or contact Bob Heffernan at BobJohnPM@wi.rr.com.
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