Congressman Johnson Announces Community Funding For GSU To Teach Afghan Students English
Rep. Johnson secured $400K to help hundreds of recently resettled refugees from Afghanistan – including students who worked in the Special Forces for the U.S. military – integrate into the community
CLARKSTON, GA – On Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the Clarkston Community Center, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced $400,000 he secured for Georgia State University (GSU) to teach newly arrived Afghan students English. The funding is part of the FY23 Community Project Funding (CPF) that Congressman Johnson secured in the Omnibus Appropriations. The funding will expand the community-based English program at GSU to support 400 recently resettled refugees from Afghanistan learn English and integrate into the community.
The Congressman made the announcement alongside GSU President Brian Blake, Dean Rodney Lyn of the School for Public Health the Deputy Director of Prevention Research Center Mary Helen O’Connor and Afghan students who are benefitting directly from the funding.
“We are a nation of immigrants and Clarkston is the Ellis Island of the South,” said Rep. Johnson. “I’m particularly proud that I was able to bring back $400,000 to help Afghan refugees – many of whom fought alongside our US military – learn English and integrate into our community. Language skills are the gateway to successful, productive citizens.”
Congressman Johnson secured $15 million in funding for 15 Community Projects throughout GA’s Fourth District in the FY23 Appropriations, including this $400,000 for Georgia State University Clarkston.
Clarkston has one of the fastest growing foreign-born populations in the Southeast and is one of the largest refugee resettlement communities in the U.S. Georgia has welcomed more than 1,900 Afghans since August through Operation Allies Welcome, with the majority being resettled in and around the immediate Clarkston community. In addition, Clarkston is welcoming refugee flows from Syria, Congo, Somalia, and other conflict zones as the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement ramps up its operations after years of cuts. Rebuilding those systems and programs that support the successful integration of new arrivals into the fabric of our communities is critical. But language proficiency is the gateway to opportunity for each of these individuals seeking to establish new lives in our communities.
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