Paper Airplanes
To children around the world, a paper airplane is just another toy to play with. But to the young refugees in Syria, these “toys” commemorate deadly bombings. Paper Airplanes pairs PEA students with high-school-aged refugee students from the Middle East as a part of a larger Youth Exchange program.
In the summer of 2013, Bailey Ulbricht, a woman who graduated from Carleton College in 2015, spent two months volunteering in the small town of Reyhanli located in the Turkish-Syrian border. Despite living in the middle of a war zone, the young refugees told Ulbricht about their desire to obtain a university degree in hopes of bettering the status of themselves as well as their family. In an attempt to entertain the kids living in the town, she folded a paper airplane and threw it. The children shied back in fear.
After returning to the United States, several Syrian refugees contacted her, asking for opportunities where they could practice their English. In response, Ulbricht assembled an initial team of 10 tutors to provide English lessons for them through social media outlets. Since then, the now official non-profit organization called Paper Airplanes has dramatically expanded.
Prompted by a child’s photo of an injured Syrian refugee in the news, lower Sophia Cho began researching ways she could help those affected by the crisis in the Middle East. This led her to become involved with the non-profit and start Exeter’s very own Paper Airplanes Club through ESSO.
Paper Airplanes gives PEA students a chance to follow in Ulbricht’s footsteps. Club members get the opportunity to talk to their assigned student for
at least an hour every week to teach the refugees English through any available social media platform.
Not only is the club a great opportunity to give back through teaching, but the unique interaction with the refugees also leaves the tutors with a new perspective on the war. When reading about the refugee crisis in newspapers and watching the news, Cho described how the crisis feels “a lot more personal” and has made her “more aware of what’s happening.”
Senior Harry DiTullio agreed, saying that “being able to actually speak face to face with someone affected by the conflict in Syria has completely changed how I look at these problems in the world. I have a real, tangible connection, and for me, that has meant everything.”
Although the refugees live on the other side of the globe, they may be more similar to Exonians than one might think. Lower Ginny Little, a prominent member of the club, recounted how she would often engage in conversation with one specific refugee about their shared love of running and biology. While the fear of seeing the strife right outside your window is almost unimaginable for Exonians, the club has made Little realize that “we are so much more alike than we are different” and has made her “much more appreciative of what [she] has”.
Although Paper Airplanes is only able to accept new tutors at the beginning of the academic year, co-head Cho assures that they will be accepting new tutors during next year’s club night and encourages others to support the club’s upcoming fundraisers to raise money for English exams.