Cville Tulips is an emerging group of refugee women and children in the Charlottesville area. We gather for English lessons, conversation, art, and youth programming. Transportation provided for those who need it.

Mark your calendars! Summer 2024 gatherings will be held on Wednesdays from June 19-August 7 (5:30-7:30 PM) at the Peabody School!

We use visual arts,

storytelling, and

physical activity

to promote and activate

cultural resilience

acknowledge challenges,

prevent social isolation,

and establish strengths

for refugee women.

Collaborators

  • The Sound Justice Lab

  • CAELC

    Center for American English Language & Culture

  • The Peabody School

  • Madison House

  • The Karsh Institute of Democracy at UVA

  • The Jefferson Trust

  • UVA Parents Program

  • Bama Works Fund

  • Cavalier Marching Band

  • International Family Medicine Clinic

  • Fry Springs Beach Club

  • Wildrock

  • The Women's Initiative

  • Virginia Community Response Network

Programming

English Language Learning

Cville Tulips gatherings typically include English Language learning programming designed to support women in breaking through physical and linguistic isolation. The two core programs are designed by the Center for American English Language and Culture (CAELC).

Youth Programming

Youth programming, led by undergraduates, modeled on the Arts Mentors, centers on drama workshops, visual arts, , outdoor freeplay, and soccer. Teenagers also participate in journaling and discussion led by trained therapists.

Stress Relief and Wellness

Gatherings also include time for women to socialize and relax while working with a variety of artistic mediums including, painting and visual art, bead work, drama, embroidery, sewing, etc.

Additionally, trained therapists lead guided discussions with groups of women centered on community building.

Cville Tulips Teens Host Radio Show on WXTJ 100.1 FM

Seven middle and high school students involved in Cville Tulips took to the airwaves on Monday, February 19th to share some of their favorite songs with the public. The playlist included music by artists from Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Tajikistan, and even a little Taylor Swift.

Thank you to the UVA Parents Program for supporting this project!

People

  • Aayusha Khanal is an undergraduate Batten student double majoring in Global Studies and Public Policy. She has worventions to better support them.ked as an Asylum Case Management Intern for Physicians for Human Rights and she began volunteering with the Sound Justice Lab in October of 2022 as an Afghan Women’s English Circle Leader for the Cville Tulips program.

  • Marjan Omranian is a graduate student in the UVa school of education and the inaugural Sound Justice fellow. A co-founder and co-director of C-ville Tulips; her research interests center the lived experience of Afghan women and on refugee education. She has worked with Afghan refugees in Charlottesville, Tehran and remotely in Afghanistan. Trained as an engineer, she looks forward to research projects that merge her varied interests.

  • a third-year Miller Arts Scholar, will coordinate volunteers and supervise arts activities for youth. She has extensive experience teaching dance and has worked for the Institute of Environmental Negotiation as a student intern and social media volunteer.

  • is a third year UVa student concentrating in Global Studies, Theater and Arts Administration and has been working with resettled communities since she was fifteen. She has worked extensively in youth theater.

  • is a 2021 UVa graduate who will apply to medical school this summer. She was a music major, a Miller Arts Scholar, and actively performed Persian music and dance through the Persian Cultural Society at UVa. She speaks Farsi.

  • is a PhD candidate in the Social Foundations of Education program whose research centers on the ways that immigrant families relate to and navigate education systems. She previously conducted a needs assessment for the Charlottesville office of the International Rescue Committee to identify challenges, needs, and supports experienced by refugee youth and families.

  • is Academic Director of the Center for American English Language and Culture and Director and Founder of the MOVE and VISA’s programs, which serve over 1000 volunteers and language learners a semester. She served as a liaison between migrant families and the school system in Albemarle County.

  • founded the Arts Mentors and was a founding member of the Equity Center. She currently co-directs the new Sound Justice Lab and has extensive experience in Arts Engagement.

  • Fall Gatherings will take place Sunday afternoons from 3:00 - 5:00pm on the following dates: 

    September 10 | September 24 | October 8 | October 22 | November 5 | November 19 | December 3

  • Summer Gatherings took place Wednesday evenings from 5:00 - 7:00pm on

    June 14 | June 21 | June 28 | July 5 | July 12 | July 19 | July 26 | August 2 | August 9     

    In early June, Fry’s Springs Beach Club hosted women-only swim classes for Cville Tulips.

    Cville Tulips met every other Sunday from January to May 2023 including a special Eid al-Fitr Celebration on Sunday, April 23rd.

  • Fall Programming: We gathered every other Sunday at Fry Springs Beach club for language learning, arts, conversation and food. Fall Programming ran October 2 - December 11th.

    Summer Programming We gathered on Tuesday Evenings on the University of Virginia Arts Grounds for movement, arts, and conversation. The programs ran from June 21 through August 9 from 5:30-7:30 pm.  Kids enjoyed nature-based activities with Wild Rock and women had the opportunity to explore exercise and creative expression. Our team included professional social workers and teachers as well as student volunteers and sound justice interns. 

    Weekly Gatherings in the hotels providing games and food for women and children.

    June 13 “Pool Day” for women and children at Fry’s Spring Beach Club, where there was swimming, henna, arts and crafts, and sports.

    June 4 Family picnic at Chris Greene Lake Park for the Afghan refugee families staying in hotels.

    May 26 “Women-Only Swim Party” at Fry’s Spring Beach Club.

    May 15 Second “Creative Connections” at Fry’s Spring Beach Club.

    April 23 “Creative Connections” at Fry’s Spring Beach Club, which was an event consisting of art and physical activities along with making connections and storytelling.

    April 10 Picnic for Afghan women and children in Washington Park.

    April 1 JMRL-Northside Library tour for Afghan women and children, where they also attended literacy events.

    March 19 Second “Spring Gathering” at Fry’s Spring Beach Club.

    March 10 “Spring Gathering” A welcome event for refugee women at Fry’s Spring Beach Club that included art, physical activities, making connections, and storytelling.

    February Distributed 80 bags of art supplies to Afghan children living in hotels.

    February Worked with Ragged Mountain Running Shop to allocate 50 pairs of shoes to Afghan children who had recently arrived in Charlottesville and enrolled in school.

Learn More About Refugee Resettlement in Charlottesville

Residents are often surprised by the number of refugees in our community and by the fact that there are more than 79 languages spoken in local schools. In a typical year Charlottesville welcomes 200 refugees displaced by violence and natural disaster.

When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2022, 280 Afghan refugees arrived within three weeks. Resettlement agencies work to ensure economic self-sufficiency as soon as possible and focus primarily on basic needs but cannot address the unique challenges for women as they struggle to manage large families, combat social and linguistic isolation, and navigate a new culture.

Cville Tulips strives to facilitate relationships between new residents from Afghanistan, longtime Afghan residents and the broader Charlottesville community.

For More Information Contact:

Bonnie Gordon - bsg6v@virginia.edu

Marjan Omranian - mj.omranian87@gmail.com