|
Big Sibling Program
|
|
Links:
Apply
to be a Big Sibling Frequently
Asked Questions for family applicants
|
ROOTS HELP WIDEN THESE FAMILY CIRCLESAuthor(s): Meredith Goldstein, Globe Staff Correspondent Date: June 2, 2002 Page: 1 Section: Globe NorthGrace Sur, 18, has been more than a just a big sister to 4-year-old Madeleine Beaulieu. She has also been a friend and teacher to Madeleine's mother Liz, her father, Tim, and her brothers, Jack, 3, and 7-month-old Thomas, who is celebrating his fifth week in the United States. "A lot of this relationship has been for me," said Liz Beaulieu, of her daughter's participation in Sur's "Big Sibling" program for local children adopted from other countries. "I remember when Madeleine was very young, I'd get together with Grace downtown and we'd just talk." Sur, who is graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, started the sibling program almost three years ago. She connected with a group of parents in the Seacoast World Adoption Network (SWAN), a local organization of families who have gone overseas to adopt children. Her program started with families who had adopted children from Korea. She helped each family connect with a member of Exeter's Korean Society, which hosted activities for the families such as kite making and cooking lessons. Over time, the Exeter students developed relationships with the parents and their children. Sur said the activities allowed the Korean students at Exeter to reach beyond campus and to help parents who were desperate to learn more about their children's birthplace. "There's a lot they want to know," she said. "I've tried to meet with my family on an individual basis as much as I can. I bring things back from Korea, and when I travel home to Korea, they make me little goody bags. They've been really great." Deborah Regan, of SWAN, was the first to suggest teaming up with Exeter students. She would often travel from her home in Hampton Falls to downtown Exeter where she would bump into academy students. "Kids on the street would stop me and they'd ask if she was Korean," Regan said, of her 5-year-old daughter Sarah Regan-Kelley. "I thought, `This is great.' And I wondered if there was some sort of international club on campus, some group where we could hook up with these kids." In a predominantely white area, it has been most important for Sarah to see other Asian people, Regan said. Sarah is one of just a few Asian students in her preschool, and Regan expects there to be even less diversity when her daughter enters public school. "I think that it's more than just the culture," she said. "It's just about seeing someone else who looks like them." Regan's daughter has had three big siblings at Exeter. One moved on to Yale University, the other to MIT. "We try to keep in touch with them," she said. "They've been such great role models." Beaulieu has adopted three children from Korea. After Madeleine met Grace, she enrolled her son Jack, 3, in the program. During the past three years, the Exeter program has expanded. About 15 families usually attend group get-togethers, but more than 40 Exeter students are paired with local children. There are now also Chinese, Russian, Cambodian, and adopted children of other ethnicities in the group. "We had other kinds of people interested," Sur said. "When a family with a Russian child asked about it, we called a Russian student group on campus and asked them to participate." Sur said there has been a large increase in the number of families with Chinese children who are interested in the program. Sy Kim, one of the leaders for next year, said that when the group started, there were only two Chinese children involved. She already has eight registered for next year, and many more are interested. "I keep getting e-mails," Kim said. "There are two people with the Chinese Student Organization who are helping out on that end." Families in the program are invited to Exeter events such as International Day. The big siblings recently taught parents to cook kim bap, a traditional Korean dish similar to Japanese sushi. Sur said some Exeter students tutor their younger siblings in their native language. Beaulieu, of Durham, said that for Madeleine, the relationship has been about seeing a familiar face, someone with similar roots. Often times, the two will play like sisters, not focusing just on lessons of Korean culture. Sur writes the family letters when she is home in Korea during the summers, and the Beaulieus try to attend her music concerts at Exeter. "She's been with us for three years," Beaulieu said. "We've had adoption parties for our children and she's been there. She's met most of the grandparents. I think Madeleine knows it's not her big sister, but she's kind of like her big friend." Next year, when Sur moves on from Exeter to Brown University, Madeleine will get assigned a new big sister. Sur has passed the bigsiblings program to two younger Exeter students. She said she hopes to keep the Beaulieus in her life. "After I leave Exeter, I will have known that I have done something," Sur said. "It's been very important to me. I wrote my college essay about Madeleine."
|
Copyright
© Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments and feedback about this web site to shaslang@mit.edu
The page was
last modified on Thursday, November 14, 2002
