LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We are all dealt different hands.
Galen Zavala Sherby, the son of a Honduran man and an American woman, shares a cultural background with the children he works with, but his journey to America was a lot different.
What You Need To Know
- A learning hub was started at Beechmont Presbyterian during the pandemic
- The hub serves Spanish-speaking children of Honduran immigrants
- The learning hub has expanded into an after-school program and a JCPS Backpack League
“For them, what it’s been is trudging through the desert or across the Rio Grande or stuffed in the back of a pickup truck to make it here,” says Zavala-Sherby.
Zavala-Sherby moved to Louisville from Honduras when he was eight. His father started the Presbyterian Hispanic Latino Ministry of Preston Highway a few years after.
In 2019, the ministry and Beechmont Presbyterian, a church of 58, took a step of faith.
The two ministries opened a learning hub to support Spanish-speaking children of newly immigrated Honduran families.
“We’re talking about the children of undocumented immigrants. These are kids who all of them on some level have lived through trauma or are living through traumas as a result of where their parents come from,” says Zavala-Sherby.
Online learning during the pandemic was a change for students.
For families who immigrated to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking countries, it was even more challenging.
Church and community volunteers helped the kids navigate online learning after a seven-month learning gap caused by the pandemic.
“I think that’s the main thing is that they realize that they have resources made by and for people like them that are there for them no matter what and that will do everything in their power to give them the resources necessary to succeed,” says Zavala-Sherby.
Allison Calderon was born in the U.S. and dreams of visiting Central America one day.
“One of the kids said that my English is very good and they wish they were like me… because they never got to speak English when they were in Honduras or Mexico,” says Calderon.
It’s their strength and the heritage they radiate that she admires most.
“I love how they act, how they speak, and how different skin colors we have,” says Calderon. “It’s really like unique. I get to learn more about my culture.”
Zavala-Sherby says to the world the learning hub may be just a small program, but to the kids, it’s the world.
“When people are able to see themselves and other people, it gives them courage. It gives them a better drive to succeed,” says Zavala-Sherby. “I really truly hope that I can do this on some level for the rest of my life.”
If he had it his way, no child would be lost in the shuffle.
The learning hub has expanded into a JCPS Backpack League site and an after-school program. The staff hopes to make the hub more sustainable and add a director who has experience working with children who have experienced trauma to the team.