By Jennifer Burk
October 16, 2003
The Red and Black

Three nuns live and conduct mission work in a small, white double-wide nestled inside Pinewoods Estates trailer park, which is home to 220 Hispanic families.

On Wednesday, Remedios Gomez-Arnau, consul general of Mexico, visited the trailer, which often serves as a second home for many Hispanic families in the Athens area through its project, Oasis Catolico Santa Rafaela.

Gomez-Arnau brought bilingual coloring books and Spanish versions of the science textbooks used at Clarke Central High School when she visited.

"I wanted to thank this community of Athens for doing what they are doing (to help the Hispanic population)," she said.

The project, more commonly known as Oasis, was brought to Athens because the nuns wanted to create a place for Hispanics to gather and feel loved, said Margarita Martin, a nun and director of the Oasis project.

Glenn Ames, director of the University's Office of International Public Service and Outreach, said he read about Martin and the project in a newspaper, and in December he contacted the nuns to find out how the University could help.

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The project was brought to the attention of David Knauft, associate dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and he began to solicit volunteers, Ames said.

This semester, the nuns have 33 University students helping them tutor Hispanic children, said Anna Scott, a doctoral student in science education and coordinator for the project.

From 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, University students go to the trailer and help 35 to 45 Hispanic children in grades kindergarten through fifth with their homework, Scott said. "Our goal is to have a one-on-one tutor to pupil ratio," she said. "Most days it's one tutor to each grade level."

"I started coming because I wanted to give something back," said Charles Ciaccio, a junior from New Orleans who mentors for Oasis. But the children, he said, are the reason he keeps coming back. "One day I pulled up in my car, and I was listening to the end of a song, so I hadn't gotten out yet," he said. "And the kids came up to the car and started banging on the doors and grabbed my hands. It's things like that [which] keep me coming back."

The children in the program benefit immensely from the project, Scott said. "Last semester, someone who was tutored moved up a grade because of individual attention," she said.

When children finish their homework, they can practice multiplication tables, read or play on a makeshift basketball court, where there is no net and only a square piece of wood attached to a pole serves as a backboard.

The trailer isn't only used for tutoring, Martin said. It's also used for numerous activities that benefit the Hispanic community. The nuns teach English to mothers, have started a soccer team, hold mass and sometimes serve as maintenance workers.

Martin said she once received a call at 10:30 p.m. because a family had no light in their trailer. The three nuns went to the trailer, found the problem and turned the lights back on, she said.

Because there are so many families to serve, Martin said she is grateful that there is "a network of many angels coming to help (them) out." However, Scott said she wants to provide more help for Oasis.

One hour of course credit is offered for participating, and interested students should contact Scott at akscott@uga.edu.