Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT)

“Our refugee ESL students are folks who have only lived in the United States for a few weeks or months. Forced to flee from their home countries because of political, religious and ethnic persecution, they live in refugee camps for years before finally being resettled in the U.S. They arrive in Austin with just a few possessions, often with only the clothes on their backs. Our clients rely 100% on the bus to get around – they don’t own cars, and they don’t have friends or relatives with cars. Receiving a bus pass so that they can come downtown four times per week to attend English class makes a huge impact, educationally and financially. And through the TEF, our agency can help many more students in this way than we ever could before.”