Maay Maay for Beginners
Many of the refugees speak Maay Maay and of course, are learning English. We encourage our volunteers to learn a few words in Maay Maay, to make working and volunteering with Somali Bantu refugees more fun. It’s a great way to show them you care. For more information about the cultural background see The Somali Bantu: Their History and Culture written by Dan Van Lehman & Omar Eno published by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center. 

 Maay Maay Picture Collage Dictionary
The Maay Maay picture collage dictionary began as a tool to document the fruits and vegetables familiar to the Somali Bantu youth and those found in our neighborhood fruit tree mapping project. The English-Maay Maay dictionary grew into an intergenerational project with many people contributing pages, from preschoolers to elders. After expanding to all food, we then encouraged any and all words. At the moment there are well over 400 words and the dictionary continues to grow. View Dictionary

TV2 Norway Video
In the fall of 2003, TV2 Norway, an international television station from Norway, where many Somali refugees were being resettled, contacted Iskash*taa to request an interview. TV2 Norway, filmed Iskash*taa refugees and volunteers, creating a documentary on what they consider to be one of the most successful refugee grassroots program they have come across in the U.S.  The film serves as a model for community agencies in Norway and will soon be available for downloading and viewing here. TV2 Norway Reporter's, Gerhardt Helskog, and crew are expected to return to film an Iskash*taa progress report in 2007, interviewing some of the same Somali Bantu people.

Welcome to Your New Home
This Mercy Housing publication is a workbook designed to help orient refugees in their new homes. Iskash*taa has been distributing Mercy Housing’s comprehensive orientation workbook to school and volunteer groups working with refugee families. Each page contains large, brightly colored illustrations of “do’s” and “don'ts”. The booklet addresses apartment maintenance, safety and security, mail and notices, being a good neighbor and energy conservation. This publication, available in seven languages, can be ordered free from by writing to srobbins@mercyhousing.org and for additional resources see: http://www.refugeehouse.org/publications.htm.