Cville Tulips - A Community of Kindness for Afghan and Syrian Families
By: Maria Arostegui
“When you help others grow, you will grow.”
Marjan Omranian’s work as co-founder and co-director of Cville Tulips is truly an inspiration. Dedicated towards building community with Afghan and Syrian women and children, Cville Tulips is a pillar of kindness in the Charlottesville area.
Originally from Iran, Omranian moved to Charlottesville in 2021 to support her husband’s pursuit of his PhD in Music. Due to the humanitarian crisis following the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan, many refugees came to Charlottesville, as the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has an office in the area. Omranian had experience working with Afghan children in Iran, helping them read, write, and learn Farsi. Seeing the refugees and reminded of her past experiences, Omranian felt a strong desire to help all of those families. Collaborating with U.Va’s Sound Justice Lab, another local organization that focuses on helping marginalized communities in Charlottesville, Omranian made her vision reality.
Beginning with visiting refugee families in hotels around Charlottesville, Omranian and Bonnie Gordon, U.Va’s professor and co-founder of the Sound Justice Lab, sought to understand the needs of the women and children. They built relationships with the women and children, playing with them and doing art projects together. Their first official gathering was in March 2022. Now, Cville Tulips serves approximately 200 women and children every gathering and has many initiatives: youth programs, art activities, English classes, and even health education.
One of the most memorable experiences for the families that Omranian remembers was the creation of an internship program for teenagers whose families received help from Cville Tulips. The internship required the teenagers to help families and volunteers, and lead art projects. Omranian said this program created a lot of change as the teenagers became the first female members of their family who earned money. “It was very powerful,” said Omranian. “It built confidence and self-efficacy [...] It was empowering.”
Kindness, positivity, and encouragement is at the center of everything Cville Tulips accomplishes. Cville Tulips serves children of all ages, from babies to ages 19 years-old. Even though Omranian mentioned that, at times, there may be moments of chaos, each volunteer wants to share love and kindness with others. Even in the very beginnings of the program, when Omranian and Gordon were visiting hotels, kindness was the driving inspiration for their work. One of the situations Omranian encountered in the beginning was that the children did not have proper shoes for school. In order to help, Cville Tulips rented a bus and took 50 children to Ragged Mountain Shoes located in Charlottesville and bought shoes for them.
“We know these women and children went through a lot of things in their lives.” Omranian said. “We want our events to be a safe, kind, and fun space for this community so they feel a sense of belonging to their new environment.”
Love is present in all of the initiatives and people within the Cville Tulips community. The families feel the love and kindness given by Cville Tulips’ staff and reciprocate it in different ways, such as cooking traditional foods in special events or creating artworks for volunteers. The mutual love and respect among Cville Tulips families and staff is truly a reminder of the power of kindness in all circumstances.
When reflecting back on her work, Omranian said that the most important lesson she has learned was, “When you help other people to grow, you will grow.” At first, Omranian said that her intention was to help the Afghan and Syrian refugee community, but she later realized that she also helped herself in the process. As she was a newcomer in Charlottesville, the program fostered feelings of belonging in herself as much as in the refugee families. Cville Tulips volunteers also echo this sentiment, recounting how they also felt impacted by their work.
Cville Tulips creates so much positive change in the Charlottesville area, helping refugees become connected in a community offering multiple resources for them to flourish. Cville Tulips is welcoming new recruits to get further involved in spreading love and kindness to others.
To get involved, fill out the registration form on their website. They offer two volunteer training sessions in the semester to prepare new recruits. Anyone can start at any point of the semester and choose any of their volunteer programs: women, toddlers, children, teenagers, outdoor games, and indoor gym. Cville Tulips meets every other Sunday from 2:30 to 5:00 pm, and there is a carpooling system available for volunteers if needed. Explore their website for further details.