Miry's List
I recently attended a couple of Miry's List-related events with Miry herself! In these she discussed the genesis of her work serving immigrant families and community bridge-building.
A few things I found to be particularly of interest were her thoughts on the connection her experiences with motherhood gave her with others moving to the area and her dollhouse story.
To begin with the latter, Miry told us a scenario in which she received a generous donation of what she perceived in her mind to be "the perfect dollhouse." She described it as something from her own childhood dreams. She later donated it to a refugee family with a young daughter for her to play with. Later, when she revisited their home to drop off more supplies, she found the once-beautiful dollhouse in shambles; the daughter had destroyed it. And after some reflection to herself she realized why this was the case. The daughter, and the family as a whole had never experienced the "picture-perfect" home life the dollhouse represented. The dollhouse was a symbol of what the family lacked, so instead of it being a tool of inspiration and imagination as it is for many young girls, it was a mockery to the young daughter. Miry took this as a lesson to meet families where they are and to not impose her own preconceptions or ideas onto them. The dollhouse served the child still but in a different way. For her it was a way to let out frustration. And that's perfectly okay.
Miry also discussed how her personal experience having young children at the creation of Miry's List helped her relate to and help other immigrant and refugee families in similar stages of life. To me this represented a very personal impact Miry's List has on the families it serves and the community as a whole.
A few things I found to be particularly of interest were her thoughts on the connection her experiences with motherhood gave her with others moving to the area and her dollhouse story.
To begin with the latter, Miry told us a scenario in which she received a generous donation of what she perceived in her mind to be "the perfect dollhouse." She described it as something from her own childhood dreams. She later donated it to a refugee family with a young daughter for her to play with. Later, when she revisited their home to drop off more supplies, she found the once-beautiful dollhouse in shambles; the daughter had destroyed it. And after some reflection to herself she realized why this was the case. The daughter, and the family as a whole had never experienced the "picture-perfect" home life the dollhouse represented. The dollhouse was a symbol of what the family lacked, so instead of it being a tool of inspiration and imagination as it is for many young girls, it was a mockery to the young daughter. Miry took this as a lesson to meet families where they are and to not impose her own preconceptions or ideas onto them. The dollhouse served the child still but in a different way. For her it was a way to let out frustration. And that's perfectly okay.
Miry also discussed how her personal experience having young children at the creation of Miry's List helped her relate to and help other immigrant and refugee families in similar stages of life. To me this represented a very personal impact Miry's List has on the families it serves and the community as a whole.
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