ABOUT
CVILLE TULIPS

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@cvilletulips

Cville Tulips began in the winter of 2022 as a space for recently arrived Afghan women to gather and build community. We now meet weekly in the summer and bi-weekly during the school year. Women attend English and Health Learning Circles. Kids of all ages enjoy soccer, games, visual arts, and drumming. Interpreters, hired from the Cville Tulips community of women, help bridge linguistic and cultural differences. English, Health, and Youth programming are supervised by faculty and staff from the Center for English Language and Culture and the Medical School and College of Arts and Sciences. Madison House provides volunteer support.  

Our name, Cville Tulips, references the huge fields of red tulips in Afghanistan. And, across the Middle East Tulips symbolize women, resilience, and thriving. It felt important to choose a name that works in Pashto, Dari, Arabic and English to convey a sense of belonging to multiple diasporas and to the place we all live now.  

Cville Tulips was initially a project of the Sound Justice Lab, funded by the Karsh Institute of Democracy.

People

  • is the co-founder and
    co-director of Cville Tulips. She holds a Master of Education from the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on the lived experiences of Afghan women and refugee education. Marjan has worked with Afghan refugees in Charlottesville, Tehran, and remotely in Afghanistan. She also serves as a Community Partnership Liaison with UVA's Equity Center.

  • is Academic Director of the Center for American English Language and Culture and Director and Founder of the MOVE and VISA’s programs, which serve over 1000 volunteers and language learners a semester. She served as a liaison between migrant families and the school system in Albemarle County.

  • founded the Arts Mentors and was a founding member of the Equity Center. She currently co-directs the new Sound Justice Lab and has extensive experience in Arts Engagement.

  • is a graduate student studying exercise physiology and pursuing a career as a physician. In her exploration of culturally responsive health care and preventative medicine she has produced several visual aide booklets providing information on exercise, nutrition, and local health systems. She has been working with Cville Tulips and the Sound Justice Lab since 2023.

  • is the Program Coordinator for Cville Tulips, where she supports administrative and financial operations and teaches within the English program. Elsa also works with the volunteer programs at UVA's Center for American English Language and Culture, coordinating and fostering cross-cultural connections. With a decade of experience in English teaching and a particular focus on program management, Elsa is passionate about building bridges between diverse communities and is inspired by the opportunity to serve Charlottesville’s refugee community. She joined Cville Tulips in 2023.

Alumnae

  • Aayusha Khanal is an undergraduate Batten student double majoring in Global Studies and Public Policy. She has worventions to better support them.ked as an Asylum Case Management Intern for Physicians for Human Rights and she began volunteering with the Sound Justice Lab in October of 2022 as an Afghan Women’s English Circle Leader for the Cville Tulips program.

  • a third-year Miller Arts Scholar, will coordinate volunteers and supervise arts activities for youth. She has extensive experience teaching dance and has worked for the Institute of Environmental Negotiation as a student intern and social media volunteer.

  • is a third year UVa student concentrating in Global Studies, Theater and Arts Administration and has been working with resettled communities since she was fifteen. She has worked extensively in youth theater.