Rebekah and Muna - Match of the Month

Winooski, VT:

Family.

That’s the word Rebekah Silver, one of DREAM’s Community Organizers serving in Winooski, used to describe her relationship with her mentee Muna. Rebekah and Muna were first matched in 2020, the summer after Rebekah’s junior year of college. She was serving in DREAM’s summer enrichment program at Elm Street when they met. “She actually asked me to be her mentor,” said Rebekah, “and I was like ‘of course! I kind of feel like I already am.’” The two clicked just about instantly when the summer began and never looked back, as their relationship continues today. “She’s really outgoing, she’s really sassy…and she loves DREAM. It's her favorite thing in the whole world.”

Rebekah and Muna have been matched for over two years now, even after Rebekah graduated college and began serving as an AmeriCorps member for DREAM. During that time, their relationship has only grown closer. They talk all the time, and Rebekah is a regular visitor to Muna’s family home. “I was with them this morning…they [are] like my family here.” She values the relationships she’s made with Muna’s family, but she’s been stressed on how important it is to have individual time with Muna. This can occasionally be difficult, since Muna’s older sister has become one of Rebekah’s closest friends, too, and she has a relationship with all ten of Muna’s siblings. In part because of the size of Muna’s family, Muna has expressed that her relationship with Rebekah is extremely special and valuable to her. “She comes [to the community center] every single day….she’s told me herself that coming to see me is the highlight of her day.” So, while Rebekah has become like a part of Muna’s family, Muna still wants “her person.”