Chris Remington / Capital Public Radio

Hundreds of female refugees in Sacramento County will be among those celebrating Mother's Day this weekend. A new program that provides English skills for these women and a little something extra.

Mariam Mohamade left Afghanistan with her three children years ago in fear of her husband. She wanted to learn English to support her family.

"English is not only useful to me, it's useful to everyone. And the better your language is, the higher your goals can be," she says.

Mohamade began taking the Mommy and Me course at the International Rescue Committee, which teaches basic English and provides daycare for young children. She says learning English is about independence.

"I don't want an interpreter helping me anymore," she says. "My goal is to make my children self-sufficient. Things I wasn't able to experience I want them to experience."

The program is taught by volunteers at little to no cost to participants.

Lisa Welze, the director of the IRC in Sacramento, discussed the Mommy and Me program on Insight with Beth Ruyak.

Chris Remington / Capital Public Radio