Rector’s Update: Tue 4/1

Dear friends,

Suzanne Johnson offers this information about our refugee family. And I am excited to say that we have surpassed our goal to raise $20,000 to support them. If you’d still like to contribute, please do. It is still unclear what services the government will provide (and for how long) and what we may be required to pick up. And there are always unexpected expenses like paying for Uber to take the young men to and from work because an Uber ride is 30 minutes and public transportation is two hours each way. Because of you generosity we don’t have to hesitate when something like that arises. 

Update on Our Refugee Family

As Steve Hauser was driving Bonheur, Ardin, and Nemori, three of the young adults in the family, to various errands this week, Nemori laughed and said something in French. Steve asked Bonheur for a translation. She said, “Things were so hard in Cameroon. I am so happy to be here.” The gratitude, determination, and joy of this family inspire all of us who are fortunate enough to get to be with them and bring your love to them in concrete ways.

In March, the family made significant strides in establishing their lives in the US.

•   Baby Sarah was born March 5th; both she and her mom, Laila, are thriving.

•   All five of the school-eligible children started school, kindergarten through eighth grade; they are happy, learning, and making friends.

•   Ardin and Bonheur will start a one month trial of a good-paying construction job this week; we hope it will turn into a permanent position. The commute requiring a couple of Marta bus connections and then still an Uber for the last leg to the construction site would be at least two hours each way so the church is initially underwriting the cost of an Uber for the whole commute, reducing the time to about 35 minutes each way.

•   Nemori, the mother of the twin girls, is continuing to be busy at her job in the hair weaving salon, a fairly short bus ride from home.

•   Nemori, Ardin, and Bonheur have just been enrolled in the Connect 2 Success program at the International Rescue Committee. The program is a combination of education (GED and digital fluency) and job preparedness with a cohort of other young adult newcomers to this country. The program involves both in person and remote activities and is compatible with work and family schedules and responsibilities.

•   Suzanne is teaching 16 hours a week of English as a Second Language just for the family, a combination of remote and in person instruction.

•   Nemori, Bonheur, and Ardin have bank accounts.

How can you help?

•   The two grandparents, Maurice and Koutou, need jobs. Their English is still quite minimal but they are eager to work. They have experience with housekeeping, laundry and security work. If you have any contacts especially with hotels or restaurants, ideally but not necessarily near the airport, please contact Susan and Steve Hauser.

•   The family needs rain gear—umbrellas (especially larger golf type umbrellas for walking the children to the bus stop in the rain) and rain jackets, rain coats, and slickers for the children and adults (see sizes below)

•   They also need summer clothes—used clothes in very good condition are fine. (See sizes below). There is another refugee family living next door to them who do not have a sponsoring group. Our family can pass any extra clothes on to their neighbors.