LSG Case Manager Becomes U.S. Citizen

On, June 28, 2013, the United States welcomed Mohamed Ahmed as one of its newest citizens! Mohamed works as a Case Manager in LSG’s Refugee and Immigration Services department. When he shares his story about becoming a citizen, he smiles with quiet pride.

Mohamed’s long journey to citizenship and a new home in the United States began when he, his wife, his children, and his mother left Somalia to escape the violent 1991 civil war. After fleeing to Egypt, he took a job in Sudan working with an international organization. His children remained in Egypt. In November of 2002, his wife, his two sons, and four daughters crossed the ocean together and arrived in the U.S. as refugees. Once their feet were firmly planted on American soil, Mohamed’s wife applied for a family-based visa so he could join them. He arrived in Atlanta in the winter of 2008 and soon began volunteering with LSG, helping other refugees adjust to life in their new country.

Since Mohamed’s wife is a U.S. citizen, he was eligible for naturalization after three years of living in the United States. Although he speaks English fluently and felt he could confidently answer the questions on the citizenship test, he grew anxious as the day for the test grew closer. Like a student preparing for finals week, he studied for the test and passed with flying colors. “It’s a great achievement,” he says.

Mohamed celebrates his citizenship as “another step forward” for him and his family. He sees the U.S. as a place of freedom—freedom from oppression, freedom from discrimination, and freedom to pursue employment and educational opportunities. Now, as a citizen, he has also secured the freedom to travel, to vote, to take government positions, and to leave and return as he wishes. For Mohamed, the freedom that citizenship brings is priceless. “You cannot value citizenship by money,” he reflects. “It’s more valuable than anything else.”

New Country, New Home

When Bal and Aita arrived in Atlanta at 1:00 a.m. on a Tuesday summer morning with their three-year-old son Abishek, they were exhausted from their long journey. They had been traveling from Nepal, where they had lived as refugees after leaving Bhutan, their country of birth, many years earlier. After several long flights, they just wanted to sleep.

Thanks to some folks from Valparaiso University, Bal, Aita, and Abishek could go straight to their new home, crawl into bed, and sleep the night away. A few days earlier, on Saturday, June 8, members of the Valparaiso University Alumni Association and the Valparaiso University Guild drove over to Clarkston to set up an apartment for this family from Bhutan. When the volunteers arrived at the apartment, it was empty. Three hours later, it looked like a home.

In the weeks before the apartment set-up on June 8, the group had set up a storage unit in the parking lot of Rock of Ages Lutheran Church in Stone Mountain so that people could donate furniture and other household items before they took them over to Clarkston. Valparaiso alumni and friends across Atlanta responded generously. People from Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Grace Lutheran Church in Atlanta, and Rock of Ages Lutheran Church brought extra furniture for the Bhutanese family and food for their pantry.

At the end of the morning, after the crew had hauled the furniture inside and arranged it properly, one of LSG’s new staff members, Cynthia McGuinness, popped in with a surprise. In addition to providing four chairs for the family’s dining room, her two children brought stuffed animals and toys for three-year-old Abishek. While growing up in the refugee camp in Nepal, Abishek probably never had a stuffed animal or toy to play with. Thanks to Cynthia’s children, he now has many!

The volunteers were delighted to be able to welcome a family to the United States. “We had a really great time helping out,” said Ashley, one of the Valparaiso alumnae. LSG thanks these volunteers from Valparaiso University who helped set up the apartment, all the donors who contributed the furniture, and PODS for providing the storage unit. If you would like to set up an apartment for refugees with your company, congregation, or other group, please contact Melanie Johnson at mjohnson@lsga.org or 678-686-9619.

Peril and Promise: Zakaria's Story

The small fiberglass boat sways as it speeds north from Libya in the Mediterranean Sea. 23 people are huddled inside, barely able to move. The sun beats down on them. They are hungry. Ever since water splashed inside and spoiled their bread, there has not been any food. They worry that the boat might capsize and toss them all into the sea, where no one will come to rescue them. As they cling to the side of the boat or each other to support themselves, they also hold on tightly to the hope that they will reach Malta safely.

For many Sudanese and Somali refugees who flee violence and persecution in their home countries, the promise of a new life often begins with this perilous three-day voyage from Libya to Malta, where safety and jobs await them. Zakaria, a refugee from Sudan, was one of the 23 people on this boat.

After three days, they finally made it to Malta, where Zakaria lived for six years before coming to Georgia as a refugee. On May 19, 2010, Zakaria flew from Malta to Atlanta, where Mohamed, one of LSG’s case managers, picked him up from the airport and helped him to resettle in the U.S.

Given his arduous journey from Sudan to Libya and then to Malta, it is no wonder that Zakaria is a determined, diligent worker. After living in Georgia for a month and a half, he found work at the Omni Hotel, with the help of LSG’s employment services. He worked there for over two years, though his work day did not stop when his shift at the hotel ended. While working at the Omni, he took English classes in Chamblee and worked as a taxi driver in Athens on the weekends. As a result of this hard work, he earned enough money to buy his own car and improved his language skills significantly: when he arrived in the United States he could not speak English, and after two years he could speak conversationally with others.

But after more than two years at the Omni Hotel, Zakaria wanted to do something else with his life. Interested in helping other refugees acclimate to life in the United States, he quit his job and started to volunteer at LSG, where he helped refugees who spoke Arabic settle into their new lives in Georgia. He picked up LSG’s clients at the airport, drove them to obtain social security cards and Georgia IDs, and assisted them with shopping and groceries. He was helping others as he had been helped himself two years earlier.

After Zakaria had been volunteering at the agency for three months, LSG noticed the great work that he was doing and decided to hire him as a case worker. Zakaria is not the only person who has come to the United States as a refugee and decided to work for LSG; 11 former refugees work in LSG’s Refugee Services. LSG is fortunate to have this experienced group of individuals who are committed to welcoming refugees to Georgia, and we are proud to welcome Zakaria as one of the newest members of our crew!

World Refugee Day Celebrated in Clarkston!

 On Saturday, June 22, LSG came together with the refugee community in Clarkston to celebrate World Refugee Day. Under the bright afternoon sun, Clarkston residents and other supporters of the refugee community flocked to the activity fields next to the Clarkston Community Center to join millions around the world who were remembering the hardships that refugees face while also honoring their accomplishments. As a timely tribute to the success of many refugees in Clarkston, the celebration included a naturalization ceremony for some of America’s newest citizens: former refugees who have been living in the U.S. for several years.

Although the Clarkston community chose to celebrate World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 22, the official day of observance each year is June 20. On that day, people around the world and in the United States remember the millions of refugees who have to flee their homes. For around 70,000 refugees each year, the United States offers a safe haven and an opportunity to begin a new life. Around 2,500 of these refugees are resettled in Georgia, where nonprofit agencies such as Lutheran Services of Georgia work with local and state government organizations to help these new Americans become productive members of Georgia’s communities.

Representatives from many of these nonprofit agencies were present at the celebration in Clarkston to inform others of the work that they do with the refugee community. Melanie Johnson, Program Manager for Volunteer, Congregation, and Community Engagement was braving the heat and staffing an information table for LSG. Many other members of LSG’s Refugee Services were at the event, too, including Taryn Arbeiter and Gayle Cruz, who served delicious Nepali food to all and sundry.

If you missed out on the celebration this year, be sure to mark your calendars for next year. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn more about nonprofits serving the refugee community, taste food from around the world, and witness the resilience and success of many refugees in Clarkston!

Volunteers and Refugee Services Clients Show LSG Some Love!

 

Volunteers and clients are at the heart of LSG's mission and work. LSG recently asked volunteers and Refugee Services clients to reflect on their experiences with LSG. Here's what they had to say!

Why do volunteers love working with LSG?

I  love to volunteer with LSG because I am able to live out my faith in a tangible way, providing care and relationship to the "stranger, widow, and orphan". --Blair Trygstad, student at Candler School of Theology

I love to volunteer with LSG because I'm given the opportunity to make a small difference in someone's life. --Maxwell Ndungu, attorney for King & Spalding.

I love to volunteer with LSG because I am a Lutheran! But mostly because LSG's dedicated employees are a beacon in the community. LSG has always been a vocal advocate of all those who have lost their voices and LSG offers me an opportunity, through volunteering, to enter into their stories. --Adrainne Gray, member of Lutheran Church of the Messiah

Why do refugee clients like coming to ESL and job training with LSG's Refugee Services?

I like to learn more about jobs, transportation, and laws. --Hadija Tambwe, refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo

I like to help people understand English and to learn new things. --Nouraldin Abdalla, refugee from Sudan and translator for Arabic clients.

Thanks so much to our dedicated volunteers and Refugee Services clients for showing some love to LSG!

Welcoming Tenzin

Tenzin Ngawang is a new staff member in LSG's Refugee Services. A former refugee himself, recently he shared part of his personal journey with the rest of LSG. Now we would like to share it with you all. Please join us in welcoming Tenzin!

I arrived in the U.S 13 years ago to be reunited with my family in N.Y. We were Tibetan refugees in Nepal since the late 60's and the early 90's as Asylees in the U.S. I graduated with a degree in Business Management but unlike most of my friends didn't take a job in Corporate America which brings me to Refugee Resettlement. I have a background in the Hospitality business and planned to live all over the world but after 5 years of service lost sight of my goal and found the work unfulfilling. I then had a brilliant idea to try working at non-profits and I always wanted to live in Southern California. So I packed my bags moved to San Diego and found a job with Goodwill Industries. In the past 13 years I have lived and worked in New York City, Northern Virginia, San Diego and finally, Atlanta which hopefully will be the last stop. I moved to the city 4 months ago, married a childhood friend and started the process of seeking employment. This new phase in my life gave me the opportunity to focus on a career path in Social Services, specifically working with Refugees. It seemed only natural that being a Refugee all my life and now that I finally have a country to call my own, to help others seek the same goal with the best of my abilities. I hope I can be of good service to the Organization. Thank You.

LSG Welcomes Refugee Family from Iraq to Savannah!

On June 6, the Savannah office welcomed an Iraqi family of 6. The husband, Ali Majmaie, is very skilled with welding and manufacturing work. His wife, Sahira Saleem, aspires to be a teacher in the US. They have four children, three sons and one daughter. The oldest son wants to go to welding school, and the youngest children are very happy to live in Savannah and play at the many public parks. Upon their arrival in the US, the family made new friends with Savannah residents at the Savannah Islamic Center, enrolled into English classes at Savannah Tech, and received employment training at the LSG office.

Meet the new staff members in Refugee Services!

Heather Romero will serve as the Employment Specialist for the Savannah Refugee Services Sub-Office. Prior to joining LSG, she has experience working for faith based organizations in Georgia and overseas in South Sudan. She is skilled with assisting victims of trauma, refugee populations, and providing social support services to improve self-sufficiency. She earned her Bachelor’s in Human Services at Kennesaw State University with a focus on Social Work.

Gayle Cruz graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor’s in International Affairs with a concentration in Global Experience. During her last semester, she was an intern in the Refugee Services department of R&P. She also volunteered with Friends in Hope making visitations to detainees. She speaks Spanish fluently and has a background in banking. Gayle is passionate about helping refugees develop and become self-sufficient. Her passion in developing and helping those in need led her to work for LSG as an Employment Specialist.

Lindsay Futterman is a part-time Case Aide with the R&P program. Lindsay was born and raised in Atlanta. She has over six years experience in nonprofit, and most recently worked at the International Community School as Administrative Specialist, gaining much experience working with refugee families. She enjoys volunteering, cooking and bike riding.

Zakaria Abdulraek is a former refugee from Sudan. He was resettled by LSG in 2010, and began working for the Omni Hotel shortly after his arrival in Atlanta. He had been volunteering for LSG for several months and was recently hired as a part-time case aide for the R&P program. He is happy to be able to give back to the community through his work with LSG.

Summer Reading

Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, the books of Dr. Seuss: these stories have animated the childhoods of kids across America for many years. On Wednesday, May 22, 50 elementary school students at Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston, Georgia became the newest readers of these classic tales—and they were ecstatic about it.

Thanks to a gift from the West Metro Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and several Lutheran churches—Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Hiram, Grace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, and Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Douglasville—each student in LSG’s After School Academic/Arts Program (ASAP) received a book to read this summer. During ASAP, children from refugee families and at-risk youth stay at school in the afternoon to complete their homework, go on field trips, and participate in other fun activities, including book clubs. Having practiced reading books in English throughout the year, they will be more than ready to embark on their summer reading adventure, whether it be There’s A Wocket in my Pocket! or any of the other children’s stories they received on Wednesday!

When LSG staff members arrived in the Media Center of Indian Creek Elementary School pulling a cart with boxes of books on it, a hush fell over the students seated at the tables. That silence was soon broken. Once the children received their books, they began flipping through the pages, chattering with their neighbors. Clutching a book to her chest, one girl declared that she was never going to let it go. Another boy stood up and, with the ingenuousness of a six-year-old, told the LSG staff members, “Thank you for bringing something to us. We love you.”

The real thanks goes to the West Metro Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and the Lutheran churches that provided the books. Thank you for giving these children something to read this summer and for filling them with such excitement and joy. We appreciate your contributions!

At The Ballgame

Sitting in the bleachers with a bright sun overhead, munching on peanuts, listening to an umpire barking behind home plate: this setting is familiar and precious for many of us. Baseball is, after all, “America’s Pastime.” Yet for others, watching baseball is an odd activity: it can be difficult to understand the bizarre movements and confusing rules, not to mention the peculiar snacks like hot dogs and boiled peanuts that are served there.

For Tun, That, Zin Ko, and Mu, four Burmese refugees who recently came to Savannah as refugees, baseball was an introduction to American culture. On a Thursday afternoon in May, Allison and Jim Ward, two dedicated LSG supporters, treated these four Burmese refugees to a Sand Gnats ballgame. Allison and Jim explained to them how to score runs, as well as what the strikes, balls, and outs on the scoreboard meant. They also bought some nachos and boiled peanuts for the newcomers to try. Although a little hesitant about the food, the four guests tried the nachos and peanuts and enjoyed watching the game.

LSG thanks Allison and Jim for the hospitality that they showed to the four Burmese men and women. Tun, That, Zin Ko, and Mu appreciated that people wanted to take them to a sports game and teach them about American culture. You, too, can help us welcome refugees by taking them to a community event or spending time with them in other ways. If you would like to join us in welcome, please contact Deidre Harrison (dharrison@lsga.org) in Savannah or Melanie Johnson (mjohnson@lsga.org) in Atlanta.

LSG's Award-Winning Students!

Congratulations to the students at LSG’s After-School Academic/Arts Program (ASAP) in Clarkston! Recently several students who attend LSG’s after-school program received awards from Clarkston High School: some made the Principle’s List with straight A grades; others made the Honor Roll. One student even won the Angora All-Star award, named for the high school’s mascot, that recognizes her as the top student in her class. Here are the award-winning students:

What is the after-school program? LSG’s After-School Academic/Arts Program (ASAP) increases the academic achievement of 50 Indian Creek Elementary students and 25 Clarkston High School students through a variety of fun, hands-on activities. After the normal school day ends, these youth, 70% of whom are refugee children and 30% of whom are at-risk students, stick around to write in journals, discuss literature in a book club, attend music and art classes, go on field trips, and participate in other activities. Professional teachers and volunteers staff the program and help students with their homework and activities.

In Memoriam Pritam Adhikari

Pritam Adhikari’s fascination with airplanes dated to his early childhood. As a six-year old living in a refugee camp in Nepal, where he and his family resided after being forced to leave Bhutan, Pritam played with paper airplanes and wondered how they flew through the air. When Lutheran Services of Georgia resettled him and his family in Atlanta in 2008, his love and knowledge of airplanes only increased. At Druid Hills High School, he learned about computers and discovered the field of aerospace engineering. After graduating from high school this brilliant student and determined young man began to attend Oglethorpe University, where he was studying to become an aerospace engineer and realize his childhood dream of spending a lifetime around airplanes.

Pritam never had the opportunity to fulfill this childhood dream. On January 5, 2013, he passed away at the age of 21, after battling cancer for two months in the Intensive Care Unit at Grady Hospital. Dozens of Bhutanese family and friends attended his funeral on January 6 to mourn the loss of someone whose future was so bright and so promising. LSG extends its condolences to the Adhikari family, as well as to the LSG staff who came to know Pritam and his family over the years.

Visit this website to read a reflective essay Pritam wrote about his life, including his love of airplanes: http://bhutan-atlanta.blogspot.co.il/2011/05/at-druid-hills-high-school-2011.html

"A Day in the Life" with Guru

It is 9 a.m. and rain falls steadily outside the Avondale train station in Decatur, where a group of commuters lingers under the roof of the station, hesitant to get wet so early in the morning. Some people, however, do not have the luxury of waiting around until the rain abates. For a refugee services case manager, the morning is already in full swing: rain or shine, refugee clients need to be driven to health screenings, English lessons, work interviews, and orientations. Guru, one of LSG’s Refugee Services case managers, has already been quite busy this morning. When he pulls into the train station in his minivan to pick me up a few minutes after nine, he has already shuttled several clients to a clinic near Clarkston.

Guru has graciously agreed to take an inexperienced and inquisitive intern along with him while he visits families in Clarkston. As we drive on Ponce de Leon Avenue toward our destination, Guru tells me a little bit about his own story and how it relates to other refugees’ experiences. Originally from Bhutan, Guru came to the United States in 2008, after having spent 17 years as a refugee, mostly in a refugee camp in Nepal. It is not uncommon for refugees from Bhutan to have spent as many as twenty years in a Nepalese refugee camp. In the early 1990s, the Lhotshampas, the Nepali-speaking ethnic group from the south of Bhutan, were expelled from the country. To grasp the reason for this expulsion, one must understand the relationships between Bhutan’s various ethnic groups.

The ethnic groups in Bhutan have different customs and languages. The Ngalops, from the west of Bhutan, are the dominant ethnic group in Bhutan, controlling the government and dictating the cultural norms. The Sharchops, from the east, are the other powerful ethnic group. Together these two groups account for 65% of the population. The Lhotshampas constitute the other 35% of the population. Originally from Nepal, the Lhotshampas were invited by the Bhutanese government in the late 19th century to farm the land in the country’s southern, uninhabited foothills. The Lhotshampas were different from the powerful Ngalops—they spoke a different language, wore different clothes, and practiced a different religion—and these differences caused tension between the groups. In the 1980s, the Ngalop-controlled government began to view the Lhotshampas as a threat to the uniformity of its culture and implemented a series of political measures designed to impose the Ngalop’s culture on the Bhutanese people. In 1989, for example, the government mandated that people wear traditional, northern dress in public or risk incurring a fine—a policy that forces the Lhotshampas in the south to change their customs of dress. Once the Lhotshampas protested this policy and others like it, the government went a step further and began to expel Lhotshampas from the country in the early 1990s. Because the Lhotshampas shared a language and other aspects of culture with Nepalese citizens, they settled in camps there.

Seven Bhutanese refugee camps were set up in eastern Nepal, and the refugee population in those camps grew from 80,000 in 1992 to 105,000 in 2007. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as of January 31, 2012, only three of those seven original camps remain, in which 53,886 refugees live. The number of refugees and camps has declined because the inhabitants have been resettled permanently to other countries such as the United States, Australia, and Denmark. Finally moving from a refugee camp to a new country can be good news for someone who desires the security and comfort that were lacking in the camps. As Guru reminds me, though, many of these refugees have had to spend almost 20 years living in these camps, unable to find much work, reliant on the UNHCR for food, clothing, and shelter. For some, the relief at moving to a new country may be tempered by a sense of loss—of one’s home and of one’s time.

Websites consulted: http://www.unhcr.org; http://www.bhutaneserefugees.com

Check out the blog this following Thursday for the next section of A Day in the Life with Guru

Jeff Banks is the communications coordinator for LSG. If you have questions or comments, please contact him at jbanks@lsga.org.

LSG’s Newest Ministry: "Friends in Hope" - A Visitation Ministry to Immigrants in Detention

We are excited to introduce Lutheran Services of Georgia’s newest ministry, Friends in Hope, a visitation ministry to immigrants in detention. For years our national network, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), has advocated for the fair treatment and rebuilding of hope for our nation’s most vulnerable newcomers, including those affected by immigration detention. Lutheran Services of Georgia has received a start-up grant to rebuild hope through simple acts of compassion by visiting those housed in Georgia’s detention facilities.

Detainees are affected by what advocates call a flawed policy of mandatory detention for immigrants who may have only committed civil, not criminal, violations. They are imprisoned in harsh conditions for months at a time while awaiting deportation or approval for asylum. LIRS estimates that there are over 400,000 immigrant detainees housed in the U.S.  This means there are over 400,000 opportunities to answer Jesus Christ's call to serve the most vulnerable. LSG's Friends in Hope teams will visit and build relationships with detainees, each visit a simple act of compassion.  We invite you to join us in this new ministry.

The initial visits will be to detainees in the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.  LSG will partner with El Refugio, another LIRS visitation ministry grant recipient, which has a hospitality house for families of detainees located just outside the Stewart Detention Center.  You can visit the El Refugio website to learn more. Initially, Friends in Hope will be conducting monthly to bimonthly site visitations to offer compassionate support and to build relationships with detainees in the Stewart Detention Center. Prayerfully consider joining us in this ministry of hope and compassion. In addition to helping detainees rebuild hope through visits from a caring friend, Friends in Hope can contribute to creating a culture of welcome in the state of Georgia through friendship, advocacy, and community building.

Orientations for Friends in Hope volunteer visitors will be held on Saturdays, July 21, August 25, and September 29, from 10 a.m. to  noon at the centrally located Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Midtown, Atlanta.  If you would like to attend one of these orientations to learn more about becoming a Friends in Hope visitor, please contact Melanie Johnson (mjohnson@lsga.org) at 404-875-0201 or 1-800-875-5645.

For more information on the Friends in Hope detention visitation ministry, contact Jacque Ulrich (julrich@lsga.org) or Melanie Johnson (mjohnson@lsga.org) at 404-875-0201 or 1-800-875-5645.

REFUGEE SERVICES: Finding God in the Hearts of Children

“Like this? Miss Haley, like this?” a student asks, waving her construction paper creation in the air. Once assured that she is correct and that her creation matches the example, the student continues happily creating her masterpiece for art class in LSG’s ASAP After-School Program at Indian Creek Elementary School. Reflecting on my experience as a seminary student helping with the program, I have seen a glimpse of the kingdom of God from the students I tutor. The students are from a wonderful mix of backgrounds and from all over the globe. Refugees, immigrants, and native-born U.S. citizens learn, play, and create together.  The kids get along with simplicity and joy in the messy, beautiful world of elementary school tutoring, full of differences.

As I go forward in ministry, I can’t help but look back to these children as models. To my students and the Holy Spirit that works amongst them, it is my turn to ask “Like this? Does the kingdom of God look like this?”

Luke 18:16: “But Jesus called for them and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

Haley Mills is a student at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University.  For her Contextual Education Community Placement, she served with Lutheran Service of Georgia’s Refugee Services weekly during the 2011-2012 school year as and ESL assistant teacher and as a tutor in the ASAP Afterschool Academic/Arts Program. 

REFUGEE SERVICES: College Students Spend Spring Break Helping LSG's Refugee Clients

In March, LSG welcomed 31 students from four universities – Xavier University, Eastern Michigan University, Georgia State University, and Bowdoin College – for Alternative Spring Break Service with Refugee Services.  These dedicated, compassionate and fun-loving students helped us clean out our donation storage to prepare for and host our annual yard sale fundraiser, tutored refugee students in our ASAP afterschool programs in Clarkston, visited refugee families, and spruced up the grounds of the church that hosts the LSG Refugee Clothes Closet. Each group was here for a week and the in-kind value of their service totaled more than $30,000 for Refugee Services.  A large portion those funds will count towards our matching grant program, through which the Office of Refugee Resettlement matches every dollar with $2! Thank you to all the kind, hard-working students who so generously donated their time and talents to LSG’s Refugee Services!

REFUGEE SERVICES: LSG Refugee Services Yard Sale 3-17

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Yard Sale Hours: 7 AM to 1 PM Donation Drop Off: 7 AM to 11 AM Rock of Ages Lutheran Church 5135 Memorial Drive Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Time for spring cleaning at your house? It is at LSG! We are cleaning out our storage facilities and having a yard sale of items we can't use for refugee apartments and items from our refugee clothing closet that don't fit our current refugee population. The morning of March 17 you can drop off donations of gently used furniture, household and kitchen items, pots and pans, bedding, and towels and then take a browse at items for sale. Please note that per the IRS, donations must be in good or better condition in order to be tax-deductible. Receipts will be provided at donation drop-off. We'll fill up our storage with the items refugees need and sell the rest to raise funds for our refugee programs.

LSG will resettle up to 800 refugees in 2012 and we set up apartments for every refugee family or group of refugee singles.  Sometimes a congregation or group will partner with LSG to resettle a family and collect all the furniture and household items needed for the apartment.  But the more common scenario is that LSG sets up the apartment with furniture and household items donated by generous folks like you who might be cleaning out a basement or attic, moving or replacing things that are still in great shape.  There is actually a list developed by the U.S. Department of State of furniture and household items that we must put in every refugee apartment.  (Click here to see our Refugee Services Wish List)  Any items on the list that we don’t have from donations must be purchased out of the refugee’s one-time resettlement grant – money that would otherwise go to pay for rent while the refugee is learning English and seeking employment.

So, donate any items you have from this year’s “spring cleaning” to the Refugee Services Yard Sale on March 17 or hang on to the Wish List and keep LSG in mind for future donations!  You can help us fulfill our mission of …empowering refugees from arrival to self-reliance as they create a new home in America.  Thank you!

REFUGEE SERVICES: School Success for Refugee Students

Burmese Student Masters Math

Paw Gaw is a Karen Burmese student who arrived in the United States just four short years ago at the age of 13 after living for 11 years in a Thai refugee camp with her family. In the camp, Paw Gaw attended school for six years, completing the U.S. equivalent of about 4th grade. It's a huge adjustment for refugee students to find them shelves in American schools and Paw Gaw was no exception.

After arriving in Georgia, Paw Gaw spent a year in intensive study of English at the DeKalb School System's International Student Center and then a year at Clarkston High School (CHS). Overwhelmed by the adjustment to school in America and still struggling to learn English, Paw Gaw had the opportunity to attend the Global Village School (GVS) for Refugee Girls for the 2010-2011 school year for continued studies in  English and instruction geared towards helping her catch up in school to her American peers.

Paw Gaw, back at Clarkston High School this year with continuing support by her GVS Mentor and attending LSG's ASAP After School Academic/Arts Program, is taking on the rigors of high school with great success. In her first semester back at CHS, Paw Gaw was one of 2 students in her math class to pass the Math I "End of Course Test"! But Paw Gaw has much more success ahead of her! She is a hard-working and self-motivated student who continues to improve her English skills and plans to graduate from high school and attend college to become a nurse.

Sibling Success 

Welcome Divine and Innocent! Powerful names for two outstanding students from Africa who have been in Lutheran Services's ASAP After School Academic/Arts Program at Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston since January 10, 2012. Neither sibling knew any English upon arrival to the states. Divine Uwineza and Innocent Mfitumukiza are now writing and spelling their names and recognize many of the alphabet letters and sounds.

Divine and Innocent have perfect attendance, exemplary citizenship, and a strong desire to learn.  They are truly a joy to teach and tutor! They look forward to working in the Computer Lab.  Websites such as starfall.com enables them to hear the sounds of the alphabet and listen to a variety of alliteration, which increases phonemic awareness.  We are proud of how much progress these students have shown in such a short amount of time. Kudos to Divine and Innocent!

REFUGEE SERVICES: LSG Kick-Starts Two New Afterschool Programs in Clarkston

Thanks to a grant awarded by the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, Lutheran Services of Georgia has started two exciting afterschool programs at Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston and Clarkston High School.

The Afterschool Academic/Arts Program (ASAP) strives to improve academic achievement through a variety of fun, hands-on activities.  Enrichment activities will include homework help, reading and vocabulary development, journal writing, a book club, music and art classes, field trips, and other activities.

The program will run during the DeKalb County School System’s calendar year Mondays through Thursdays from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Indian Creek Elementary School, and 3:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. at Clarkston High School.  On Fridays, Indian Creek students will meet from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Clarkston High Schoolstudents will meet from 3:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

For more information about participating in this program, please contact ASAP Site Coordinators Deborah Blythwood (dbythwood@lsga.org) for Indian Creek Elementary School and Gail Harper ( gharper@lsga.org) for Clarkston High School.  If you are interested in volunteering as a tutor, please contact Melanie Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator for Refugee Services, at mjohnson@lsga.org or 678-686-9619.

Refugee Services: (Eto) Nouraldin Abdalla Hopes for Peaceful Life

Nouraldin Abdalla is from Sudan.  One day the rest of his family went to work at their farm, but Nouraldin stayed home.  That was the day that war broke out in Sudan.  Nouraldin was 16 years old.  Separated from his family and not knowing if they were safe, he had to flee for his safety to another city in Sudan and then to Libya.  From Libya, he fled with other Sudanese in a boat hoping to go to Italy, but arrived in Malta instead. In Malta, he was in detention for six months, which is typical for refugees.  Detention was hard for him.  He was terribly lonely having lost his family and lifelong best friends. The food was unfamiliar and he lost a lot of weight.  He had difficulty communicating with others and felt isolated.  Even though many other detainees were from Africa, they were from many different countries and cultures that were unfamiliar to Nouraldin.

After six months, he received permission to stay in Malta for one year.  He renewed this status for three years, until he eventually received refugee status and was resettled by LSG in the U.S. in 2010.  It was only when he arrived in the U.S.that Nouraldin learned that his family (his parents and six siblings) was safe inSudan.  When the war started, they had lived for a time in a refugee camp and now they are in a city in South Darfur, safe but unable to leave the city. Nouraldin communicates with them by phone.

Now that he’s been in the U.S. for almost a year, Nouraldin is hopeful.  He works as a banquet server at the Georgia Dome.  He likes his job a lot, especially the chance to improve his English as he meets new people through his job.  He’s attending an ESL class at the Clarkston Community Center that is preparing him to take the GED.  He hopes to educate himself so that he can help people.  He wants to see his family again and for his family to one day join him in the U.S.   But most of all, he hopes that he, and someday is family too, can always live in peace.