St Mary’s Refugee Family Is Acclimating Nicely!

Note: New information is bolded.

Catholic Charities of Arlington, Office of Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) is working with our parish to welcome a Bhutanese family of 5 who fled to Nepal 17 years ago; they have  been living in a refugee camp there ever since. The ruling party in Bhutan was killing everyone in their ethnic group!  (Their homeland located in South Asia, is a land locked, beautiful country at the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains bordered on the north by the Peoples Republic of China and on the south, east and west by the Republic of India.) The family consists of a mother and a father, sons who are 17 and 19 years old and a daughter who is 23 years old. They all speak Nepali; the dad also speaks Hindi. The father, sons, and daughter have some English skills. It is expected that the mother, father, older son and daughter will eventually work as their English skills improve; the younger son now is enrolled in high school. The family arrived on November 4th and was welcomed at the airport with a balloon bouOuet by parish volunteers, the MRS case manager and a MRS employee who speaks Nepali. They were clearly exhausted after the 21 hour flight from Nepal to Bahrain to Paris, France to Newark, New Jersey landing at Reagan National Airport but they have recovered from their grueling trip and are learning Ouickly what is expected of them here. Their journey to self sufficiency has begun and the parish is privileged to be a small part of that journey! Click here for why we serve refugees.

The newcomers were driven to their new home which is a charming, small, 3 bedroom, one level house in Falls Church located near a bus stop and a Metro station. Their rental was secured on Friday, October 30th! (God bless the landlord who trusted enough to rent to people who were not yet in this country to sign the 12 month lease and who have no credit histories and no jobs!) The rental house could not be more ideal; it has a washer/dryer and even a large yard for the family to plant a garden in the spring! (The landlord has already approved a garden!) Dedicated parish volunteers moved furniture donations out of storage at a volunteer’s home on Saturday, October 31st to the rental house and transformed it into a cozy home! The pantry is stocked. It was a very busy day! The home was furnished through parishioners’ furniture donations and purchases with the donated gift card/financial contributions from the parish’s Housewarming Gift Collection.  Some expenses include, 2 Tracfones/prepaid minutes for parents (older son and daughter will get one when they get a job), thermal curtains for 9 single windows, Metro Cards, digital camera, baking pans, pots and pans, blankets, comforters and alarm clocks. 

After arriving in their new home a welcome basket was given to the mom filled with lotions, cookies, candy, teas, picture frames, bangles etc., the dad received a watch, the older son was given home office supplies to help with financial record keeping, the high school age son received a back pack with every school supply imaginable and the daughter will be able to document their new life in America with a digital camera.  An ethnic meal was provided. Before the MRS case manager, MRS Interpreter and volunteers left that night basic info was shared as to how various appliances work, what does not go down the toilet, the need to lock doors, what to do if the smoke detector/carbon monoxide monitor goes off etc. There is a lot for them to learn! They spent the night in their new home as a family! Orientation to our area and country will take months.  There is so much to learn from them!

Our main responsibilities for this parish partnership with MRS after providing for basic needs are to orient the refugee family members to our country and to our area under the guidance of a MRS case manager as the family becomes self sufficient  in their new country. The needs of the family are extensive  but as the family members become familiar with our area, improve their English skills and assimilate into our culture they will need less and less of our assistance. In the meantime they learn many things each day.

As the family marks the third month anniversary since their arrival their progress is remarkable. Here are a few examples:

O     The family is comfortable and safe in their home with all of its modern conveniences and they have learned how to recycle.

O     The family members are riding Metro buses in the Falls Church/Tyson Corner area and walking to the library and grocery stores.

O     The young adults have e-mail addresses and are hard at work learning how to use computers and to access the Internet.

O     Most family members are now attending ESL classes or attend high school and shortly all family members will be enrolled. Language skills enhance employment opportunities.

O     Parish project volunteers are transporting the various family members to assorted doctor/dental appointments for routine screenings and follow-up appointments which are essential to complete before the family members are employed. These appointments continue into the weeks ahead because record snow fall has forced the postponement of earlier scheduled medical appointments.

O     Entry level jobs (in any field including housekeeping, food service, retail etc.) are sought in the Falls Church/ Tyson Corner area along the Route 7 corridor; creative employment suggestions are appreciated! If you know of any leads for any type of entry level job or have employment connections please contact Pat Holliday at phholliday@yahoo.com or 703/978-2155. Family members are eager to get the opportunity to work!

O     The entire family is concerned about paying the bills that they know St. Mary’s is currently covering for them. They have been reminded by their MRS case manager and St. Mary project volunteers that it usually takes a least 4 months for a refugee to be employed, that they are doing well and all that is expected of them at this point in time. Employment for each of the four adults will be a huge step for each personally as well as key to their becoming self sufficient as a family. The family will need to work up to affording all of their own rent, utilities, phone and trash collection expenses as family members are employed. No doubt when one family member gets a job some of the pressure on the whole family will be relieved.

O     This spring the family will need to begin mowing the grass and a donation of a lawn mower in excellent condition will be reOuired. Gardening tools will also be needed if the family is able to find an area in their yard with enough sun exposure to plant a vegetable garden; there is no outdoor storage shed to store a lawn mower or gardening tools. If you have a small shed in great condition, a lawn mower and/or gardening tools to donate in the spring please contact Pat Holliday at phholliday@yahoo.com or 703/978-2155. THANKS!!!

Financial contributions are still reOuested to pay for rent ($1400.00 per/month), utilities, trash service and phone service as well as needs not yet identified.  The parish has committed to helping with rent and utilities for up to 6 months. $425.00 per person is also allocated by the State Department to help with expenses; MRS handles those funds.  Medicaid currently covers their medical care but not their dental care or prescription eyeglasses. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamps Program, provides funds for food but no cleaning supplies, paper products or personal hygiene items can be purchased. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides financial assistance to help the family bridge financial gaps as they improve their English skills and eventually are hired for entry level jobs. If you would like to assist this family with financial needs please drop a check off at the Parish Center office payable to St. Mary’s with “Family Assistance” on the memo line. (Any excess funds will be used for other parish resettlement projects or will be donated to Catholic Charities of the diocese of Arlington Migration and Resettlement Services,)  MRS estimates the out of pocket costs of resettling a refugee family to be $10,000.00.  To date over $1915.00 has been donated to the “Family Assistance” account and $5,000.00 has been allocated from the Parish Social Ministry Tithing Funds.

Gift cards of all varieties are always needed and appreciated. Any gift cards to retail stores will be used to purchase clothing, shoes, boots, personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies and any other necessities. 

Let us pray for our refugee family as they become comfortable in Northern Virginia, as they explore the neighborhood library where they saw pictures of their refugee camp and temple on the Internet, as they come to terms with never returning to their homeland, as they learn a new language and prepare to find employment and go to school in their new country. May God also continue to bless our parish as we welcome this special family to our area, provide them with the basics to begin their new lives here and participate in this work of restoring justice to one family!  Please watch the bulletin/web site for updates on this project and the specific needs of our family as they become known!  Every effort will be made to update the web page freOuently to keep everyone aware of our family’s resettlement progress. Please contact Pat Holliday at phholliday@yahoo.com or 703/978-2155 if you have employment leads for entry level positions, a small storage shed or lawn mower in good shape to donate.  THANKS!!! THANKS!!! THANKS!!!

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