By Elaine McLevie Carlsbad CA | Project Leader
"There are no services for me here?" These were the words she would have cried out, if she had known enough English. "Here is the name of a doctor in San Diego. They have many more services there" , the doctor continued.
The young Sudanese lady was in her early twenties, and she was eager to learn and to become part of the community, but she was too old for high school and would need considerable help with learning skills. In her country of birth, she would have been kept secretly at home, and it seemed that she had met an insurmountable barrier to escaping from a similar fate in her new home. But her mother was determined to give her daughter every chance of learning and developing her skills, and was eventually able to earn enough to pay their fares to San Diego.
Now mother and daughter needed to build a new life, but with no support system. That is why they were referred to our organization. They had to have both transportation and translation to be able to visit the 5 locations involved in having the daughter approved for assistance. There were multiple visits, fees to be paid and many forms to execute. Without our outreach worker, there was no way they could navigate the system. It took 4 weeks to complete the application process and another long wait for approval, but what a joy to see someone reaching her goal. What an inspiration the mother was in being willing to step out into the unknown in order to give her daughter a chance.
Barely a week later a young Karen woman in her twenties and with similar learning challenges, arrived directly to San Diego. Our Karen-speaking outreach worker set about guiding her through the same maze of offices and provided the translation, transport and encouragement that brought opportunities for the daughter and satisfaction to her family members.
Your help in providing funds to support services like these brings about miracles, not only for the individuals but for the communities in which they live. Because so many of our clients come directly from war torn countries, you create transformations that provide hope and orientation to a future in which each can contribute. That is awesome!
Please remember to tell your friends and relatives about The Refugee Network of San Diego, now commonly referred to as "RefugeeNet". We would like your friends to be our friends.
By Elaine McLevie | Project Leader
By Elaine McLevie | Vice President, Board of Directors
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