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July 12, 2009
Deliveries for July 18, 2009. (Next deliveries will be July 25, 2009.)We
have two families from Burma.
Our first family is from Burma. They lived in a village in Burma until 1981 when the
military came and began beating them. They were used as porters, carrying the supplies of the army. They began to move from
village to village to escape. It was in the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp where the mother and father met. In the camp, they
had 3 children, a daughter who is now 15, and two sons, 10 and 5 years old. They have asked for a calendar and a home phone.
Our second family is also from Burma. They are a young couple with daughters,
1 and 2 years old. In 1996 they traveled from their village and farm to a refugee camp in Thailand. They said that life in
the refugee camp was very difficult. They arrived in Phoenix 2 months ago. They requested a rice cooker and a high chair.
Deliveries for July 11, 2009. (Next deliveries will be July 18, 2009.)We have three families from
Iraq and Bhutan. Our
first family is from Iraq and has a mother, father and two daughters, 9 and 13 years old. The mother worked at a
university in Baghdad until one day when she had to flee. On a day in July 2007, the dean of the university, his wife and
child had left the college and began to walk down the street when all three were were murdered - shot down in the street.
The mother of this family and two of her co- workers were of the same relgion as the dean and knew their lives were in danger.
About 1:00 on that day they tried to leave the university, but as they were walking down the stairs a gunman appeared and
began shooting. The mother was shot numberous times across her abdomen and fell to the ground. No one was able to come to
her for about an hour, for fear of being gunned down, too. She was then rushed to a hospital and when she was able she fled
to Turkey with her family. She lived there until May 14, 2009 when she arrived in Phoenix.
Our
second family is from Bhutan and consists of a mother, father, son (7 years old), and daughter (3
years old).They lived in the refugee camps in Nepal for 18-19 years, hoping there would be a time when they could return to
Bhutan. They arrived in Phoenix on May 1, 2009. They told us they were looking forward to our visit because others in their
complex told them the Welcome to America Project “made their house beautiful”. The parents of the father arrived
in Phoenix three days ago and live in a nearby apartment. The mother speaks fluent English. Our third family is also from Bhutan. There is a mother and father and two sons, 5 and 1 years old. The father was about
7 years old when his family was forced to leave Bhutan. He describes it as a bitter experience. He spoke about all the new
things he has had to learn after coming to the U.S., like how to use an elevator. The parents speak fluent English.
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Dear Volunteers:
This week we will be helping
THREE families from Bhutan, Iraq, and Eritrea. We have donations ready for delivery to them, but are still looking for a
vacuum, microwave, ad blender to serve the families' needs. We are always collecting sheets
(especially twin), towels, personal hygiene items, dishes, dining tables and chairs, sofas, end tables, vacuum cleaners, TVs,
toys and other household items which you can bring directly to the storage units if you are coming on deliveries.
You can also bring a $20.00 donation to help with gas for our truck. There is no obligation to bring anything but willing
hands and heart, though. We look forward to seeing you Saturday if you can join us on deliveries.
See
you soon!
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