Helping a Family Start Again
Donation protected
This shameless request comes in an effort to support my amazing friend.
On March 30, I received a request to help a woman and her two children who were sitting in a battered women's shelter in a nearby town. My friend offered to take this family into her home and 15 weeks later, these people are now family to us.
As beautiful and precious as this little family is, the effort to help them start a new life has been an experience unlike anything we could have imagined. From dealing with logistics involving safety, documents (they are refugees), medical, financial (they came empty-handed), cultural variances, transportation, assimilation, trauma.... the mountain of logistics we deal with on a daily basis is quite overwhelming. By far the biggest hurdle we deal with every moment of every day is the language barrier. I think we have a funny (sometimes not so funny!) story every day of how the language barrier has caused confusion.
We have enrolled our friend (the mom) in English classes (Monday-Friday) and we are beginning to see progress. Without fluent English, this little family will never be able to be independent in this country. The mom is bright, motivated and working very hard. We are really proud of her.
My dear friend Sondra has opened her heart and her home but I know her pocketbook is wide open in a daily effort to keep this family afloat.
Would you consider making a donation in order for us to show Sondra our support for this beautiful gift she has given this family? This money will first and foremost go to childcare and education costs (that seem endless) but most importantly, it will send a message to Sondra that we are inspired by her and grateful for this radical expression of hospitality. I am 100% confident that every penny given will be carefully used to guide our family towards a bright future.
So very grateful,
Natalie Perdue
On March 30, I received a request to help a woman and her two children who were sitting in a battered women's shelter in a nearby town. My friend offered to take this family into her home and 15 weeks later, these people are now family to us.
As beautiful and precious as this little family is, the effort to help them start a new life has been an experience unlike anything we could have imagined. From dealing with logistics involving safety, documents (they are refugees), medical, financial (they came empty-handed), cultural variances, transportation, assimilation, trauma.... the mountain of logistics we deal with on a daily basis is quite overwhelming. By far the biggest hurdle we deal with every moment of every day is the language barrier. I think we have a funny (sometimes not so funny!) story every day of how the language barrier has caused confusion.
We have enrolled our friend (the mom) in English classes (Monday-Friday) and we are beginning to see progress. Without fluent English, this little family will never be able to be independent in this country. The mom is bright, motivated and working very hard. We are really proud of her.
My dear friend Sondra has opened her heart and her home but I know her pocketbook is wide open in a daily effort to keep this family afloat.
Would you consider making a donation in order for us to show Sondra our support for this beautiful gift she has given this family? This money will first and foremost go to childcare and education costs (that seem endless) but most importantly, it will send a message to Sondra that we are inspired by her and grateful for this radical expression of hospitality. I am 100% confident that every penny given will be carefully used to guide our family towards a bright future.
So very grateful,
Natalie Perdue
Organizer and beneficiary
Natalie Perdue
Organizer
Springfield, VA
Sondra Russell
Beneficiary
