Every Monday and Friday at the City of Refuge is a "hopping" time. Families pour in the door for help with things as simple as mail sorting and as complex as filling out a Columbia Housing Authority form. The building rings with the happy voices of little people as they play in the childcare room. The exotic smells of cultural foods still cling to the clothing of some of our friends. Little babies are bounced on knees as anxious mamas wait their turn to see the Care Coordinators or volunteers. The classroom area is full of ladies studiously working on developing their English skills while their little ones have fun in the childcare room. The door is constantly in motion as donations pour in and families come to shop for basic needs.
Tuesdays are a bit more quiet but still tend to be busy and this past Tuesday was no exception. Because of an unfortunate incident in the neighborhood, many of our staff had opted to work from home or were busy helping our families in other ways. We still had a steady influx of donations and even a few people needing assistance. Mary, along with her sister, came that day in need of assistance. Normally I do not get the pleasure of much one-on-one time due to my role as "a builder of capacity" (cue the echoing superhero voice). However, today we were short handed and I had just finished completing documentation on the very thing that Mary wanted to do. Hooray! I now had the perfect opportunity to make sure that my documentation was correct AND help a new friend. Win for the home team!
These two young ladies were so fun. Mary's sister was there for moral support and to supply dry wit. I had the best time! We worked on her Columbia Housing Authority form and, let me tell you, that packet is intimidatingly long to this native English speaking gal!
In Mary's need, she was entrusting me with personal information and I was nervously honored, if that makes any sense? She trusted me with the details of her life but also knew that her best chance of obtaining safe assistance was with us. You would shudder if you knew how many refugees have been taken advantage of and their identity stolen because of fraud.
Some of the questions were almost embarrassing for me to ask her! Did she have a criminal record? Did she have unreported earnings? Was the father of her sweet babies paying child support? Did she do drugs? Did she owe money to her current or previous landlords? Did she have two letters of recommendation? Did she have fourteen hundred forms of identification (probably an exaggeration but not by much)?
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| This was the lovely spread that appeared...complete with decorations! |
Meanwhile, her sister was relaxing on the couch and making funny comments in Congolese to make Mary laugh. She had been sampling the fruit and pastry trays that Compass and friends had provided that morning. At one point, Mary needed her sister's English name spelled out but sister was in another room. Mary snickered over her texts and showed me an answer typed in all caps, "YOU DON'T KNOW MY NAME?". I am still chuckling over that one. The girls had such an easy camaraderie but it was obviously boring for one of them.
After photo copying multiple forms of IDs and social security numbers, attacking the forms and bagel trays, and using my laptop as a writing desk (because the table was filled with gluten filled delicacies) we finally finished. It took us about an hour and found me in a cold sweat when we finished. Did I do it correctly? A light bulb moment occurred! I explained what a reference was and then recommended that Mary return to see our Care Coordinator for one of her references (and to double check my work). My cleverness amazes me at times.
I changed Mary's name to protect her privacy and the pictures that I am using are all stock photos. I wish I could capture the beauty of her smile and light in her eyes as she exchanged Congolese jabs with her sister. She was born in Congo and then ended up in Kansas City as a refugee. At some point she moved to Columbia and lives near her sister and Mom. Her sister seems to be a bit more fluent in English than Mary is. Mom speaks no English; hence, we used Mary's sister as a contact in case of emergency. If Mom was not able to read her own language, it would be difficult to learn how to read English. I don't know the details of their story. We were all too exhausted to chat after filling out legal documents and having me explain in simplified terms what I was reading in legalese. I do know that Mary works hard and pays her bills. She has two sweet babies and a fun sister. Mary has a serviceable car and a decent job but Mary lives at poverty level income.
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| Congo on a map of Africa |
Mary is why I go to work every day. I get to help our staff as they help the Marys of the refugee community in Columbia. Without the City of Refuge and the many volunteers (some of whom are immigrants and refugees as well) the Marys would be struggling to fill out housing request forms. They would not know about USDA loans to help them move from apartments. They would not know who to ask about junk mail. They would struggle to sign their children up for a new school year. They would need help signing up for free/reduced lunches. We get to make a difference. Can you tell that I love my job?
And of some have compassion, making a difference: Jude 1:22 KJV
Click here to find out more about volunteer opportunities at City of Refuge.
All opinions expressed here are solely mine and are not a reflection of the opinions of the Americorp
VISTA program or of City of Refuge in Columbia, MO.
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