I was a bit under the weather the past few weeks but hopefully I am back on track and can post most weekdays again.

 

Last Thursday, one of our care coordinators facilitated a fabulous meeting with several Afghan families in our area.  We had a great turnout of people!

We opted to divide the men and the women so that the women would feel more comfortable chatting about any needs that they might have.  David had arranged for interpreters so that the refugees would be able to hear in their own language.  

 

 

Each staff member was introduced and their role was briefly described.  We then got to know each person in our circle.  I noticed that most of the ladies spoke Dari; the Dari speakers tended to have occupations and jobs outside of the home.  One woman spoke Pashto and I was told that women in her community tended to stay home and focus on things like cooking, cleaning and raising children.  The Dari speakers had hobbies but the Pashto speaker did not.  

In all fairness, three ladies is not an accurate sampling of demographic,s and I will be interested to learn more about each set of cultures.

For now, one of my new friends is working at an area restaurant.  She told me that she was a registered nurse in her home country and is interested in pursuing her certifications in order to return to nursing now that she is settled here.  She knows English well enough to chat plus, she was able to translate Dari into Pashto for the one lady who did not speak Dari.  I was very impressed because my Dari and Pashto skills are  non-existent.  

Before the meeting we buzzed around and prepared an offering of yummy snacks for our new friends.  I have to admit, I was very excited to try a Turkish Delight after watching the Narnia movies a few times!  One of the interpreters prepared a lemonade/tea drink that was very refreshing.  We also had fruits, veggies and other snacks for our mingling time.

The meeting was such a success that we have another one planned for tomorrow!  The men seemed to be more updated on their status than the women were; for that reason, the larger group of men still had topics to cover and discuss.

If you would be interested in partnering with us to help our new neighbors, please check our our website.

And of some have compassion, making a difference: Jude 1:22 KJV

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All opinions expressed here are solely mine and are not a reflection of the opinions of the AmeriCorps VISTA program

 or of City of Refuge in Columbia, MO.