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Five-year-old Zebib Misgina Negash and her almost-three-year-old sister Semira were quick to giggle on a recent Saturday morning as they played with toys in front of a TV featuring an episode of "Hannah Montana."

Watching the girls were their beaming parents - who, just a month earlier, had packed the family's possessions into two suitcases for a flight from Eritrea, East Africa, to the Albany International Airport, where representatives of Catholic Charities' Refugee Services and St. Edward's Church in Clifton Park welcomed them.

The carefree scene in a cozy Albany apartment contrasted with what Diane DeZalia of St. Edward's said volunteers observed when they met the Eritrean family at the airport.

Abrupt landing
"Not surprisingly, they looked exhausted, overwhelmed, may-be even a little bit frightened," said Ms. DeZalia. "There was also a sense of hope and excitement."

Thirty-one-year-old Misgina Negash Gebremedhin and his wife, Kiros Gebregiorgis Woldermariam, 26, frequently thank those involved in the diocesan Refugee Resettlement program. One particular moment stood out in Ms. DeZalia's mind.

"It was when we handed Misgina a cell phone, probably the first one he'd ever held," she recalled. "On the other end of the call was a gentleman from Eritrea who was resettled here not too long ago. As soon as Misgina heard a voice speaking his native language, his face just lit up."

The same light was in Mr. Negahs's eyes when that voice - belonging to Fitsum Tsegary - translated during an interview with The Evangelist. One of just a few local individuals fluent in English and Tigregna (a native tongue of Eritrea) Mr. Tsegary and his daughter, Meron, have since become close friends of the refugee family.

Back home, Mr. Negash was a subsistence farmer. The family endured various trials due to conflicts that have plagued that area of Africa. Eritrea is bordered by Ethopia and Sudan.

Mr. Negash plans to master English well enough to secure a job that will enable him to provide for his family and dreams of seeing his daughters "get a good education, hopefully going to university."

Home-made
Their flat was furnished by St. Edward's volunteers before the family's arrival. Parishioners provided furniture, bath and bed linens, dishes, cooking utensils and cleaning supplies. Volunteers stocked the cupboard and had a hot meal ready for the family to eat on their arrival.

"As a parish, we are committed to doing God's work by reaching out to others," Ms. DeZalia said. "In general, if we are asked to help, we respond not just by saying yes, but by giving our all. This project appealed to us, in part, because it offers an opportunity for parishioners of all ages to get involved."

Initially, volunteers from St. Edward's made daily trips to check on the family and help them settle in.

"Everything was so foreign to them. Things that we have known all our lives - refrigeration, for example - are new to them," Ms. DeZalia explained. "We've since cut back our visits to three times a week. We're trying to strike a balance between providing the support they need and giving them the privacy and independence that mean so much to all of us."

She continued: "Our volunteers helped the family sign up at the St. John/St. Ann's food pantry, and we have enrolled Zebib in Kindergarten and accompanied her and her father to school on her first day. We have taken him for job interviews and registered him for English classes."

Volunteers also drove Mr. Negash to classes and provided a television and phone service.

"Everywhere I look, I see God at work. I see Jesus in the people of St. Edward's and the way they are coming through for this family," reflected Ms. DeZalia. "When I leave the apartment after visiting the family, and I look back and see them standing on the porch, waving to me, it just makes me feel that God is there.

"They have shown such courage," she added, "coming to a place so different from everything they've known and tackling new tasks with such enthusiasm. They are teaching us as much as we are teaching them."

01/07/10 [[In-content Ad]]

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