As 2013 comes to a close, December has been a month of new
beginnings for my time here at Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement. For the second time, a Jesuit Volunteer has been
given the chance to be a case manager for a newly arrived family. After a few
hold ups because of the shutdown in October, things finally fell into place and
I finally have the honor of working with a family.
On a
cold evening in mid-December I ventured to the
airport to meet the family coming in from Nepal. Unfortunately, they missed
their first flight and were delayed until late at night. At 11 pm, they finally
came through security and I accompanied them to
baggage claim. We loaded into the big van and set out for Beaverton and the
home of their already-resettled family: father, brother and sister-in-law of the
father of the arriving father. It was around
midnight when we arrived at the apartment; the exhausted family was able to
find the safety of family and a quiet place to sleep after a long journey.
As the
new family started to settle in, I finalized plans on an apartment and helped them
get food, winter clothing and any other
immediate necessities. Today, a week after they arrived, their own apartment was finally ready. They moved into a freshly
cleaned apartment with brand new beds and household items that they chose for
themselves. Thanks to a generous donation, I was able to give the children with
new toys (including a giant stuffed panda bear), a coloring book and a box of
sixty-four crayons!
As a
new comer to refugee resettlement, it was an awesome experience to have a hand
in the entire welcome experience from securing an apartment to reuniting a
family. I’m excited to see what the next eight months will hold for this family
as we move together into the wide world of refugee resettlement. Being a part
of the team that helps resettle a family has been great, but there is something
truly exhilarating and rewarding about case management in the resettlement
process.
