Refugee Teens Need Homes
Have you ever tried to imagine what it would be like to be separated from your parents at age 6 or even age 15? What if you also had to leave your home, your town and your country because your life was threatened? I can only imagine that it would be terrifying, but I know so many kids who have faced this reality… it isn’t just a “what if” for them, it is real life and they need your help.
Right now children and teens are fleeing Burma (also known as Myanmar), sometimes with their parents, sometimes on their own, because the government is persecuting them based on their ethnicity, their political belief in democracy and because of their Christian faith. One example, Dave (not his real name), watched his older brother get beaten and imprisoned, just because of his religious and political beliefs. When he turned 15 the government identified him as a threat, not because of anything he has done, but simply because he is Chin (a minority group) and Christian. So, Dave’s parents sent him on a dangerous journey, fleeing Burma for nearby Malaysia. Dave walked though the jungle, rode in the trunk of a car and hid from the military government to escape Burma’s repressive government. In Malaysia he worked doing construction and lived with 12 others in a one bedroom apartment while asking the United Nations for assistance. Eventually the United Nations decided it wasn’t safe for Dave to return home, and since he had no family in Malaysia, he was referred for resettlement and foster care services in the United States as a refugee.
Dave is not alone. Currently more than 100 kids from Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries are in foster care with Lutheran Social Services of Michigan (LSSM). Most of these kids are teens with refugee status, fleeing persecution in their home countries. They arrive in Lansing with documents and maybe a small bag of clothes, if anything at all. Then someone like me, a staff person at LSSM, meets them at the airport along with an interpreter and a foster family. Then we take the kids to their new home - a place where they can be safe and heal from the trauma of their journey and past experiences. A place to be loved and taught – starting with the basics of American culture – to be successful in a new country, school and situation.
It is not easy for the kids, or for the foster parents. There are real challenges of language, cultural differences and past traumatic experiences. However, in a recent study conducted by Michigan State University (of our foster parents and kids), every foster parent said they would do it again, despite the challenges. One of the young people interviewed, now 26, who arrived from Sudan at age 17 said, “My relationship with my foster parent is pretty good; I kind of take them right now just like my parents because I never knew my parents… Now I talk to my (biological) dad on the phone and I know him. I don’t remember what he looks like and I still haven’t gotten any chance for him to send me his picture… Yeah, I’m always going to be here. I’m going to be here because (foster dad’s name) and (foster mom’s name) are just like parents to me. I can’t move back home (Sudan) forever.”
Just this month I learned that there are more than 84 kids currently waiting to come to the US as refugees (they are currently in Africa and Burma) waiting for final approval and an additional 30 already in shelters across the US (originally from Central America and Mexico), waiting for immigration approval, so that they can qualify for foster care. However, I have only a couple of foster families with space. Are you able to help? These kids are in desperate need of foster families, people with homes and hearts who are willing to make space for a child in need. Most are between the ages of 13 and 17. Some are sibling groups, some are alone. They may be Congolese, Burmese or Guatemalan – Christian, Muslim or have no faith. They may want to remain connected to family overseas, or may have no one in the world that they are connected to… what they all have in common is that they need a home.
Are you willing to help? Or at least learn more? Please contact LSSM at 517-321-7663 or visit our website at www.LutheranFosterCare.org. Agency support is ongoing throughout the time a youth lives in their home, until they age out of care at age 20 or 21, so you would not be in this alone. We would be delighted to visit your church, or invite you to our office, to answer your questions. We are especially seeking foster homes in the following geographical areas: Lansing (45-60 mile radius), Battle Creek and Detroit.
In Luke 10 Jesus provided us with an example of love that is so powerful, a man was beaten and robbed and no one from his own people stopped to help him… yet a Samaritan stopped, cleaned his wounds and paid for his care. You may not yet know any of these teens – they are from across the world, yet God loves them and he implores us to do the same. Like the man who was robbed, they have all been abandoned by their governments, separated from their families and are here, alone. In Luke 10: 36-37 Jesus says, “Which of these three do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Other ways to Help:
If you are not able to be a foster family, there are lots of other ways to help – as a volunteer mentor or tutor. You could promote the need in your congregation, by inviting someone to come and speak at your church, put a note in your church newsletter or bulletin, etc… You could organize a group at your church to put together “welcome bags” that have everything a kid needs the first night of their arrival in the US. Maybe you would like to donate money to help meet the need of a child who is struggling to attend community college and needs help paying for books or some other basic need. Maybe your church has an empty house where kids who are transitioning to independent living could live. The opportunities are endless, but our most critical need is for more foster families.