The Refugee Resettlement Committee is busy taking our Iraqi family of eight to medical appointments. Jennifer Newman, Judy Antoine and Vicky Schipper will be meeting with the family's social worker at the Center for New Americans as we move through this hectic and complex phase of settling them in Syracuse.

Our Iraqui family, the Awads

After the medical appointments are completed, the parents will be involved in daily English lessons and the school-aged children will be enrolled in an elementary school. We are all becoming very adept at gesturing with them since we rarely have an interpreter with us.

The May Memorial Community continues to be very generous responding to immediate needs. After the initial donations of clothing have been processed, we will let you know what we still need. There will be a "Quarter Donation Box" at our table on Sundays for the family to use when they go to the Laundromat to do the wash. We are hoping that the family will not have to move, but there are some rumblings about the fact that the house on Spring St. is not up to code. Stay tuned.

To make a financial donation:

Make check payable to MMUUS with SJRR on the memo line