Refugee Family from Rwanda:
They are here! They are living in an apartment near Clarkston, and are very enthusiastic about being here and eager to learn about our culture and customs. In addition to Mary Summerville, who is doing an incredible job, Antoinette Watts, Joyce Stokes and Chris Smith have been helping the family learn English and get accustomed to life in the U.S. The family, mother Francoise, daughter Gisselle, and sons Fabrice and Alain, speak French (can you tell from the names?!) , but also have a little English, so there is a starting place. They are a delightful family are need basic assistance in the daily lives of Americans and American customs. They are originally from Rwanda but have been living in Cameroon as refugees for the past few years. They have been to various grocery stores and clothing stores and are learning our ways.
RRISA, the organization we are working with, provides legal and medical assistance. If you would like to help this family learn about life here, please call Mary Summerville and leave a message, or use this form to send her an e-mail. Francoise and her family are going to be at church an June 3, 2007. Please welcome them as you would anyone else, but remember their culture for physical contact is different so please see below. Remember that most importantly they are delightful and enthusiastic, so don't be shy!
To get some idea of Rwandan culture, follow this link. It is very helpful.
How to great our family from their cultural perspective: When greeting someone you say "uraho" (u=oo) for formal; for more than one person, it's "muraho." Both of these mean "good day," or "hello." Everyone seems to be related or know someone in Rwanda. Whenever they are at road checks , they even greet the army people! They start with the verbal greeting above, followed by a handshake. This is done by offering the right hand in a horizontal position and holding closer to the wrist rather than the palm. They then embrace lightly while touching cheeks right side first, then left, then right (a total of three times). They then exchange verbal "how are yous" before conversing. This is all quite warm and non-intimidating, compared to stoic western traditions.
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The Outreach Committee reviews our current involvement and decides how to allocate the outreach resources. The following are activities we support through parishioner participation, use of facilities or financially through the Outreach budget:
- RRISA:
We helped a refugee family of four, a mother and three children, from Rwanda who came to the United States via the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon. The family lived in Cameroon as refugees for nine years. St. Dunstan’s helped with housing, furnishings, transport, and moral support during a transition period of about 6 months. Their transition was complicated by language, they spoke only French, and health issues. The mother and the two oldest children have jobs and the youngest child is performing well in school. All three children want to attend college. St. Dunstan’s parishioners provided generous and sustained assistance to the family. To get some idea of Rwandan culture, follow this link.
- Bednets for Tanzania: For the second consecutive year St. Dunstan’s through its Lenten collection has provided bed nets for an Episcopal seminary in Tanzania. The bednets protect staff and students from malaria and lymphatic filariaisis (elephantiasis). In 2007, our contribution also helped support a part-time nurse to visit the seminary and provide basic health care including essential drugs.
- Holy Comforter Church is a mission church in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and is located in close proximity to several Group Homes for persons with physical and mental disabilities. It is a church that welcomes and incorporates the residents of these facilities as a part of its congregation. They participate in its worship, its outreach and its activities along with other Episcopalians from the Ormewood community as well as other parts of Atlanta. The congregation is very diverse racially, economically and educationally.
St Dunstan's volunteers prepare and serve dinner to communicants on Wednesday evenings. We also have assisted in the arts and gardening programs and purchased a van in 2002 to help pick up communicants. St. Dunstan’s assists The Friendship Center on Tuesdays in taking parishioners to the eye doctor to get glasses, while taking others to Grady for medical care. Financial and volunteer help is always welcomed at Holy Comforter for any persons willing to help out handicapped and disabled persons. Kitchen duties, gardening, art and newsletter efforts are ongoing at this small church with many doing "the work of God in many ways". In 2007, we provided contributions for capital improvements to the sanctuary and grounds.
- ABLE (Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment), a multi-racial coalition of churches which works for responsible empowerment of all citizens in the Atlanta metro area in the areas of politics and social justice. We have provided financial support including seed capital to build affordable housing.
- Mary and Martha's Place is an inclusive community that strives to integrate spiritual growth, social justice and ecological consciousness through theological education, celebration and ritual. The Reverend Maggie Harney and five other women who were deeply committed to theological education, spiritual growth, and social justice for women established it in 1994. St Dunstan's provides space, financial support and active participation in this important ministry. In 2007, Mary and Martha’s Place and St. Dunstan’s music ministry collaborated on a musical celebration of the Winter’s Solstice.
- Emmaus House: We believe that the education of young people, especially poor ones, is an investment in the future and a break in the cycle of poverty. We periodically provide support to help one or more students selected by Emmaus House to start or continue his/her post-secondary education. We also provide general financial support.
- Interfaith Build for Habitat:The first house built, on September 15, 2002, was designed as a response to September 11, 2001. All the children of Abraham (B' Hai's, Christians, Jews, and Moslems) came together to build a home in southwest Atlanta. We helped build another house in 2007.
- Lifespan Resources: Will soon be adding another program to its menu: Faith in Action / Friends and Neighbors. A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will pay part of the salary of a new employee who will recruit volunteers to visit the elderly in their homes. In 2007, Lifespan successfully improved transportation options for senior citizens needing transportation to medical facilities. St. Dunstan's parishioners are invited to participate.
- Buckhead Christian Ministry: We continued our work with BCM. Among the activities was the Joyous Toys campaign in December, collecting food for the pantry as well as other items for the homeless and less fortunate.
- Episcopal Ministries: St. Dunstan’s continues to support multiple organizations within the Episcopal Diocese including Emmaus House, the Episcopal Media Center and the Episcopal Charities Foundation. In 2007, the Diocese celebrated its centennial through a special campaign to raise funds for various Episcopal Ministries.
- The Family Store (FCS urban ministries): In January 2008, we collected excess furnishings, clothes, etc., to be made available to those in need.
- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) uses the parish hall for meetings during the week. Meetings are on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
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