Given recent postings about pet-owner reunions, I couldn’t let this potential human reunion situation go by unremarked. We’re thrilled when Front Porch Forum shines a light on important events and the simple good works of neighbors! Thank you Therese and God speed Abraham.
Dear Neighbors – This is an appeal to help re-unite a family. I am helping to raise money for a co-worker at the hospital where I work. His name is Abraham Nhail and he lives in the Old North End. The money raised will be used to bring his wife and daughter to the United States so they can all live together. Abraham works as a transportation worker (orderly) at Fletcher Allen Healthcare. He has lived an amazing life and I’ve heard his story in bits and pieces over time. I’ll give you the condensed version.
Abraham is one of the Lost Boys from Sudan. When he was six or seven the village he lived in was attacked in the middle of the night. The people who were not able to run were all killed. He could not find his parents and was separated from his family. Abraham walked with other survivors all the way to Ethiopia, ending up in a refugee camp, alone, and fearing his parents were dead. When he was nine years old he returned to Sudan hoping to find his parents. He was unable to locate them or find out if they were dead or alive. The government was taking boys who had no parents and he was trained and put into the army at nine years of age. In 1992 he fled on foot to Kenya with other young boys and lived in refugee camps. He tried to learn all he could and survived on his own.
In 1998 he was brought to the US and given the opportunity to start a new life here in Vermont. He worked at the hospital full time and started attending school. He received his high school diploma in 2005. Meanwhile, on trips back to Africa (still searching for his parents) he married a woman named Joyce who was from his village in Sudan and they had a daughter, Anyier. Joyce and Anyier live in Kenya in an area that has daily violence and instability. Abraham has been trying desperately to save money to bring them here. Beyond the financial difficulty, there is a mountain of paperwork, numerous documents, tests and corrupt beauracracies, etc. to be dealt with.
In 2005 he discovered his parents were alive and he was finally reunited with them in 2007. They currently reside in Sudan. His father has serious health problems and Abe sends money to help his father. He often goes without many things we consider basic, does not own a car, and truly tries in every way possible to save for his family, but has been unable to earn enough money to bring his wife and daughter here.
Jean Mongeon and I are two middle aged women, mothers and grandmothers, who have come to know Abraham. We want to help him bring his wife and daughter here. Why? Because it is the right thing to do!
I frequently work with Abraham, dealing with all sorts of patients. He’s a good guy to work with. The older patients, in particular, are always happy when he’s transported them and will tell me what a great conversation they had. He’s a totally peaceful and positive guy. He’s part of the large group of interesting folks who make the hospital a great place to work. We like Abraham and want to see him reunited with his wife and child.
We’re asking everyone to help us by donating *any amount* of money that you can. No amount is too large or too small. We need to raise a total of $8,000 and will quit once that goal has been reached. Nobody is getting paid, we are volunteering. A trust account is established and was opened with a donation of $5.40 from my granddaughter. She said, “I want that little girl to be with her Poppa so I’m giving this money from my piggy bank.”
Checks can be made out to: *Abraham Nhail Escrow Account. * They can be mailed to Therese Giles, PO Box 1684, Burlington, VT 05402-1684. If you want to give cash you can e-mail and I’ll tell you when I’m home. Any help is appreciated and we both feel confident that if you do the right thing the help will come. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and for any donation that you might care to make. Also, please feel free to forward this to anyone else you think might want to help. Thanks again!
Sincerely, Therese Cheryl Giles, RN
UDPATE: Just heard from Therese that she’s gotten dozens of small donations, totaling about $1,400… a great start, and a long way to go.
Spring comes and cats roam, I guess. Front Porch Forum has seen a surge in “lost kitty” postings. Here’s one from Linnie in Burlington’s Old North End just today…
“Hi All – Thank you for your words of encouragement in finding my cat. The March 31st FPF post that was by Renee was about my cat. Before you judge though he was let out that day and picked up by Renee that day. She was just a cat lover and was worried. He ended up going to Addison county Humane Society. We picked him up and he was very happy to see us. He has a collar now and still likes to go outside but has staying close to home only to venture occasionally to Murray or Peru. He weighed in at 10lbs. Thank you to nice neighbors that look out for my cat. To the gentleman who told me to post here when I was posting fliers last Saturday THANK YOU SO MUCH if I didn’t listen I never would have gotten my cat. Thank you 100X over. My kids are so happy. To Addison Humane society thanks for making it so easy to get him. All I had to do is show Vet records and a pic. I love happy endings.”
Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address.
It’s inspiring to moderate Front Porch Forum in Vermont. Here’s part of Alan S.’s posting to his Burlington neighbors today…
Hello Neighbors – I assume that the rest of you are as ready for flowers and grass as I am. Enough of this cold and dreariness already!! I had a tree topple on my house during the last ice storm. Fortunately, it did no damage to the house, but I had to remove it entirely… It still seems strange that I live on Birch Court, but there are almost no birch trees left on the street. I may correct that shortcoming by planting one to replace the one I removed. I have to save up some funds because lately the cost of living is becoming prohibitive.
Hard earned dollars do not go as far and being fiscally conservative has become a way of life. We boomers are in for some tough times, especially those of us who got a late start saving and investing money. It behooves us to stick together and maintain our community with its resources. We will need all the resources we can muster in the future.
One immediate way to be involved is to join and attend our Neighborhood Planning Assembly. We hold monthly meetings at the Heineberg Senior and Community Center. Look for postings here on the forum. In addition to NPA, I encourage that you speak with city councilors, Board of Health members, school board members, and any other appointed or elected servants of the city. Your input to the processes of governance and change is critical to successful outcomes. I have learned not to underestimate the power of my single voice and certainly not the collective power of our many voices together. Please write, call, post on the forum and blogs, do whatever you can to raise community consciousness.
I also want to mention our need to reach out in our immediate neighborhoods. There are some of us living alone and living poorly for lack of resources. I believe that it would benefit them greatly if we paid them a neighborly visit. I encourage us to find small, but effective ways, to help someone near us. I keep in my own mind, that someday it could be me waiting for someone to be friendly and loving. Please reach out to your neighbor next door and beyond. The rewards for doing so will be great!!!
Please help us continue and expand this work… vote today and spread the word!
I’m excited about a panel that I’ll be part of at the annual conference of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. Here’s a draft of what to expect…
The World Wide Web Comes Home
How “Local Online” Is Changing Your BusinessRichard Donnelly, Burlington Telecom
Christopher Grotke and Lise LePage, iBrattleboro.com
Chris Middings, Seventh Generation and Champlain College
Paula Routly, Seven Days
moderator: Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch ForumThe fifth great wave of the Internet—after communication, commerce, search and social networking—may well be “local.” People increasingly look online for answers to local questions about shoe stores, plumber recommendations, meeting people, directions, crime reports and more. A vast array of tools and services are being developed in Vermont to meet this demand. Much of this activity is fueled by online ad sales, which grew nationally to $20 billion in 2007. The Internet is driving business change, and companies are increasingly learning how to use this medium to focus on local markets. This session will provide attendees with concepts and tips for keeping up and getting ahead.
The conference (always a hit), will be held May 14 at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. The panel is tentatively scheduled for 1:15 to 2:30 PM. Come join the conversation… bring your experiences, questions and comments!
For a list of local businesses that have advertised online recently via Front Porch Forum, click on our sponsor link.
INVITATION: If anyone wants to get the conversation started early, leave a comment below…
A national federation of U.S. “green” business groups ran a blurb today. From the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) e-newsletter…
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility is experimenting with Front Porch Forum to increase traffic to member job listings on the VBSR site while increasing interest in socially responsible businesses.
VBSR is a sponsor of FPF and its first ad will run on FPF’s neighborhood forums in Chittenden County next week. The ads will encourage FPF’s subscribers to check out VBSR’s online job listings. Smartly, VBSR alerted its business members to freshen up their job listings on VBSR’s website before the ad run starts on FPF. A small step on a modest campaign, but a smart one.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more