The mission of Dayspring’s Refugee Focus program is to show God’s love to the stranger.
Strangers no more, please meet the Nigerian family that Dayspring is co-sponsoring through a partnership with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSS-SW). Our Refugee Focus team of volunteers were trained by LSS-SW and matched with the family over then past two weeks.
Mom, Abigail Mbaya Philemon is a 31-year-old widow with four children, Destiny, 8, Rejoice, 6, and 3-year-old twins, Leah and Rachel. They fled their country a few years ago because of violence, and lived in a Cameroon refugee camp before arriving in Arizona in January.
Abigail, a devout Christian, was a farmer in her country. She can speak some English, and loves to read, but her children do not yet speak or read English. Abigail doesn’t have a car, nor does she drive, so she and her children walk many places, including to their church. She also doesn’t have employment yet. The older two children are enrolled in a nearby elementary school.
The family lives in an apartment northeast of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, off of 40th Street. There, they already have built a community with other refugee families.
So far, our team has helped the family with furnishings and household items, visited and played with the children, taken Abigail to an employment meeting at DES, and other important tasks. We’re working hard to help her find a job, child care, to learn the bus system, and to discover the public library, among other tasks. LSS-SW provides temporary rental and utility assistance and case management.
Abigail and her family are among nearly 400 newly-arrived refugees in Arizona who were stranded in January by the current administration’s stop-work order and freeze on foreign aid. Overnight, these decisions ended services — rent, utilities, food and other necessities — that refugees who already were on American soil rely on to rebuild their lives.
We would love you to join us in helping Abigail and her precious children become successful New Americans! Join our team or ask questions about volunteering and donations by emailing Janie Magruder or calling the church office at (480) 838-1446. See the links below for other ways to help Dayspring and LSS-SW care for the stranger.
Thank you for being part of this important work.
*** PLEASE scroll down to Refugee Focus in the Fund List to make sure your donation goes to the correct place!***