RRISA in the News!
Westminster students
help refugees start new lives
By Laura Braddick, Neighbor Newspapers
lbraddick@neighbornewspapers.com
Working together to carry a chair, Westminster Schools students, from left, Lizzie Morgan, 15, daughter of Charles and Barbara Morgan of Buckhead, and Isabel Callaway, 15, daughter of Tom and Susan Callaway of Buckhead, helped create a new home for refugees last month in Clarkston. Special photo
Each year, 70,000 refugees come to the U.S. to escape physical, political and social turmoil and start a new life.
Many of those families bring little more than a suitcase of belongings.
After a semester of studying refugee communities in the country and state, high school students from the Westminster Schools in Buckhead cleaned, refurbished and completely furnished 12 apartment homes in Clarkston for incoming families last month.
“By reaching out to another community and doing service, we are building our own relationships,” said Leitzell Schoen, the school’s service learning director.
The yearlong initiative began with student-led education in the 56 participating high school classrooms about refugees, their communities and the circumstances and challenges they face.
“They developed awareness and empathy for refugees,” said Ms. Schoen.
Partnering with Refugee Relocation and Resettlement of Atlanta (RRISA), the school chose Clarkston as the project’s location because of the city’s unique refugee population.
The Westminster community spent a year collecting gently used furniture and other home goods such as linens, towels and kitchenware.
The project culminated in February, when groups of students divided into design teams and filled three apartments with the collected items each weekend.
“At the end, they are really beautiful. homes,” said Ms. Schoen
Students did not merely fill the apartments, but arranged them so that they were practical, space-saving and comfortable for a home.
Sophomore Mary Becker Menendez, 15, of Buckhead, said it was a humbling experience.
“My group really tried to make the apartment seem like a home away from home for the Iraqi family that was moving in,” she said. “We didn’t want them to feel as though they were moving into a stranger’s house.”
Senior Aaron Hersum said being able to see the physical fruits of their labors was rewarding.
“I remember spending an hour and a half repairing a broken shelf in one of the apartments, and the feeling of pride as I stepped back after I had finished and beheld my work,” he said. “But the strongest feelings came when I was able to meet a couple of the families, and see the appreciation on their faces even though they didn’t verbalize them.”
Both students agreed the overall experience has given them a lasting commitment to helping the refugee community.
“As with any service, the only way to truly have a lasting effect is if an entire community continues to serve,” said Aaron. “The more people learn about these refugees, the more we can help them in the future.”